With pen in hand, notepad sitting on top of the table I was sitting at, and a can of Pepsi Vanilla just to the right, I briefly looked upon the page of notes before continuing my little project. Well, actually it would be more accurate to say that this was the beginning of a much bigger project that would (I'd hoped) become a permanent portion of the muck. But as luck would have it, the all too familiar flash of light and blasting echo of sound reverberated throughout the room. However, unlike the first time this 'strange phenomenon' occurred, I was not effected the same, but it would be inaccurate to say that I wasn't moved. On the contrary, a great deal of irritation filled me so I didn't even look up to see what she was up to, but there was no doubt it was of no good. A powder blue hand reached down and before I could even stop writing, took the thick notepad from the table, as well as the pen in hand, and began to flip through the pages. "Hmm... Wrong!" A line was marked through some of the various characters adorning the first page. "Wrong!" Another mark followed by the flipping of a couple pages. I simply sat there with my mouth partway open, but didn't say anything. Knowing Wizard Northtunnels, it would be a futile attempt. After a couple more pages, another scratch mark was made then a few more until she reached the same point I had in my notes. "Wrong, wrong, wrong!" Finally the notepad was tossed haphazardly onto the table, followed by the pen. "How many times do we have to go through this? You're not good enough to program here on the muck and I have no desire to /waste/ my time in fixing all of these messes." I looked despondently at the notepad, and sighed inaudibly. What was that... seven mistakes on twelve pages of notes? And I hadn't even done a proofread yet? Oh, but what was the point of trying to explain that? She never seemed to listen. "Of all the most ridiculous, inane... what do you think you were trying to do? Build an entire ant colony? Do you think that for one moment, one tiny, little moment that I'd even seriously sanction such an idea? And of all the insulting, degrading things to do! Suggesting that work needs to be done on the muck." I sat back and looked up at this individual, with a slowly rising feeling of anger filling me. Her arms were folded and she looked at me with that condescending expression I'd come to know so well. "This is the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard! /You/ of all people to even suggest..." "SHUT UP!!" To be honest, I really have no idea what came over me to finally loose my temper, but it happened. The most perplexed look came over her face, along with a cough. "Wh-what?" "I said, 'Shut up!" This time it was I who'd folded my arms and sat with a defiant look, but not before pointing my right index finger directly at her. "I have /had it/ with you! I am trying to do the best I can here, and all you /ever/ do is yell at me, criticize me and tear apart every effort I make," I stated making an obvious glance toward the notepad then back to her again. "I've made twelve pages of notes, and you've only found /seven/ mistakes, and this was just a rough draft." I'd reached my limit of frustration about how she'd treated me, and I felt more needed to be said about how I'd been treated. "Not to mention that my puppets are working just fine now, including the problems that Holly had, so if you can't be helpful in assisting me in working out these few problems, then /leave me alone/! I didn't even look at her as I picked up the pen, pulled the notepad toward me and began to write down a few more bits of MPI code. I felt justified in what I said and how I said it, but that certainly didn't help alleviate the rising feeling of anxiety in me. I could only imagine what she would do to me, or might even change me into. For all I knew, I could very well wind up as a beanie baby on a shelf in her office, or even on her desk, to beam at me maliciously each and every time she looked up me. But it was too late, and I sure as heck wasn't going to take back or even apologize for what I'd said. After a few more awkward moments passing, I finally looked up at her, mostly out of curiosity, but I what I saw I hardly could have expected, or believed.. Her lower lip was trembling, and her eyes had adopted a very reflective sheen and right after I looked up, she quickly covered her mouth. She then turned toward the exit and ran very quickly out of the room.. I then heard a bit of bumping outside, then muffled sobs. Crying? Of all the things she'd done to me, my outburst made her cry? At first I didn't even want to trouble myself to put down the notepad little alone to bother with her. After all, she'd treated me terribly, so why should I do any different? But between general curiosity and that nagging little feeling we often get when someone is in distress finally motivated me to go, so after placing the pen on the notepad, I got up from the chair, walked over to the doorway and poked my head out. She was still sobbing rather dramatically, with her black robe looking quite disheveled around her. She must have heard me approach since it wasn't more than a few seconds after I'd come out that she looked up at me, her eyes already looking pretty red and her cheeks a little wet from tears, then she reached up and with an angered move whipped off her wizard's cap and threw it to the floor. It was in-between choked sobs that she managed to speak. "You have no idea how hard it is running this muck," she gasped then dropped her eyes to the floor. 'None of the other wizards take me seriously, then never respect me, and I'm lucky to get a word in edgewise." She then rubbed her eyes and let out a shaky and pain-riddled sigh. Part of me wanted to lash out saying that that was how I felt and how she'd treated me, but that little bit of sympathy kept me from causing more hurt. In fact, I'd knelt down next to her, then sat 'Indian style' as she paused to gain some of her composure. "So... when your projects become yet another challenge for me to deal with..." She didn't finish her sentence. "But this is how I feel you've been treating me," I stated softly, yet evenly. "I'm also trying to do the best I can, and you have to admit I have been doing better. Certainly better than I when I first got here." She nodded a couple times, and sniffled. "Yes, that's true. You are doing better. I just..." Another sigh was released. "I just have so much to do, and so little time. I used to have more time and more fun here before I was promoted." I nodded too then paused for some though. "I think you need to stand up to them, and tell them how you feel. Seems that the others could be sharing more of the load, so you don't need to be feeling like this." "Think it'll work?" she asked with doubt in her voice. "Worked for me," I replied, trying not to chuckle. Yup, it was working right now. "Okay... I'll do it! No more treating Miss Willow Northtunnels with this disrespect!" She then got to her feet, and turned to march off toward the wizard's wing. "And Basil too!" She turned around and looked at me. "Yeah. You too. I'll be nicer. I promise." "Thanks," I replied sincerely. She nodded then turned and left for the wizard's wing. Instead of going back to my notes for my project, I decided to take a little walk to stretch my legs and get a little snack from the vending machine. It was a few minutes later than I heard a most thunderous roar and the ground shake. I stepped out into the hallway and saw our resident red dragon, Ampillion come stomping down the hallway. 'Oh yeesh! 'I said to myself and tried to turn abdomen and retreat into the rec room. I didn't aim very well, being filled with panic so I hit the wall, bounced off and landed somewhere in the middle of the hallway with this huge, hulking lizard coming right towards me. I had to think quickly. Spying something long and red, I managed to get to my feet as the first fireball just passed me, followed quickly by another. "Stop right there!" He commanded. But instead of doing so, I pulled open the glass door separating me from the long red cylinder, pulled the safety pin, and squirted Ampillion in the mouth, dousing his flame. I then set down the fire extinguisher, half expecting to get a solid whack from his hand. Instead he perked his head up with the most confused look, and then peered down at me. "What was /that/ for?" I held my hands akimbo as I looked up at him. "Self preservation. I don't suppose you have any idea what it's like to be on the receiving end of one of your fireballs." He held a clawed hand up to his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Now that you point it out, I can't say I have. Guess it must be pretty intimidating." I simply nodded. "Aw, but it's gonna take /days/ for me to get my fire going again," he stated in a sort of whine/whimper. "Why not go to professor Silver? I'd bet he'd come up with something to help you there," I suggested sincerely. His expression quickly became one of anxiety and concern. "Um... uh... no. That's... that's quite all right. I... I could probably stand to... Yeah. Nah, I'll be fine without my flames for a few days. Could use a break anyway." "Fair enough," I stated. "Oh and speaking of which..." I pulled out a can of clear flame retardant, tightly closed my eyes and mouth and gave myself a liberal coating of the material. After opening my eyes, I saw Ampillion smile and chuckle a little. In all honesty, I don't doubt that my eyes grew a bit wider at this sudden surprising turn of events. The huge dragon seemed /intimidated/ by my suggestion to seek out the professors help. But then considering my own personal experience... "Oh, by the way..." I looked up at him again. "...what?" "Have you been talking with Willow recently?" I noticed the word 'wizard' lacking from his sentence. "Um... yeah." He then patted me on the head lightly before shuffling off. "Probably just as well. Gave that girl-er, I mean helped that gal show some exoskeleton." And with that he departed. "What is up with this?" questioned Professor Silver with a little patronization in his voice at the obvious glossy sheen I'd gained from the fire retardant spray. "I've grown rather attached to my antenna, and not having them singed," I replied evenly. I seemed to be developing a bit of an attitude, or 'showing some exoskeleton' as Ampillion has suggested that had happened to Wizard Northtunnels. He simply shook his head, like I'd told him that air molecules were causing me a headache, and appeared to begin to defend himself, but suddenly the periodic wall chart fell to the floor and a beaker boiled over. He turned to take care of them. Seemed that stuff like that was happening on a fairly regular basis. "Nonsense!" He declared defensively. "My experiments are 100% harmless." He then walked over to his workstation and fumbled with a few papers and things and accidentally knocking over his pencil cup, scattering things all over. I rolled my eyes a little. "Prove it. Prove to me they're safe." "Ridiculous. I don't need to." "Well, I'm not doing them anymore!" I declared and stood with my arms folded. "Do you're own experiments. I quit." Professor Silver stared at me with mouth agape then tightly closed his mouth to form an even line with his lips. "Brother. Fine, fine!" He got up from his desk then marched over to his lab table. "I'll do them, /myself/!" He stated this with a bit of defiance, and just a touch of a pout. I stayed and watched for a few minutes, then quickly left when I felt that even being an observer could be a hazard to my health. It was close to noon when I reached the area I'd been working on my project, but hunger was setting in and if I didn't get something to eat before long, I'd be sacking out on the couch in the rec room, so after arriving in said room, I pulled out a big paper bag holding two sandwiches, two bags of chips and pulled a can of soda out of the fridge. I'd placed a couple inside due to the unpredictable nature of the pop machine on whether or not it would dispense your favorite soda, or any at all. Sometimes it would dump a whole pile on the ground, and it was then I stashed a handful in the fridge. I sat down to begin lunch, but couldn't help but notice the calendar on an opposing wall, showing the date. 'Aha!' I spoke to myself and after standing up, I gathered up my food, grabbed another soda from the fridge and departed the Out of Character Complex for... The Forbidden Tunnels. I soon arrived, and upon finding a semi-comfortable place to sit, I awaited the inevitable. "Basil!" shouted the female ant named Tilly as she entered the room, wearing a dark leather overcoat. "Tilly!" I called out in a similar tone. "I've been waiting for you." She gave me the most incredulous look as though she had no idea what I was talking about, but she quickly regained her former expression, with her arms folded. "What's the matter with you, can't you read?" "Yes, Tilly, I can. But let me ask /you/ something. Do you realize we've done the same thing now three times on the same day of the year, the first time being the first day I came here?" She glared at me for several seconds, and then her expression softened and she spoke again. "Yup." I blinked a couple times before speaking. "Then... I don't get-" She walked over to me and looked me in the eye. "It's your initiation, Basil." "After two years?" She nodded a couple times. "I do have to say you picked up on it pretty quickly. But... do be careful, these tunnels aren't exactly what I call safe." I nodded a couple of times. "I'll do that." "You'd better or I'll be telling Willy-Oops. Not doing that any more. Okay, Basil. I'll be seeing you around." She then began to turn around and depart the way she came. "Hey Tilly? Are you hungry?" She looked back at me and blinked. "Depends. Whatcha got?" I opened the paper sack and looked inside. "I have ham and Swiss, and... well-cooked Spam with lettuce and cheese on Italian bread." She quickly walked over to me and quickly snatched the second sandwich from my hands. "Gimmie! That's my favorite." "I also have rippled potato chips, and root beer." I offered the chips and soft drink to her as well. She then sat down and began to eat. After I had a couple chips and a bite from my sandwich I began to talk to her again. "So," I began then took a quick sip from my drink. "You said I'd figured it out pretty quickly. You've done this before?" Tilly swallowed then nodded with a smile. "Oh, yes, several times. In fact..." she munched a handful of chips then had a drink of soda. "We had one gal that I'd done this to for seven years and she /never/ caught on." "Wow," I mused then munched a couple chips and had a bite of my sandwich. "So... how is it being a PR wizard anyway?" "Oh, it rocks! I get access to... well, maybe I shouldn't be mentioning this to you. But, I am curious about something." I took another drink. "What's that?" "Did you by any chance talk with Willow this morning? She's been acting rather peculiar, and I was trying to figure out who did it." I said, "Well, we did a bit of conversation this morning." "Mmmm hmm..." she muttered while eating. "I just... I just felt it was time for me to speak my peace." I then shrugged, and waited for her response. "That's... that's fine, but try not to overdo it. Might mess things up." She then finished what was left of her food and stood up to depart. "Thanks for sammich, Bassy." "Um... sure. No problem." "Oh, one question. Why /are/ these tunnels forbidden?" "Because Luna built them. It's like a maze that you can't figure out where you are going. But she's a really lousy builder and we'd hate to loose anyone in there." I simply nodded with wide eyes, making a mental note to not make use of them. She then turned and departed. It was down a particularly dark hallway (a couple light bulbs were burned out) that my arch nemesis and I met after I returned to the Out of Character Complex. He stood in one corner, I the other and we both drew our light sabers and looked at each other squarely in the eye. "I've been waiting for you, Basil. We meet again at last." He took a few more steps towards me. 'The circuit is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master." "Only a master of punning, Locus" We dueled for a minute or two before either of us spoke again. "Well, Basil. You're skills have quite improved. In fact, it was just a year ago that you ran from me in fear." "Thank you," I stated, but ignored the 'ran from me in fear' part. "What did you do to get so good?" "I've practiced... three hours per day." "You need to get yourself a girl," he stated matter-of-factly. Then pausing, he added. "Actually, we both do." We commenced fighting for a couple minutes longer, and I darted backwards to catch my breath. "I admit it, you are better than I am." He beamed at me greatly, at stated. "I know." Then his expression changed. "But, why are you smiling." "Because I know something you don't know. I am not left-handed" "Yeah, I know. You've been using your right hand the whole time." I looked down and noticed, that yes indeed, I was using my right hand. "Oh... yeah." A couple more minutes of dueling, and Locus had me disarmed. Okay, he pulled out a can of crazy string and sprayed me in the face, my saber now on the floor, broken in two behind me. "You cheated," I called out while wiping my face. He quickly whipped out a pirates hat and eye patch and put them on. "Pirate" I then dropped to my knees, with my head down low. "Do it quickly." He turned off his light saber. "Are you kidding? You're about the best candidate I've seen in a while and I'm not about to throw /that/ chance away." He then offered his hand to me and helped me to my feet. "I've got a little gladiator's arena I'm trying to get going. How would you like to join us? To say I was speechless would be an understatement. He smiled deeply again. "Don't answer now-just take your time to think about it." He then walked briskly down the hall and departed. I slowly walked back to the rec room, still quite overwhelmed by the day's events. 'So, all it's taken is to show a little assertiveness, and they begin to show me respect?' I mused on this for several seconds, then took my seat at the desk I began my project on, and began to scribble more MPI code onto the tablet.

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