Journey to the Heart of the Earth

6. Let's do this!

Quietly, I closed the door behind me so as not to wake up my mother. For the first time, I set off to school with joy. But not just any school, the Bernard Loxton School. In my head, it sounded very grand. I don't know if I'm more excited about the first classes or deciphering the map I found. Everything today seems so exciting. I immersed my face in the sunshine, took a deep breath, and smelled the mixed air with the stench coming from the nearby mine. But it doesn't matter. Nothing will ruin my day today. I started walking the familiar route with almost a dance-like step. I felt such an inner satisfaction passing the old school and continuing on. I left the sad building behind without even turning back.

"Gus, we need to talk," I said, not slowing my pace.

"Hey, buddy. Someone's in a good mood, huh?" Gus replied, walking next to me as if he had appeared out of nowhere.

"I hope no one sees me talking to myself, or they'll think I'm crazy."

"Why do you care about what people think? They have so much on their plate that they don't care at all."

"Actually, you're right. I don't know why I'm thinking so much about it."

"Did you want to ask me something? I'm all ears."

"Is the map real?"

"I have no idea. I know as much as I wrote in the book. For a while, I tried to find it myself, but without much success. I couldn't reach the First Brothers either. But maybe you'll be interested to know that many people have confirmed this story. I mean, they know it, but not its truth, so we can rule out the possibility that it's just the invention of a homeless person. If I can give you some advice," Gus continued after a moment of thought, "you have a great curiosity about the world, just like me. I would give a lot to find this map when I was alive. It's true that we don't know if it's real or not, but if you don't check, you won't find out."

"That's right! We have to...," and at that moment, Gus vanished into thin air as quickly as he appeared, "... found out."

I trudged my way to the library, grabbed the handle, and walked in. There was no one there, so I said cheerfully, "Goooood morning!" just as I would have said, "Hello, world!" at the top of a mountain.

"Hey, Enzo, I have a riddle for you," Lily suddenly jumped out from behind me. "Can you name five animals that lived in Africa?"

"Um, no. Can you?"

"Two monkeys and three elephants!" Lily's joke made her laugh uncontrollably. "Good one, right?"

"What?" I rubbed my head. "Terrible pun."

"Enzo, you know what? I think you forgot to take something from home."

"What?"

"A sense of humor!"

"HA! HA! HA! Side-splitting. Not funny at all!"

"I don't mean to interrupt, but please come upstairs if you're finished," we heard Mr. Loxton's voice coming from the mezzanine.

"We're coming, we're coming," we replied in unison with Lily, and we hurried up the stairs straight to the mezzanine, where our teacher was already waiting for us.

Opposite the desk where I presumed Lily and I would be seated, there stood a collapsible blackboard. Next to it, a small table bore a stack of textbooks. Hmm, what do we have here? I turned my head ninety degrees to read the titles on the spines more easily, and here they were: 'The Study of Space.' That could be interesting. 'Anatomy Basics.' That looks promising, too. 'Mathematics for Grade 8.' Oh no. I don't want to die of boredom on the first day. I have a fondness for mathematics, though I managed to solve 8th-grade problems when I was merely 9. I dare not confess such feat to mister Loxton, lest he deems me conceited or the like. He will surely notice that math is my superpower. I hope so. Moving on: 'Experiments,' 'Geography of the 21st Century,' 'How the Brain Works,' and 'Cultures and Religions of the World.' Today will be an interesting day.

Mr. Loxton wasted no time and quickly got down to business. However, four hours passed by in a flash. Today I learned that there is a black hole at the center of the Milky Way, it rains diamonds on Jupiter, and when I'm not sleeping, my brain generates about 25 watts of energy, which could light a bulb altogether.

"That's all for today. Thank you, and I hope I didn't bore you," he smiled.

"What are you talking about, Mr. Loxton! I could sit here for another four hours. That was amazing," I said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself because Grandpa might agree, and then we'll have to do you-know-what..." my friend whispered in my ear. "Thanks, Grandpa!"

After class, Lily and I returned to our work, specifically analyzing the map. It seemed that Mr. Loxton had gone for an afternoon nap, giving us the comfort of working freely without fear of getting caught and having to explain ourselves. We cleared the textbooks from the table and spread out the map there.

"Quite outdated, isn't it? There is a forest here and, look here," Lily pointed, "a river used to flow through this area."

"Your grandfather surely has an up-to-date map of the Republic somewhere. Let's just compare the two and make a new one with the changes marked," she said, nodding her head in agreement and retrieving a roll from the closet. Since there was no space on the table, she spread it out on the floor, and we started drawing the new map on a blank piece of paper.

It seemed that everything started from North Port. Originally, we would have had to sail from there, but it now appeared less complicated since there was no water, and we could simply walk on the dried-up riverbed. One less problem to worry about.

Next, the forest. The current map showed symbols of dead trees in this area. Everything matched up for now, but it seemed as though there was less life than before.

After that, a bridge. The Republic's map ended after the bridge. Perhaps there was a border there and nothing beyond it? Maybe it was impossible to cross to the other side? According to the original book map, the journey did not end there.

"Strange," I said. "Perhaps it's too risky to venture beyond the Republic's border."

"Enzo," Lily began, "risky is walking under a running excavator. Risky is also licking your finger and sticking it in an electrical socket. We will just go and see what's beyond and turn back if necessary. Aren't you curious?"

"I am. I'm terribly curious. Let's draw the missing part of the map according to the book. There's a large mountain beyond the bridge, but I think we can make it through. After that, we should come across a canyon, then a lake, and perhaps a waterfall, but it's difficult to tell from this map. And then we'll reach the entrance to the Heart of the Earth. But you know what? It looks like..."

"...a volcano," Lily finished my sentence.

"Is jumping into a crater already considered risky?"

"It depends on whether the volcano is active."

"Don't joke, Lily!"

"Okay, okay! Jumping into a crater does seem quite risky," she said. For the first time, I heard a hint of doubt in her voice, something I had not known in her before.

"In the worst case, we'll turn back, right?" I asked, more to reassure myself. Lily nodded in agreement. "So... we have the completed map."

"Great! When do we leave? I'm so excited!" Lily suddenly snapped out of her thoughts, imagining herself jumping into a volcano.

"I was thinking of Friday. We don't have classes because of the Rising Moon Festival. I could say that we're going together to the celebrations. I wouldn't have to rush because my mom has a night shift that day. You could tell your parents that you're staying over at your grandpa's. They probably won't check anyway."

"You know what my parents are like. If I'm gone for a week, they might call grandpa to ask if I'm here," she shrugged. Lily's parents were very liberal. I didn't know whether it was because they weren't interested in their daughter at all or they trusted her so much or maybe they wanted to think that way. I never met them, and I didn't want to pry. If Lily needed to talk about it, she would come to me on her own. That's just the way she is, and I love that nothing is forced in her. I never heard her talk about doing anything with her parents, that it was great, that her mom was her best friend. She never spoke about them as warmly as I do about my mom. But it's different with her grandpa. You can feel that he's a very important part of her life. Their bond is very strong."

"So, is it settled then?" I made sure.

"Yes. Until then, we go to classes as usual, and on Friday morning, we set out."