Ever since we were little, Nate and I had always hung out in the tree house in the tree behind his house. Therefore, when I read the page, I immediately started walking in that direction. I didn’t know what to expect when I got there, but I was just hoping to get some answers.
Soon, I arrived at his house and walked around to the backyard. However, there was no treehouse in the tree it was just…. gone, like it had never existed. Confused, I walked toward it wondering if I were missing something. Suddenly, the ground beneath me gave way and I fell down a pitfall, and in my shock, I fell straight to the bottom.
“Really, Noah?” I heard a voice say as I started to come to. “You’ve been doing this for ten years, and yet now you fall and knock yourself out.”
“Wha-“ I ask before sitting up and noticing where I was. It looked like some sort of hidden underground area. I looked around and saw that not only did it house two beds, but also a computer that looked like Nate had built himself. ‘That didn’t make sense,’ I thought. Nate had a laptop that he brought everywhere, so why did he need this one, and what was this place?
“Something happened to you yesterday, didn’t it?” The voice more stated than asked and I turned around to see Nate standing at the doorway. “You’re acting different,” he continued. “Why?”
“I-,” I started, “I don’t know, everything’s suddenly different now. “What is this place?” I asked, trusting Nate and wanting to finally get some answers. “Why is there no color here? Why do we all have to wear numbered shirts, and why is talking banned.” I continued in a barrage of questions.
“You don’t remember anything then.” He said frustrated. Then he muttered something quieter, “and that means my necklace is gone too.” He then continued addressing me saying, “How about, this. You ask a question of me, then I ask a question to you, and we alternate turns. Deal?”
“Yeah, sounds good, I guess,” I replied. “So, first question, where are we?”
“Artem Isle, Washington State, USA, if you mean in general.” He began, but I already knew that, "if you’re talking about this place,” he said gesturing around him, “well, this is what we always called our secret lab. We never told anyone about it and we just always hang out here when we have nothing better to do.” He finished. “Anyway, you asked your question, time for me to ask mine. What’s the last thing you remember before today?”
“Well,” I said thinking about how to put this, “Last night I went to bed and everything was normal, then when I woke up today, everything was colorless, and different. I honestly don’t know anything else.” I say in return. “Next question, why is there no color here?”
“What do you mean?” He asked confused. “It’s always been like this. It’s illegal to wear bright colors or have those colors anywhere. The only time we’ve ever seen color is when the haze clouding the sky is thin enough to see the through it.” He stated before shooting me another question, “why did you have so much trouble on the keys in class today?”
“I didn’t know how to play it,” I said simply. “I’ve only heard Für Elise in the major key, and I can’t even play it in that yet, so I definitely can’t play it in minor key.” I thought for a moment before asking, “How come Mikey and Kara aren’t here?”
“Those are two of are classmates, right?” He asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, why would they be. We’re really not supposed to meet other people, it’s only by chance that we became friends. Why, do you remember being friends with them or something?” He asked.
“Well, yeah,” I replied. “We were a group of four, the smartest kids in school and we loved working on writing and art projects together.” I say the realization hitting me that Kara and Mikey probably don’t remember me. “Anyway, why do we have to wear Numbered shirts.
“Oh, that’s just to make it easier for the teachers to know when students are supposed to be in ‘training.’” He said, “Otherwise, kids would just try to skip it.” He said before thinking for a moment. Then he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at me. “You do remember what they do to us in training, right?”
“No, what do they do?” I ask.
“They-“ Nate began before a sound went off on his computer. “Oh, that means you need to be on your way home. Your mom will get there in a half hour and you need to be there when she gets back. I’ll answer the rest of your questions tomorrow.” He said while I started walking back toward the rope. “You do know how to get home don’t you?” He asked.
“Yeah,” I said and sighed as I left Nate’s yard and headed home, more confused than ever.
Soon, I arrived at his house and walked around to the backyard. However, there was no treehouse in the tree it was just…. gone, like it had never existed. Confused, I walked toward it wondering if I were missing something. Suddenly, the ground beneath me gave way and I fell down a pitfall, and in my shock, I fell straight to the bottom.
“Really, Noah?” I heard a voice say as I started to come to. “You’ve been doing this for ten years, and yet now you fall and knock yourself out.”
“Wha-“ I ask before sitting up and noticing where I was. It looked like some sort of hidden underground area. I looked around and saw that not only did it house two beds, but also a computer that looked like Nate had built himself. ‘That didn’t make sense,’ I thought. Nate had a laptop that he brought everywhere, so why did he need this one, and what was this place?
“Something happened to you yesterday, didn’t it?” The voice more stated than asked and I turned around to see Nate standing at the doorway. “You’re acting different,” he continued. “Why?”
“I-,” I started, “I don’t know, everything’s suddenly different now. “What is this place?” I asked, trusting Nate and wanting to finally get some answers. “Why is there no color here? Why do we all have to wear numbered shirts, and why is talking banned.” I continued in a barrage of questions.
“You don’t remember anything then.” He said frustrated. Then he muttered something quieter, “and that means my necklace is gone too.” He then continued addressing me saying, “How about, this. You ask a question of me, then I ask a question to you, and we alternate turns. Deal?”
“Yeah, sounds good, I guess,” I replied. “So, first question, where are we?”
“Artem Isle, Washington State, USA, if you mean in general.” He began, but I already knew that, "if you’re talking about this place,” he said gesturing around him, “well, this is what we always called our secret lab. We never told anyone about it and we just always hang out here when we have nothing better to do.” He finished. “Anyway, you asked your question, time for me to ask mine. What’s the last thing you remember before today?”
“Well,” I said thinking about how to put this, “Last night I went to bed and everything was normal, then when I woke up today, everything was colorless, and different. I honestly don’t know anything else.” I say in return. “Next question, why is there no color here?”
“What do you mean?” He asked confused. “It’s always been like this. It’s illegal to wear bright colors or have those colors anywhere. The only time we’ve ever seen color is when the haze clouding the sky is thin enough to see the through it.” He stated before shooting me another question, “why did you have so much trouble on the keys in class today?”
“I didn’t know how to play it,” I said simply. “I’ve only heard Für Elise in the major key, and I can’t even play it in that yet, so I definitely can’t play it in minor key.” I thought for a moment before asking, “How come Mikey and Kara aren’t here?”
“Those are two of are classmates, right?” He asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, why would they be. We’re really not supposed to meet other people, it’s only by chance that we became friends. Why, do you remember being friends with them or something?” He asked.
“Well, yeah,” I replied. “We were a group of four, the smartest kids in school and we loved working on writing and art projects together.” I say the realization hitting me that Kara and Mikey probably don’t remember me. “Anyway, why do we have to wear Numbered shirts.
“Oh, that’s just to make it easier for the teachers to know when students are supposed to be in ‘training.’” He said, “Otherwise, kids would just try to skip it.” He said before thinking for a moment. Then he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at me. “You do remember what they do to us in training, right?”
“No, what do they do?” I ask.
“They-“ Nate began before a sound went off on his computer. “Oh, that means you need to be on your way home. Your mom will get there in a half hour and you need to be there when she gets back. I’ll answer the rest of your questions tomorrow.” He said while I started walking back toward the rope. “You do know how to get home don’t you?” He asked.
“Yeah,” I said and sighed as I left Nate’s yard and headed home, more confused than ever.