The Universe of Music - restorationx

Chapter 3: The Search For Freedom

Theodore Wilson & Thomas Wilson (By Mimi Kho)

'Have you read this book before?' She handed them the autobiography of Damon Leslie.
They both gasped in disbelief.
'How'd you find that?!' Theodore asked her.
'I found it at the back of the library, of course,' She replied.
'So that was the book!' They both exclaimed, happily. They immediately snatched the book from Ms. Lily and flipped the pages vigorously.
'Ms. Lily! You did it!' Thomas said to her.
'Did what?'
'You found the missing puzzle piece. The key to our escape! You found the book!'
'Wait..you were planning to escape already?' Fran asked them.
'Yes! This book is just what we needed. We have the missing torn pages! For years, we've been trying to finish the sentences from these torn pages, and now that we've found the source of it, we can finally figure out how to escape!' Theodore told them.
'All we need to do now is connect the torn pages to the book and then we're free,' Thomas said, scavenging for the torn pages.
'Oh no. Theodore.'
'Uh huh?'
'We lost the torn pages,' Thomas said in sorrow.
'Are you kidding me, Thomas? We were this close to finally getting freedom and just now you tell me we lost the freaking pages? Really?'
'This isn't a joke, Theodore. We really lost them,' He replied, rummaging through the room.
Theodore sighed and turned to Ms. Lily and Fran. 'Guess we're not getting out after all. Until we find those pages, we'll keep practising. Thank you for your help, you two.'
Theodore led them out and closed the door behind him. From the door, they could hear him and Thomas arguing.
'Thomas! There's no point finding it now. Start practising!'
'No, Theodore! You don't understand. We're too close to give up!'
'We can still try to get admission into the semester test and pass it! There's more than one way!'
'So?! This is faster! Come help me find it!'
'You can go find it all you want, but trust me, it's hopeless! I'll go practise so I can actually get into the semester test,'
Nothing else could be heard except for shuffling papers and piano keys.

'Do you think we should help them?' Fran asked Ms. Lily.
'We should. We have to help both of them, though. We need Theo to pass the entrance exam and Thomas to find the torn pages. I think we'll split up to help them,' Ms. Lily said.
'You're right. I'll help Theo, while you help Thomas.'
'Alright. Let's go meet up with them again.'
They went back to Theodore and Thomas to go help them.
After a while, Theo managed to play the exam pieces beautifully with a little help from Fran's experience with notes, while Thomas got a little closer to finding the valuable pages of the autobiography.
After many hopeless attempts, Ms. Lily and Thomas decided to ask around for help from the instruments. First, they went to Storytelling Club, to make an announcement to everyone.
'Attention, STC!' Everyone turned to look at Thomas.
'We are missing a few pages from this book over here,' He showed the book to everyone.
'If you find any pages from the book, please call me or Ms. Lily immediately. It's very important that we get these pages.' Everyone nodded and continued what they were doing. Some even started to get up to look for the pages.
Meanwhile, Theodore and Fran were still practising hard.

At dinner, the twins, Ms. Lily and Fran sat together to discuss their progress.
'How are you guys doing?' Fran asked Ms. Lily and Thomas. Thomas was still glaring angrily and Theodore.
'We're doing fine. We made an announcement to the Storytelling Club and also asked a few other clubs to help as well,' Ms. Lily replied.
'Good for you. Fran and I are doing fine too. We managed to get the hang of both of our exam pieces. I think we're ready for the entrance test.'
'Well, I think we're doing better,' Thomas scoffed.
Theodore gave a long, deep breath. 'Thomas, I'm sorry. We each have our own ways to solve our problems. I thought that mine was better, but it turns out both solutions are effective.'
'Actually, I'm sorry. I don't know why I was still mad. I guess I was just being proud as always,' thomas apologised.
'It's fine. I don't mind your persona at all. I think we should just keep trying our own solutions and whoever is most successful can persuade the other to use the same solution. I just want to get out of here, and I know you want that too, Tom,' He said.
While they were still talking, a harp came up to them, specifically to Ms. Lily.
'Lily! I found out where the pages are!' They exclaimed.
Ms. Lily gasped. 'Really? Where are they?'
'They were taken by a girl named Shayla and her pet dog, Lofty.'
Thomas' face lit up. 'Shayla? The girl from Jo-High?'
'Apparently so. I don't know where she is though. You'll have to find her yourselves. I hope that information helped though,' They said.
'It definitely did,' Ms. Lily said, while getting up from her seat. 'thank you. We'll go find Shayla now.'
'Wait, now-' Fran got pulled by Theodore and Thomas followed behind Ms. Lily. They trekked along the endless hallways to Shayla's room.
They opened the door and scanned the room.
'Shayla? Are you there?' Thomas asked. No one answered.
  'Guess she isn't here,' Theodore chimed. He signalled the group to follow him to the club Shayla joined.
When they reached History Club, most of the members looked at them. They were having a presentation on the History Of Music, and they did not like being disturbed.
'Get out!' Someone screamed.
'Wait. Is Shayla here?' Fran questioned.
'No. I haven't seen her for a long time,' A guitar that was presenting blurted.
'Oh, let's go then.' They went away to search for Shayla again.
The group checked almost every room, even the History Club's room again, to see if Shayla went there. Unfortunately, they could not find a single hint of Shayla. With no other choice, they decided to go search her room again, but thoroughly.
While checking the far corner of the room, Fran stumbled upon a trap door. She opened it slowly and peeked inside. There, was Shayla, drawing on a blueprint. She immediately spotted Fran.
'Friends? In my planning room?' She asked. Everyone heard her voice and came over to Fran's position.
'Shayla? What are you doing?' Theodore asked her.
'Just planning an escape from the place. I hate it here. Well-I'm not saying it's like a hellhole, but I hate spending time here. I'd rather be with my family.'
Suddenly, a dog jumped up from the trapdoor and licked Fran frantically.
'She likes you,' Shayla told Fran. Fran petted the dog and hugged her.
'Shayla, I think you have something that belongs to us,' Ms. Lily said.
'Really? What?' She quizzed.
'A thin stack of torn pages from a book. Someone told us you had it,' Fran retaliated.
'You mean like this?' She held up a small stack of book pages.
'Yes, exactly like that!' Theodore exclaimed. 'Can you maybe give it to us? We want to escape too.'
'You can help me plan, y'know. Everyone, come on down here and plan with me,'
Everyone jumped down into the room.
'What do you know about escaping, Shayla?' Thomas asked.
'Well, we can only escape at a specific time. Midnight. At midnight, portal will open at the farthest hall. When we enter that portal, we will be back at our original locations. I guess we will never cross paths after that, ever, but it's the only way,' She explained.
'I just met my aunt and you're telling me I have to leave her again?' Fran said.
'It's okay, Fran.' She reassured. 'We'll meet again. Do you still live in Mother's house?'
'If you mean my grandmother, then yes.'
'Then, I promise you. We'll meet again.' She did a pinky promise with Fran and smiled hopefully.
'Anyways,' Shayla continued. 'we need someone to distract the guards guarding the door. So, Lofty will be the one distracting them. In a specific order, we will all go through the portal and be free. However, the last person needs to urge Lofty to jump in before the guards lock Lofty in forever. We have to be quick, because we only have a minute to execute the plan, and we only have one chance.'
'I think I understand,' Thomas added.
'Good. Now, if Lofty isn't a good enough distraction. We need another distraction. Someone who can play like a siren, to make the guards forget about their job. Who has an instrument that can play lullabies?'
Ms. Lily raised her hand. 'I do. I play the harp. I can play some good lullabies that'll make them fall asleep.'
'Even better. So, while these two are distracting them, we sneak into the portal. Got it?'
'Got it.' Everyone except Shayla said.
'Wait,' Theodore interrupted. 'I wouldn't want all Fran and I's practice to go to waste. Can we at least try the entrance exam first? If we actually pass, I think we'll have a chance to pass the semester's test, too. Then we'll be able to get out using that way,'
'Sure. We'll do the plan after semester's test. Ti be honest, I don't even want to bother trying to get admission. It just seems ridiculous, in my opinion,' Shayla told them.
'I can agree with you. It's just not fair,' Ms. Lily agreed.
'No, it isn't. That's why I want to change to system,' Fran said.
'Fran?' Ms. Lily called.
'Well, Aunt Lily, after some time of thinking, I feel that the system is indeed unfair. I want to make them change it. We could create a petition,' Fran recommended.
'I think Fran's right. The system is rigged. We should try and do the noble thing,' Theodore replied.
'We'll have three solutions, then. First option, we escape secretly. Second option, we pass the semester's test. Third option, we change the system entirely and release everyone from the treachery,' Thomas summarised.
'Correct. We will each work on our solutions separately. Shayla and Thomas, search for the perfect time to execute the first option. Theodore, keep practising, you can do it. Ms. Lily and I will attempt to change the system. We'll make it work,' Fran explained.
'Great idea. Let's get working, then.'

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