Riskometer

IV

Ridge had just refused to go with Mavis and Faye to celebrate and was now storming off to his room. After much trouble in avoiding his clueless parents, he made it to the tramcar while staring at the blimps looming in the convivial air. The breeze coming from the blimps billowed out around his panting self and conflicted soul. His grip around his Sensing Snowglobe tightened like his jaw as he cradled it. The two pocketwatches drummed against his heaving chest, and he took it to be a sign to start storming off to his room in the Scapulars Wing.

The realization that he would live as an industrial machinery mechanic for the rest of his life was still gnawing at his mind. Every breath and step he took became more rapid. The words of the last verse in the song "Paint" echoed in his mind.

"I promise I will paint, a painting I'll never abandon..."

Ridge contemplated the last word. He remembered the Lema twins Ab and Und. He saw everyone, including his parents, but did not spot neither Ab nor Und. He figured out that they would separate for the first time in years, but no. They were gone. They were not there when he needed them most. It was a dire situation that needed two creepsters who owe him a lifetime by lending him four helping hands. He became more aghast to find out that the two were being detained by the governors. Since they were fighting over their Sensing Snowglobes being wholly different, the governors stepped in and imprisoned them. The Havenian governors were adding fuel to the fire that rekindled when Ridge was born a Havenian. Every single time.

The brown paisley mosaic and purple frames of the glass stained windows were a blur as Ridge stomped past them. His vision was more shrouded in fury. "No, not time for tearing." His chestnut hair aggressively flapped as he took to his heels.

Ridge was angry at himself for being such a fool. He was a fool for believing that he could have made a change in the stupid Sensing Snowglobe system. How of a fool did a Havenian have to be to believe that? He even went to lengths to manipulate Professor Yulek to alter his inevitable Sensing Snowglobe revelation. That was not even, that was odd. Odd for someone his caliber to do that. He should not let his hopes high next time and be blinded by his ambition. It was always true that over-ambition can be someone's downfall, let alone a setback.

Ridge slammed his side against the door to his room. In a lopsided stance, he rotated the sprocket shaped keyhole in a complex pattern before it clicked. He flung the door ajar and stood there in a crouched position. He just noticed how breathless all of that had left him. For the first time in years, Ridge looked around his room. He just noticed how messy it was with the gadgets conquering every spot on the floor. He just noticed how his bed was a typhoon. He just noticed how diagrams covered every surface of his brainstorming corner beside his L shaped desk. The chaotic tangle of wires and cables. The books on computer science strewn about. The crumbs of cashews on his L shaped desk, alongside the repertoire of devices created for the "Innovative Havenian Hero" invention...Ridge felt like his room had been plain, and all of those have been brought by a breeze coming from Nevah.

Ridge seethed out as he clutched his head, his eyes closing. "Forget about Nevah. While everyone is having a blast and rejoicing like mad hatters, you are complaining."

Ridge sighed in complete resignation. He realized he could not run his fingers through his hair as he has one occupied with his Sensing Snowglobe. With his eyes opening, he lowered the Sensing Snowglobe so that it was eye-level with him. It was to suffice to say that the clock tower basking in its own aura of excellence was revolting to him. If he was his naïve young self again, he would've admired it through the seemingly glistening sphere. But he was not his naïve young self anymore. He was the seventeen year old inventor Ridge, whose passion to unify Thear knows no bounds. But now, that passion was as dead as a dodo. His hand trembled as he ran his thumb over the sprockets on the stand. Gosh, how he hated how accurate it was to his liking.