Term+2+-+2012-2013+Story

=__ Life Underneath __=


 * Part 1: written by Mrs. Crozier’s class - Watson Elementary **

My name is Eli Mason and I’m 14 years old. This is the story of how I was framed for shoplifting at an Esso Station. This is a cautionary tale about how I got caught with the wrong crowd.

I was staring out the foggy window of my sister’s New York apartment wishing I was back in Lynden, Washington. My mind was full, so I slipped a piece of paper out of my Art binder, and started drawing images of my old home. Everything was silent, until there was a knock at the door.

“Eli, it’s your sister. Open up!”

As I slowly turned the squeaky doorknob, my big sister dashed through the door, and gave me a squeeze.

“Happy 14th birthday, Eli!” my big sister shouted. “Are you excited to start Grade 9 at NY Junior High tomorrow?”

I could only answer with a grunt, as I threw myself back on the bed and continued to draw – my only outlet to keep me happy.

My sister is wonderful and I care about her a lot, but she is much older than I am. It’s sometimes hard to believe she’s my sister. After all, she has blond hair and blue eyes, which are opposite to my black hair and green eyes. She is currently attending Law School at N.Y.U. I came to live with her after my parent’s tragic accident. Until a few weeks ago I was living a ‘normal’ life in the small town of Lynden, Washington.

My sister pulled the picture from my binder and studied it, “You miss home don’t you?”

This question seemed to have an obvious answer, but I did not want to argue. “A perfect birthday present would be for me to fit into my new school. That’s all I want” I sighed, and took back my drawing.

The next day, which would be the day where it all began, came way too soon.

“Eli, come on! You’re going to be late for your first day at NY Junior High!” I faintly overheard my sister shouting and opened my eyes. I glanced out of the old, creaky window in my room, only to see the yellow school bus pulling away. I scrambled to my feet, picked up my bag, and dashed out the front door. By the time I got to the bus stop, the bus was long gone. I plopped myself onto the bench nearby and thought deeply about what to do next. As I thought about what to do next, I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked behind me to see three scruffy boys about my age curiously staring down at me. A few seconds later, one of them spoke to me.

“Hey I have never seen you around here before. You must be new. I’m Leon and these are my friends.” His hand pointed to the two boys standing next to him.

I managed to mumble, “I’m Eli Mason. Nice you meet you. Do you know how to get to NY Junior High?” Leon turned away for a couple of seconds and started to whisper to his friends. During those few seconds, I was so nervous that I felt as if I had swallowed a frog. Leon turned back to me and replied, “Sure we do. We go to that school too. We will take you there, but first let us buy you something to eat from the Esso station.”

Leon motioned me to follow, so I grabbed my bag and ran to catch up with him. When we got to the station, Leon and his friends started grabbing as much merchandise on the shelves as their hands could carry. I asked them how they were going to pay for all of the items, but they did not reply. I started to get suspicious, so I slowly started to back away to the nearest exit. Next thing I knew, they were sprinting out the door, still holding the items. I was left there in shock, not able to move, and not knowing what to do next. The store clerk grabbed me by my shirt collar and that’s when it all began…


 * Part 2: written by Mrs. Bartel’s grade ⅘ class - Cheam Elementary **

I was unable to speak and shaking with shock.

“Where did you hide them?!” he growled under his breath, looking at me with an evil glare, his face reddening like an angry cherry. His bushy moustache twitching like a bunnies nose. “I know what to do with dirty little scoundrel boys like you.”

“W-W-What?” I managed to stutter. Squirming, I tried to free myself from his grasp; but he only tightened his grip on my shirt collar.

“Listen you, you should know better than to shoplift. Little boys like you need to learn a lesson. Now a days, your parents and teachers don’t know how to punish kids like we used to.” He threatened with a sinister smirk on his face.

Just the look of his scruffy mustache gave me the shivers. The store clerk started to drag me across the room. As I tried to look for something to grab onto to help me get some leverage, I saw through the open shop door, Leon and his two friends pointing at me with hysterical looks on their faces. Then Leon shouted out “THAT’S FOR TAKING MY BENCH DUDE!” I was in awe to hear that this was all about a ridiculous bench.

The store clerk was mumbling under his breath; But I couldn't understand a word he was saying. It appeared as if we were heading towards a large oak door down a dark hall. He reached for the rusty doorknob and opened it extremely slowly. I heard him laugh quietly to himself as he shoved me into the gloomy, pitch-black stairwell. “You’ll get what you deserve! Don’t touch anything!” he growled, slamming the door behind him. I heard the jingling keys as they were drawn out of his jacket pockets and slid into the keyhole to lock the door.

Petrified, I stepped down the squeaking stairs, feeling the wall as a guide. My hand rubbed over a smooth surface with a knob sticking out of it. I ran my hand over it and as it flipped up, my eyes were filled with a burning sensation as the whole room exploded with light. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I looked around the room that was cluttered with shelves and cardboard boxes. The walls were dripping with water and it was all collecting in a puddle right in front of me.

Timidly, I opened the box that was right next to me. I jumped a foot high when I saw a box full of small bushy tails. I stared in horror, but as I looked closer, I realized it was a box full of fake, scruffy mustaches; identical to the one the store clerk was wearing. I reached in to grab one. As I pulled it out, a shiny object caught my attention. I pushed the mustaches aside and reached in and pulled out an old bent key.

“What could this be for?” I wondered aloud. “Maybe this is the key to the cellar door.”

I got up to go try it in the door, when I suddenly tripped over a box, face-planting into a set of shelves. They tumbled on top of me, cans and boxes scattering everywhere. I made a mental note to save the cans of Campbell’s Chunky Soup for later. A powerful jolt of pain seared through my ankle. I pushed the shelves away and pulled myself up. I heard some loud cursing upstairs followed by loud thunderous footsteps coming towards the cellar door. Startled, I slipped the key into my pocket just as the cellar door swung open. “What was that noise?” he snapped.

“I-I-I just tripped over a box,” I stuttered.

“I said, don’t touch anything!! Make sure you clean that up!” He slammed the door shut.

I started to pick up the cans and boxes, and reorganize the shelves, when I noticed something that I hadn't seen before. A small round door, about the size of a large dog house. Looking closer at the handle, I saw a little keyhole. That reminded me of the key in my pocket, so I tried to unlock the door. Nervously, I realized that the key worked! I felt tense as I hesitantly opened the door. I couldn't believe my eyes....

Part 3 Written by Greendale Elementary Grade 5/6 Class

As I peered through the open door, the bent key still in the keyhole, I saw to my amazement a chubby little man in the distance. He was dressed in scruffy work clothes and was holding a primitive lamp, which lit up the dark hallway. He motioned with his stubby hands to come down and meet him. I decided to go, as anything would be better than being trapped in the storage room. I grabbed my backpack and headed down, using the mustachioed man's lamp to guide me. The dark hallway led into a large, open room with some simple furnishings. It smelled strongly like the gas pumps on the surface.

When I reached the small man with the lamp he stuck out his free hand to shake mine. "Hi I'm Gary. Did the big guy with a mustache, Mr. O'Black, kidnap you as well?"

I was still in a state of shock and had so many questions. "Uh uh yeah, but it was a gang led by a mean boy named Leon who was the one that framed me. My name is Eli. How did you get down here? What is this place? I'm so confused."

The small man put down his lamp and twirled his grey mustache, which looked very similar the one belonging to the burly man up in the gas station. "Mr. O'Black is the fellow up there. Leon is his son, and they work together to frame and kidnap young boys to work in the gas mine down here. I was forced down here as well. I am the real owner of the gas station, and was sent down here to manage the slaves."

"Slaves? What do you mean slaves? Where are they? What are they doing? Are you working with Mr. O'Black as well?" At this point, my stomach was doing somersaults in my throat. All I wanted to do was to go back to my sister's apartment.

Gary called me over to a small, white table and pulled out a chair for me to get off my feet, as he could see I was overcome by this startling news. "I'll spare you all the details, but let's just say I don't get along with my brother Ronald."

"Ronald? You mean Mr. O'Black, the guy that kidnapped me?" I was trying hard to put the pieces together.

Gary replied, "Yes, and I was forced down here to look after the other children and teenagers. You see, we are in a mine, and we extract gas which is sent by pipes up to the gas station. Nobody knows about the operation but my brother Ronald, my nephew Leon, and I. We had a disagreement, and he took over the gas station and forced me down here. Nobody has figured out how to escape from here. I'm quite miserable, actually."

Gary motioned me to get up. "Let's go get your uniform, gas mask, and gloves, Eli. We have an opening for you in Section Five."

Eli stood up, and stared at Gary for a moment. He asked, "Why do you let your brother boss you around here?"

Gary replied, "I have no choice. He controls everything. There are cameras everywhere. If the slaves do not work, or I do not get them to produce enough gas, he cuts off our food supplies, which are mostly the expired sandwiches, fruit and hot dogs sold in the gas station.

"Let's head over to Section Five now."

Gary and I strode towards the noise and bustle of the rooms below. The smell of gas became overpowering, so we both put on our masks. It was getting hotter as we descended into a giant, open room with pipes and valves everywhere. I could see young, pale-faced boys no older than me, shiny with sweat and dirt, shovelling rock. Others were adjusting levers and pumps. Nobody looked happy.

"This is Section Four. You will be working in the next level down. Probably helping make a new tunnel by breaking through the rock with a pick-ax." Gary didn't seem as friendly now as he did before.

As I slumped in defeat at what I had to do, I shared a glance with another slave my age. He had dark, droopy rings around his eyes and torn-up hands and fingers. His eyes were sorrowful and he looked like he had forgotten how to smile. I knew at that very second that I needed to do something, anything, to get us all out of this place, and out of the hands of the evil O'Blacks.

Just then the familiar voice of Ronald O'Black bellowed over the speaker, "Start working harder, young slaves, or no dinner for you!"

Part 4 - Mr. Lister’s Grade ⅚ class at Central Elementary

I heard several of the slaves groan loudly, “Aww... but I wanted brussel sprouts for dinner.”

“We better get back to work” said one.

“There’s got to be a way out of this place!” said another.

The one I locked eyes with earlier, the one with torn up hands, looked dead inside. I lumbered over to another station close to the small door I entered through with Gary and reluctantly grabbed a new pickaxe. At that moment, I felt desperate and hopeless.Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I recognized my sister’s bright blue eyes shining at me through the darkness.

"Sam?" I said in a confused voice.

“Eli?” Sam replied in curious whisper. “What are you doing here?”

"I was on the way to NY Junior High and was met by a couple of teenagers. They framed me for shoplifting, and I was kidnapped."

“Oh my goodness that’s terrible!” my sister gasped.

"How did you get here, Sam? Did the evil O’Blacks kidnap you as well?" I asked her in curiosity.

“O’Blacks? No, I stopped at the Esso station to grab a sandwich and a slushy because I forgot my lunch. I headed to the bathroom but I mistook the storeroom door for the washroom. When I realized my mistake I was already in the middle of the storeroom. Then I heard the sound of heavy machinery echoing from a the corner of the room. I saw a small, round, door which looked like a large dog house. It was ajar and I entered. I was about to turn back when I found you.” she retold.

I was about to leave with my sister but I heard angry footsteps coming towards me. “GET BACK TO WORK ELI!” Gary barked.

I reluctantly slogged over to section 5 to get back to work.

Every now and then, I looked over my shoulder to check and see my sister was still lurking in the shadows.

My mining partners and I were working around the gas pipeline that led up to the gas station. I was wondering how to escape, and a brilliant idea struck me. Hey guys, I have a plan to get out of here, I told them with excitement.

“What is it? What is it?” They asked with enthusiasm.

Okay. It will be extremely dangerous. Are you ready to escape? I was hoping to pump them up because I knew it would be incredibly dangerous, and we might not get out alive.

“Yes, we are. We Are!” they fist-pumped with excitement.

"Well, in order to get out I think we need to ‘accidently’ hit the pipeline to cause an explosion to travel up the pipe to the station above. When the explosion occurs, the police and ambulances will be directed to respond and we will get our revenge on evil O’Blacks. He’ll get arrested, and we can all go home!" I panted with excitement.

“Psst...boys! Pass it on. We’re getting out today!” I heard the slaves whisper between stations.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Sam whispered to me after tiptoeing out of the shadows.

"We need someone to distract Gary, so we can initiate our plan. Can you help?" I replied.

“Who’s Gary?” my sister responded, with a quizzical look on her face.

I looked over my should to check we were alone before replying, "Gary is that short guy over there and you need to keep him away from this section so we can work on getting out of here."

“Got it!” she nodded.

My sister dashed over to the shadows.

In order for this to work I needed to figure out a way to protect everyone from the blast. I watched an episode of Mythbusters about bomb radius's, and I knew if this was going to work I needed to hide behind something robust. In the far corner of Section 5, we encountered a colossal reinforced steel gear. The gear looked like it was used to turn smaller gears connected to a large pumping station designed to lift the gas to the surface, and was the size of elephant. It looked like the perfect place to shield us from the blast. I informed the rest of the slaves we would need to rendezvous behind the large gear when we activated our escape plan.

As I watched my sister walk stealthily into the shadows, I moved toward the main gas pipeline connected to the gas pumps on the surface, and tapped the pipe with my pick-ax to cause a small puncture. The escaping gas formed a trail that was ready to be ignited. I grabbed two pieces of flint and rubbed them together to create a spark to ignite the gas. Then I sprinted towards the reinforced steel gear to protect myself from the blast. I felt the little pieces of the pipe hit me as the pipe exploded.

After the explosion we could barely see anything because of the smoke, but as the smoke began to slowly clear we realized that our plan had worked. There was a humongous gaping hole in the ceiling. I directed one of the slaves to grab a ladder and we all climbed out to our freedom at last.

“That was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I’m amazed we got out alive!” my sister proclaimed.

At this point I could clearly see she was concerned for me.

“I’m going to take you home now. You’ve been through a lot today; we can call the police from there.” She said.

We were about to walk home, since my sister’s apartment was only a few blocks away, when we both heard an authoritative voice calling our way.

“Hey! Stop! You two come over here,” a policeman ordered us.

My sister and I thought we were getting arrested.

“Do you know anything about this explosion?” the policeman asked with inquisitiveness.

"Yyeees. I do," I stammered. "I caused the explosion to rescue us from evil O’Blacks."

"The scruffy guy in there is Mr. O’Black. He kidnaps young boys and forces them to work for him, for his own profit." I told the policeman while shaking uncontrollably.

“Hey, is that O’Black? the officer pointed toward the charred remains of the Esso station.

“That’s Ronald O’Black? He’s a wanted criminal! We’ve been looking for him for years,” continued the officer.

The officer ran over to Mr. O’Black, pulled out his handcuffs. At the same moment he placed the cuffs on his wrist he announced, “Ronald O’Black you are under arrest for the kidnapping of boys and forcing them into slave labour under Esso station. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you.”

“I hate this cold dark world.” I heard Mr. O’Black mutter as the officer carefully placed him in his patrol car.

I noticed from the corner of my eye that another officer already had Leon in handcuffs and was bringing him toward us. The officers placed them both in the car in front of me. I took a moment to look at the O’Blacks one more time, the noise of the ambulance sirens distracted me for a moment but I quickly looked back toward the police car, and when I took a second look Mr. O’Black and Leon had disappeared...