Copyright © by Written by:Michael Girgis,Danny Brokate, and Carlos Rodriguez

Ninth Period Class

Cover Art by: Michael Girgis

Back Cover Art by:Daniel Brokate

All right reserved. This book or any portion of it may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the written consent of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2018

The edition first published by www.storyjumper.com

StoryJumper, Inc 850 E Greeenwich Pl Plato Alto CA 94303

On a cold misty night in Griana, Animo Smith sits aching in his small bed, helplessly lying there. At this point in time, Griana, the new country of 2048, had been under civil war for six years. The country of Griana was a mountain hill side with a coast on its east side. It’s a nice place to be with rivers running through the country and nice beaches too. The date was the 15th of December and Animo was chilling to the bone in his cramped room, located in St. John’s orphanage where he had lived ever since his parents perished tragically due to illness. During this dreadful hour in Animo’s epidemic the only glimmer of hope that still inspired him was his brother who had been drafted in the war and was still in ground zero fighting for independence. In contrast, Animo felt miserable, although he was extremely intelligent, and would not have the mental motivation to escape from his dire state of mind. Animo felt that he would never be able to get any further in the world than his friend Axel’s room. Animo, a timid and frail fifteen year old boy, was always

very thoughtful but small minded. He was constantly doubting himself although he was brilliant, but he always said that with questioning comes prosperity. As for his looks he had short curly hair, green eyes, and skin pale as a goose’s

feathers. These traits eventually turned into the reason he was incessantly tormented by others, meaning that his brother’s leave of absence was extra petrifying.Due to his lack of spirit that was instigated posthumously by his parents. In Animo’s mind, there was no way to do any better than his freezing cold, cramped, and bug-infested room.

 On the break of winter, the 21st of December, Antoine was taken captive and killed after saving his whole squad. Antoine had given up his life to save the lives of others, for the greater good of his country. Concurrently, Animo was vaulted into a point of bipolar depression experienced severe trauma, reaching a point of insanity, causing a whirlwind of denial.    

Although Animo’s ordeal seemed insurmountable, it would soon end. Throughout this entire history Animo would not dare to utter a single word. Nevertheless, one day Animo was blatantly finished with his incessant meditation and felt the urge to make a difference as his brother did in saving the lives of many during the war. Animo knew that he could do something with his life, despite what his parents may have believed. Although, this occurrence was not naturally conceived, when Animo divulged into his deep state of depression, he developed a condition that allowed his conscience to become his friend or guide, so to speak. Thus, Animo’s conscience was almost an imaginary person, who went by the name of Gilbert. Consequently, Animo could gain self-confidence through the help of his mind, that empowered him to create strong mental illusions.  

In summary, for the first time in years Animo could say,” Hello? Can you hear me?” To which Gilbert replied,” Yes, I’m always in your presence, I am merely a figment of your mind which represents your existence.”  

  “But... How are you here” replied Animo?  

  “I am you, can’t you see that? Your conscience, that can never be escaped. Your friend, yourself, your mind, your mental existence, I represent all of that in your own mind, I am you in your mental world.” said Gilbert.  

To which Animo replied. “I’m hallucinating, I must be, I’ve gone insane from being here in this grimy orphanage! I need to get out of here, but this has always been my home, how could I leave it? I don’t know what to do!” Exclaimed Animo.” What can I do?!!!”  

  Animo commenced to pace around his room uncontrollably, gathering his thoughts, but he could not reach a conclusion. Animo began to retaliate against his mental agony destroying everything in his reach. His bed was cracked, all his lifelong possessions including the only toy ever bought for him by his parents was in pieces. Resulting in utter exhaustion for Animo both mental and physical alike, his mind aching, fists bleeding . 

Then, meekly Gilbert said,” Can I suggest something? Since all you have here is already broken, maybe it’s time for a new start something that evade you from poverty, sickness, or war, a new beginning. After all, with a new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”  

Leaving Animo in disbelief, “How could I have done this to the home that has done so much for me? I need to go now!  

“WAIT” exclaimed Gilbert, “Where are you going to go?! Why are you departing from the haven that nurtured you from a young age?  

To which Animo replied,” Well, why wouldn’t I leave, huh? What has this wasteland of a home ever done for me! I was left alone in my darkest hour, they constantly reminded me that I would never be any better than my own brother! How can I feel that I owe them anything, if they never did anything but spite me?”  

“I can’t do anything to stop you but think about this. You could end up throwing away your life, and if you get caught? The consequences could be catastrophic, indefinitely wasting all the talent you have to share, think of the possibilities you have. That is evidently more important than getting out of this place immediately” Gilbert said, trying to persuade him.  “I have already thrown my life away rotting away in this blasted orphanage.”, and with that, Animo departed into the darkness.     

As Animo left, he quietly slipped out the door into the hallways he had known his whole life, that he could have left with his eyes closed if he needed to. Next, he slowly lurked down into the corridor into the common room, where there was a slow crackling fire full of blazing heat. In turn, he heard a door slowly creeping open, the unknown figure began to quickly approach, to which Animo was unable to react he frantically hyperventilated and was eventually directly in the open as the looming figure entered the room. Thus, it was Animo’s lifelong friend Axel, who had also been brought to the orphanage from a remarkably low age.  

“What are you doing?!” whispered Axel    

“I’d ask the same to you!” said Animo. “Why are you even awake?  

“I heard you coming out!” Stated Axel  

“Look,” said Animo sincerely, “I need to get out of here now, I’m done with this life”  

“Take me with you, please, you’re the only reason I can put up with this place. "said Axel  

“Will you stay quiet and comply completely with what I say?” said Animo  

“Yes” replied Axel .

“Then you have yourself a deal.” Animo stated, defiantly.   

“Any idea on where you want to go?”, questioned Animo

“Well I’ve been in that orphanage for as long as I can remember, I’ve never been able to see anything outside of my grim reality.”, replied Axel

Me either, but I think the most important thing to do tonight is find shelter. Although, we do need food. So, I have a risky idea, what if we”, said Animo before the blatant interruption

During the conversation between both orphans, their “caretaker" was alerting the police of a breach in the orphanage and they were in pursuit with bloodhounds. The caretaker had always been bitter towards Animo, constantly yelling at him and even beating him until he is black and blue all over. Solely due to the fact that Animo’s parents were quite impoverished during their life, and the caretaker, Mrs. Albrighton, had evidently thought of Animo as a lesser being that didn’t deserve the treatment that those with “real parents” deserved. Mrs. Albrighton constantly reminded Animo that he was of no worth, that he shouldn’t have even been born.

One thing that has been indefinitely imprinted into the mind of Animo is the day that Mrs. Albrighton senselessly attacked Animo. Mrs. Albrighton stated,”Get out of here! You're just a poor, good for nothing, and utterly insignificant human being that has nothing to do on this earth! You are just a selfish, pompous, miscreant that doesn’t deserve to live! A waste of space, a waste of food, and a waste of a life! In turn, slapping Animo across the face mercilessly, resulting in a large, dark, and prominent scar on Animo’s face.

When Animo and Axel heard the bloodhounds, they began running, hoping they would be able to escape.

“WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE”, cried Axel.

“JUST FOLLOW ME, I HAVE A PLAN!", replied Animo

The two began to cut through streets zigzagging in order to throw of their scent. They began to wear out but would relentlessly continue since they knew it could mean their lives. Before long they could no longer hear their pursuers, yet they felt it wasn’t over yet. That it couldn’t be possible for them to have lost the bloodhounds. They contemplated the option of moving, but they felt that they were safe where they were, that somehow, they couldn’t be touched in that place. A home-base, at least for now. “Was that your plan?", stated Axel

“Well not exactly, but I guess it worked out... in a way.”, said Animo

“Oh!” exclaimed Axel.” I see a river, I say we stay there for the night. I mean, it’s not shelter, but it could be a lot worse. We can hide underwater and sleep under those trees.”

As the two started their departure to fantasy, Animo found himself unable to sleep. Although, how would he be able to sleep? He just made a life changing decision and couldn’t say he had gotten very far. He knew it was a matter of time before they found him. Through the night Animo stayed up, lying on the bank of the calm river. A place of peace, the soothing sound of the rushing water passing by started to ruse Animo, but and he was about to fall dormant and give up the watch for the police. But before he could, his mind seemingly came to life.

“Giving up so easily?”, said Gilbert.” Are you just gonna give up like you did when you accepted the fact that you weren’t good enough? Well, it’s your choice, but I don’t want to see your life melt away at your own hand.”

“What can I do? What’s the point of continuing? Prolonging my fasting period? I prefer to take my chances on finding the cops and explaining. "replied Animo.

“You know if you turn yourself in you won’t get a chance like this again. A chance to be what you’ve always wanted to be. Nothing is stopping you this time.” said Gilbert

“But what am I going to do? If I stay here, we won’t live, we can’t just sit back and await our death.” stated Animo.

“You have to strive for your life, you can change yourself, expand who you are. There’s no way you’ll do it easily. If you maintain your tenacity, you can change yourself, and the course of your life. The more you persist the more you gain it’s a domino effect. Throw that stone in the water, you’ll see.” stated Gilbert.

As Animo threw the stone into the water, he had a realization, how is he supposed to get there if he doesn’t try. He needs to persevere and obtain his promontory objective.

“That’s me. That’s what I need to do. Those ripples, they represent me. They show what I can be, what I can do.”

For the rest of the night, Animo sat there. Planning his next move, attentively watching, and preparing himself for whatever lies ahead.  Then Animo was tired and he fell right down on the ground right next to Axel under a tree. He was awake all night and he was thinking about his future.

On the cold misty morning of December 23, two days before Christmas the civil war rages onward. Animo and Axel wake up from a deep slumber. Animo and Axel must try to find shelter and somehow make money. After relentless periods of searching, the two orphans were rendered fruitless. They had no way to maintain themselves in the world. Almost, becoming hopeless, but that one strand of hope resulted in salvation.    

“Oh, my god.” said Animo, breathless. 

“What is it?” replied Axel. 

“It’s the Apple store, I’ve had dreams about this, hallucinations even.” said Animo.” All my life I’ve never been able to even set foot in a real technology store.”  

“I don’t see the big deal, it’s just a store for phones.”, said Axel    

“No, it’s not just a store, it’s our way out of this dump.”, replied Animo  

“You must be insane, there’s no way an Apple store is going to save us from poverty.”, said Axel    

“Ah, but you don’t see what I see. I spent hours last night sitting, thinking, and almost drowning in my own thoughts. My cunning plan has already brought me to this conclusion, we need to use our adept minds and skills to get a hold on some technology that can produce us millions. That building right there is Apple’s biggest plant in the world. There is no way that there is nothing of value in that building. It’s the heist of a lifetime, our names will go down in the history books.”, said Animo  

“Yeah our names will be in the history books. We’ll be on the front cover of CNN with both our pictures in the police records when we get caught.”, gruntingly replied Axel  

“Well if you don’t want to do it then don’t. I got you out of that horrid orphanage. I already finished my part of the bargain, but if you don’t want to come with me now that we’re out of that hell then you don’t have to! yelled Animo  

“Look, that’s not what I meant, I’m just saying that we should think about this. The consequences could be catastrophic, if we get caught, we could risk throwing away our lives even more than we did while we were restrained in the orphanage”, said Axel  

  “Fine, we will orient the heist in a circumspect manner, though we must work fast, time is of the essence. "replied Animo  

As the two orphans strode along the streets, they began to observe the exits and entrances of the building, as if they were forming mental plans to make a break for their lives should it come to it. Animo slowly progressed towards the building, still observing as Axel followed and periodically gave him terse comments regarding the plan. Before long, suspicion started to arise from their looks and glances towards the building, until authorities started to question their interest. Consequently, pushing the two to enter for the first time.    

In awe Animo stated, "This can’t be real, this is a clever ruse, a sci-fi movie set.”, said Animo starry-eyed  

“Come back to earth would you, this define the rest of our lives. Remember?!”, mockingly said Axel  

As the two passively encroached on the door they began to inspect the building further as if they were having misgivings on their earlier conjecture. The moment they arrived at the door they knew that it was their gift from god. The door read “Employees Only” in large black letters. Both kids commenced a scout out of the area for employees and entered the premises, though only to find a large dark room that had a coffee machine sitting in the corner.  

“It must be the break room!”, cried Animo  

“It seems like there is something more though, there’s more to the room. I mean why would it be here if it’s useless.", said Axel  

At that moment, inevitable occurred, someone came into the room. It was just a normal employee, tall, blue eyes, and blond hair. Merely a teen trying to make money for his car, although this would cost the two orphans a lifetime. There was no way to stop the boy from turning them into the police.    

“What are you people doing here?!! You don’t work here, it says employees only! "said the boy, irritated    

“We were told to come in here for job interviews, we are in grave need of money.”, replied Axel trying to think on his feet.  

“We are fully staffed, so why are you really here? Are you just two dumb kids trying to steal an iPhone 20C, because it seems to me that there is no other comprehensible reason that you would traipse in here the way you did? "said the boy.  

“Look, Charles, that is you name, right?” said Animo, reading Charles’s nametag. "Well, whatever, we were just trying to see what we could do to make some money. We used to live in an orphanage where they would beat us black and blue, and we couldn’t bear it any longer. We had to find a way out, please, have a heart. Let us go.”  

“I can’t do that, I can’t let you run freely as if nothing even happened, you two are paupers, even if you are orphans that doesn’t justify your crime. You haven’t surpassed any major laws, but you still must pay up, understand the consequences of your actions, no matter where you are from.” replied Charles.” I’m going to turn you in, I’m sorry, but I can’t just let you go. You have to stay here while I get security.” replied Charles, sternly  

“We’ve met our match, we’ve been driven to a point the we can’t be normal,

stealing, scheming, and wreaking havoc is all we have, since we’ve never even been to school. As if our intelligence meant nothing, as if

honing capacity in alternate aspects of life other than physically was automatically rendered irrelevant. Just because we can’t afford school doesn’t mean we don’t want to learn, we’ve always been put at a disadvantage because people think that learning won’t get us anywhere. We don’t get to have a real life or a real opportunity, all that ever happens to the people in this horrendous system is failure. The lives and capacity of these people are being wasted as we speak, I don’t want to be one of those people. I do not feel that this is what I deserve, to get here as an orphan is already a great feat, but I want more. More than just going from one cell to another, please, this is all I have left.” said Animo, in an

almost Shakespearian tone of voice, a sentimental liberation, so to speak.

Thus, Charles stuttered, but he got himself together and reluctantly deserted the room. Meanwhile, Axel was dumbfounded, he couldn’t accept the situation. He started to frantically search for a way out.

In turn, Animo encountered what seemed like something sent from divine intervention, the gods had sent a tribute to save the two poor orphans. Animo encountered a latch in the floor, a hollow patch in the floor that stood there smiling back at him. In a final strive for life Animo slammed his body on the floor, uncovering a long, dark, passageway, a chance to learn the unknown. Plunging into the crevice both kids were greeted by an array of numbers, thousands of zero and ones that would boggle anyone’s mind. In the end the journey was put to a close by a bone crushing fall that disabled both characters.    

After what seemed like a lifetime, Animo could wake himself, with Gilbert pitching in as well. During the dormant period the hatch had been mysteriously closed, or so it seemed. Arising from the fall  Animo  found a small digital screen, and began to wonder what it could be, the screen was a technological breakthrough that had never been displayed publicly. Commencing to understand and interpret the contraption Animo started to hack into it finding court files, police reports, and even classified federal documents. While passing through the classified files Animo observed a file named "Operation Portal”. Intrigued, Animo  clicked on the file, to his surprise, it was merely a floor plan for a ballroom dancing competition at some school called “Pine View.” Quickly disregarding his interest. Animo began to analyze the situation. Before long, Animo knew there was something more to those floor plans for them to be in federal files. Revisiting the file, he recognized the plans to be in binary code. Consequently, Animo input the numbers to the computer, and in finishing his last bar of code Animo was vaulted in to a vortex of light, as if he was falling into an abyss of darkness, self-regret, unknown heights of nausea, and incomprehensible force. 

Suddenly, Animo crossed the threshold into an outlandish world beyond any humans' power to understand, he was unexpectedly jolted into the machine. A place that was not even made up of three dimensions. An enormous cluster of codes and electricity, that surged through the unknown universe. Animo felt a sense of energy, like he was connected to the world in a way. As if it made him up as a person. Out of the blue, a deep booming voice said, “What is your business here, how have you arrived in the forsaken world of the gridline?”, question the voice.  

Animo was at a loss for words, he couldn’t think or even move. He was completely vulnerable, suspended in this fantasy. There was nothing Animo could do to save himself.    

“So, what are you doing?” said Gilbert, somewhat sarcastically    

“Well I’m in a very difficult situation currently, I can’t do anything about it. Here I have no power.” replied Animo  

“That’s where you are completely wrong! Here everything is in your head, it’s all mental. If you predetermine that you are going to die, it’ll happen. Either way, if you say that you will fail or succeed, you’re right.” said Gilbert  

“I have to get out of this place, I have to prevail, I need to get away from my expected life. Do what I really want to do. You know what? I’m going to get out of here even if it costs me my life.” said Animo  

Animo proceeded to strive, maintain his tenacity, breaking loose from his mental bonds. He started to move, slowly but surely, he finally saw a way out and started to rush towards it knowing that it was his only way out.  

Though, before he was able to reach the exit, he noticed that it kept getting farther away, the closer we got the farther it got.    

Then the booming voice again rang out,” You’ll never get out, I am the master of the land, you can’t win. I control your existence. If I wanted you to leave, you would be gone.” said the voice  

“No, no, no, it can’t be.”, Animo kept muttering. "I refuse to let you win, you won’t best me.” cried Animo