The Seventh Tempest

9781483523101

Chapter I Surviving Randy Boxer

I am not a loser! Randy exclaimed as he slammed the front door.

At sixteen, Randy Boxer wanted the world to be his own. No one ever told Randy what to do, not even his father. Defiant and remarkably wild, he could easily intimidate a boy twice his size by just staring at him. His red, fiery hair spoke a wind of turbulence as he moved and the violence just raging above the surface of his skull, reflecting through his sharp, blue eyes, made everyone look downward and away. Everyday his blood would boil and every minute his nerves would sting around his fingers and knuckles. His yearning to smash a nose would not disappear from his long list of imaginings.

What a moron! I hate her! I really hate her! Randy shouted after fighting with his stepmother.

As he paced his footsteps, he thought of becoming rich or someone grand to make his father proud. He failed his math exam and could never get a grade higher than a C. More than anything, he dreamed of socking the class nerd right in the eye. He barely caught the bus, and as he marched across the thin, middle aisle, he was searching for Maggie Verona, the smartest girl in his class. With troubled fear, Maggie spotted him and squirmed. Her heart would not listen to her brain. Although her brain told her not to be a victim anymore, her heart was helpless, beating madly within her threatening circumstances. It’s as if she knew she was going to die any day soon and that there would only be enough time left for one last breath. Her only hope was to look down and appear to be praying. She thought to herself, Please, just let him walk by. Maybe he won’t notice me. On the right side of the bus, she cuddled herself toward the glass window. The morning sun was absent when she saw his furious face squinting dark anger within the inner corners of his eyes and pulsating forehead. The shaking of her hands, the breathlessness of her lungs took control of her body. Randy found her hiding behind a few large heads sitting in front of her and with a devious smile he slowed his pace and sat right behind her, next to Jay Callous.

Hey, man. What’s up? Jay asked.

I just saw the ugliest cow, man.

Come on, Randy.

She kinda looked like that ugly chic, Maggie Verona.

Maggie’s heart sank as she heard his cold, calculated voice ripping through the deep chasms of her mind. As he continued, her eyes began to swell. She fought her contorting mouth as it began to take different shapes and wrestled the beating monster that desperately wanted to roar.

Oh… is that her in front of us, Randy said sarcastically.

Yea, stupid. Jay answered, thinking he was funny.

Jay didn’t always understand Randy and the games he played. He was literally a sidekick.

Don’t you ever call me stupid! Randy spitted out with fury.

He raised his hand and smacked the baffling monkeys out of Jay’s cheekbone. Fumbled with disbelief, Jay withdrew his smile to a frown, and did not say another word. Maggie looked behind her and saw tears in Jay’s brown eyes, the same tears she fought just prior to this ugly scene.

What are you looking at? Huh? What are you looking at you ugly skunk? Turn around, woman! Randy said boisterously.

Maggie did not turn her head forward fast enough, and within seconds, Randy turned and shoved the back of her head forward so quickly and forcefully that her glasses hit the seat in front of her. Physical pain shot right through her forehead. Randy, exerting his power, morbidly remarked,

I told you to turn around… didn’t I?

The school bus halted, and everyone resumed to class. Maggie was safe for four periods. She knew lunch would be a challenge with that tiger lurching around waiting to attack. Maggie’s favorite class was fourth period, History class. Her teacher, Mr. Beckstrom, favored her tremendously and considered her his protégé. As he was teaching Greek mythology, Maggie daydreamed of a world full of excitement, galore and beauty. She wanted to be Aphrodite, Venus, the most beautiful and powerful woman in the world. Fascinated by Mr. Beckstrom and his adventurous tales, and dreading the strikes of Randy Boxer, she stayed in his class when the bell rang for lunch.

Professor Beckstrom, I noticed that you have a lot of nice artifacts. My Dad likes to collect them as souvenirs, Maggie remarked in need of conversation.

Why, thank you, Maggie. These worthless baubles you see up here are only replicas.

Really? What about that wooden ball? Where did you find that?

I found that beauty in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient mythology describes this object as if it were a globe, replicating the lost kingdom of Perfidia.

But Professor Beckstrom. I never heard of such a civilization.

Neither have I. That’s the mystery!

But then how does anyone know that Perfidia existed?

Well, Mr. Beckstrom said, The original wooden globe, says it was made in Perfidia.

Just as Randy Boxer was walking down the hall, waiting to tackle Maggie, he began to hear a couple of voices, overhearing a few words from Mr. Beckstrom that sounded rather interesting,

Perfidia was not just a kingdom, according to myth; it was a whole world at one time. And like most ancient artifacts, this one was lost for centuries. This globe carried seven diamonds and granted the emperor of the world his innermost desires.

Wow! Sounds like a real treasure! replied Maggie.

It sure was, said Mr. Beckstrom.

What do you mean ‘was’? replied Maggie.

Perfidia was a very warm and flourishing world at one time, just like our planet, Earth. However, in time, massive comets and meteors invaded the planet and it’s North and South Pole shifted, leaving Perfidia with major natural disasters.

So how did Perfidia come to its final ruin?

No one knows. It could have been drought, tidal waves, volcanoes, or an ice age. Tell you what. I’ll let you borrow the globe, so you can ask your Dad several questions, and perhaps later, you can bring me new research.

Deal! Maggie exclaimed with excitement.

Randy was delighted with what he heard and with wicked calmness, left the side of the classroom door only to secretly promise Maggie that he would be waiting for her after school. The red brick classrooms had an eerie silence and the only echoes heard were the sound of teachers laughing in the distance. Aggressively covering both ears with his hands, Randy could only hear these voices getting louder and louder and couldn’t understand why his brain was resonating a horrid sound. He knew that globe was worth plenty of money and wanted it badly. He said to himself, I’m gonna sell it! The laughing will stop. The laughing has got to stop!

The afternoon sun never peaked over the distant clouds today and as always, every Friday, Maggie couldn’t wait to take her walk to the beach after school. Being a very studious and neglected girl, the ocean became her best friend, her only refuge. She made friends with the seagulls and hurled bread at their feet. She did her homework on the sand and took a nap until her father came from work to pick her up. Maggie had no mother in her life but she did remember her face, just slightly. That image kept her alive throughout hard and cruel times.

Randy watched Maggie and knew she wouldn’t be taking the bus home today. He knew every bit of her schedule but he himself had limits to his omnipresence. Randy spotted Jay Callous entering a car across the parking lot where many kids were picked up by their parents. He shouted,

Jay! Wait!

Yes… Randy.

I am sorry about this morning. I don’t know what came over me. Are we still friends?

Yea.

Great! Can your Mom take me home?

Jay asked his mother,

Hey, mom. Is it okay if we take Randy home?

Sure, honey.

Mom, Jay whispered, ‘don’t call me honey."

Sorry, uh…big man?

Jay Callous, in his normalcy, which shone virtually all the time, did not always appreciate his mother’s endearment. He came from the perfect, loving family. Many kids at school hated him because he was a nice, talented boy. Jay was the kind of boy parents would love to have as their own. He was often compared to when other kids fought with their parents. Parents would say, Why can’t you be more like Jay? He is sweet and plays the piano so beautifully. Why can’t you work hard and be good at something? This goodness made him unpopular with his classmates and this made Jay lonely most of the time. He desperately wanted a friend even if he got smacked around once in awhile.

As the vehicle drove on, Randy was thinking of a plan but he had to be patient. Maggie has to be alone. Maybe I can snatch it when she isn’t looking. He continued to think aloud to himself until Jay’s mother pressed on the brake pedal to drop him off.

Thank you, Mrs. Callous.

No problem, dear.

A pleasant warm freedom stirred his heart when he felt the word dear run swiftly through his soul. Her sweet, eloquent voice filled him with foreign wonder and he thought, I like Mrs. Callous. Jay and I should trade mothers.

Chapter II The Quarrel

Mist began to fall from the black, hideous sky as Randy stepped out of the vehicle. He headed down the paved entryway that carved into the faded yellow-green grass and weeds. As the mist turned to drizzle, he realized that Mrs. Callous was still waiting in her car and that the headlights were turned on, shining intensely, reflecting his shadow on the slim cement. Halting halfway through the entrance and the sounds of pitter-patter, Randy’s posture began to wilt as he turned around. A tight anxiety gripped his neck and with a cautious arm and hand, he waved good-bye to Mrs. Callous. The car left in slow motion. The rain, like the inevitable truth, wouldn’t stop. Randy picked up the back of his dark coat and lifted it over his head and walked slowly towards the tiny, gray house.

Meanwhile, Maggie was taking her stroll to Concave Beach with thoughts of the wooden globe. She couldn’t wait to analyze its markings and break it apart. However, putting it perfectly back together again would be a very difficult task to do and if Mr. Beckstrom were to find out that she disrespected his property, he would eliminate her from his list of favorites. Not cool, she thought. Maggie found a comfortable spot, inside a rocky cave near the tides. The splashes and salty air brought her comfort at the end of a fearful day. She nestled her blanket upon the cool, collected sand and heard the rambling rain against the crashing of the waves.

She whispered, Where is that globe? Ah…here it is, smiling with joy taking it out of her backpack beneath all her notebooks. Let’s see what’s on here, she whispered.

The globe was made of wood and had a crystal-like coating over it. With stellar workmanship, it had various shapes engraved in it. The sphere had a shimmering presence with a line in the middle that indicated an equator. The northern half of the equator appeared to be painted maroon and the southern half was painted blue. Land formations were carved into it but they had no connection to any land patterns of present day Earth. Maggie was trying to decipher the different shapes and compare them to a modern globe. However, to Maggie, it was quite a confusing device. There were holes on various spots and Maggie counted them all. There were seven. She remembered Mr. Beckstrom telling her that there were seven kingdoms that settled in Perfidia and that Perfidia was the whole world at one time. If that were true, Perfidia and Earth would have similar land formations, since they were the same planet with only different names. Maggie pondered, Unless Perfidia was a different planet. But then, how did it get here?

Maggie found a big hole at the bottom of the globe with the word P-E-R-F-I-D-I-A surrounding it. She carefully poked her finger into the crafted base. Maggie also shook the globe to see if any diamonds or gemstones would fall out. However, nothing rattled or descended.

Wishful thinking! She said aloud to herself.

As she handled the globe, a faint sound of small, tilting plates were moving back and forth inside. However, due to her exhaustion, Maggie didn’t notice the sounds. She just gave a big yawn, reclined and fell asleep upon her blanket.

Randy made it to the