Paradise Pokeball System

PP SYS Ch 35: You Are All Mad

[Hassel is also one of the Elite four of this island, so he is more than he looks.]

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir," I said, and Hassel smiled and then ushered me into the room.

"No need for that, Landon! Just Hassel is fine," The teacher laughed, making the strange ponytail on the top of his head bounce around. "So, what kind of art are you interested in?" Hassel asked, and then grabbed my hands and rubbed them. "These hands seem tough but skilled! Maybe you would like to start working on a carving? That would keep you busy with it if you take your time for the next two weeks to a month! What do you say?"

"I guess I can try," I said, but I was worried. This seemed like a big project for my first attempt, and Hassel seemed to have a lot of faith in me.

[Believe in yourself. You can do anything that you put your mind to, and if you can't, I will help you find a way. I am here to help and guide you to the best of my ability without impeding your growth as a human to reach maturity.]

Cryo spoke up, and I was reminded of how much I had changed since he had come into my life. He was right; if I failed at this art project, then it wouldn't be the end of the world.

"Okay! Let's start with a small piece first," Hassel said before grabbing some supplies for me to use. "What do you think of this block of Marble?"

I nearly choked on my tongue as Hassel brought over a two-foot-wide pillar of white marble and set it on the big table in front of me. Trying to swallow my spit, I looked at the white pillar and wondered what I had just got myself into, and how he had just carried the thing over!

"What do you think?" Hassel asked, but then he grinned. "We have a buck of these, so just take your time, and go at it slowly. This button on the table turns on the overhead fan, and the other is for the vacuum. This other tray has the goggles and tools you will need. You might even just sit here for the rest of the class, just visualizing what you are going to do. No rush, my boy! Take your time!"

I nodded and looked at the three-foot-tall pillar; the real question was what I wanted to do with it. I took in a deep breath and really concentrated on the stone.

It was almost exactly two feet square, and after walking around the table, I was able to create a digital wireframe overlay with Cryo's help. Then I started to figure out what I wanted to make, and first, I thought of Lumi, my Cosmog, but she was a bit too provocative, and so was Nurse Joy. That left me with one other person that I was familiar with; even if she didn't really like me right now, I knew she could see out.

I really should be out catching more Pokémon and completing Quests, but I would start tomorrow. No matter what, I was going to find a way to get through to Lusamine. She had been on a path to ruin, according to Cryo, but I knew there was a good person in there somewhere. I think her intentions of wanting to help Pokémon are real, but there was a lot more to her than just that.

I grabbed my goggles and started to chip after I had analyzed the stone, and placed my string model in a place that had no chance of imperfections or hairline cracks that could cause it to crack; then I started to work. First, I flipped on my fan and then took out the major sections, using AI to decide where the next strike would be. The next step after the large sections had been removed was chipping down to get the structure of the statue.

Once that was done, a heavy grain sandpaper was used with the vacuum to smooth it all out before going to the details. I became a blur as I worked, and the hour flew by quickly.

"Oh, ho! Amazing work, Landon!" Hassel said with a clap of his hands as he walked around the table to look at my work. My piece was a rough bust of Lusamine, but it looked impressive, considering how little time I had spent on it.

I smiled in pride as Hassel praised me for my hard work before sending us off for lunch break, and when we started to leave. Everyone else followed him out in awe of what I had done with such little time, but I felt like I should have been able to complete that. With my AI, I spent too much time doubting that I could do something rather than just trying to do it. This was something that I was going to have to work on in the future if I wanted to be more successful.

[The work that you have done so far is very good, but you should hurry up and head for lunch. I expect that the teachers will want you to sit at their table.]

"Thanks, Cryo," I said, and then grabbed my supplies before heading to the cafeteria. I was a bit surprised when Hassel asked me to sit at their table, but everyone seemed happy enough that I was there.

"So! You are the magnificent child that fell from the sky and now has Hassel nearly in tears?!" Asked a big man with suspender jean shorts, a pink and white striped button-up shirt, a big mustache and slicked back black hair, and a single lock hanging down the front.

"Uh.." I started to say, but Jacq spoke up.

"Yes! This is Landon! You are going to like him! I think that you have him after Hassel, right Saguaro?" Jacq and the big man nodded.

"Yes, I am very interested in what you can create! So much that I prepare you one of my own specialty dishes to see what you think!" Saguaro declared, and Geeta, at the head of the table, laughed gently. Something about the woman seemed calm, but at the same time, she seemed deadly, like a viper.

"You never seem this excited, Saguaro. Has this child really stirred your spirit?" Geeta asked with a soft giggle.

"Hassel can attest, and we will not be the only ones! I think this man was sent here to stir all of our passions!" Saguaro said, but a woman with glasses and purple hair in a high ponytail clicked her tongue.

"So what, he can carve some rock, and he has weird Pokémon? Come from somewhere else? And we just trust him? You all are mad, and he is probably just trying to wrap us all around his finger!" The woman said as she gave me a sideways look.