Chapter Nine – The Beehive

Dana and Jeremy continued to have conversation while they walked. Dana was not pay attention to the passing animals and people that were giving her strange looks. While Jeremy was small his company greatly reassures Dana that she was going the right direction. Jeremy studied the map while Dana walked. "This map is so flimsy. I feel like it would break it apart if I sneezed."

"Yeah, well don't. We need that map to get downtown. And we are almost there."

Jeremy looked at the map again and asked, "Where exactly are we on this map?"

"Umm, well Charles said we have to travel west from here. So, we are currently east on the map."

"Yes, but where are WE on the map?"

But Dana did not answer him she was distracted. Up ahead there was a strange sound. A loud buzzing. Dana strained her head around the trees to see what it was. Up ahead there was a large structure. Dana asked, "Jeremy, what is that?"

Jeremy looked at the structure and adjusted his hat to cover his mouth, "That is the Beehive. Let's avoid that place."

"A beehive?" Dana looked at the structure up ahead. It was a massive structure. Completely round and at least 6 or 7 stories tall. A steady stream of honey dripping down the side and into the river. Dana stopped walking but was too intrigued not to ask questions. She said, "Jeremy, you are the worldly, knowledgeable, Wizard here. Tell me more about this Beehive?"

"It is pretty straight forward, what do you want to know?"

"Well, everything! Fill me in."

Jeremy cleared his throat like he was preparing for a tour guide speech, "As you can see on the left, we have the local Beehive. It is a place for magic school dropouts. Let me ask you something, if you could choose between being a Wizard and being anything else, what would you choose?"

"Umm…"

"Exactly," Jeremy cut her off, "Everyone would rather be a Wizard. Make the magic work for you rather than slaving away doing everything by hand. However, not everyone is destined to be a Wizard. You must have magic in family history and in your blood. You must have talent, dedication, and you should probably know how to read. Believe me, not everyone has those traits. A lot of people think they do, but not everyone has the ability to use magic, Dana. Those of who can't make the cut or fail out of magic school and are sent here." Jeremy points at the beehive as he takes off his hat and covers his heart.

Dana looked at the huge structure. Despite Jeremy telling her to avoid it, Dana started walking toward it again. Near the front there were a lot of bees coming and going. It was a very busy place. She looked at Jeremy and said, "That is a lot of dropouts."

"Yes indeed, what they lack in power they make up in numbers. You might find this hard to believe but these mindless bees are the magic schools direct competition."

"How do bees compete with magic?"

Jeremy waved his hands and said, "They can't. Not really. Magic is superior in every way. However, sheer numbers and a high level of organization is second best to the magical arts. That is why all the dropouts flock to this place. It is better to be failures together, than be failures apart."

Dana looked around the front of the hive. She continued to walk until she was directly across the river from the hive. She looked at Jeremy and said, "I have an idea." Then she crossed the river toward the beehive.

Jeremy protested, "Whatever this idea is, it is clearly a bad one. You don't want to get involved with these failures."

Dana did not answer him, she walked around the open area in front of the beehive. So many bees there all coming and going. One bee was sitting at a table with a big sign on it. Dana walked over to see it better, it read, "College Club Sign up Here". Dana's eyes lit up. She reached in her pocket and pulled out the map. Charles had written "college" on the map. Right next to "4 miles". She showed it to Jeremy and said, "We are almost there, see?"

Jeremy looked at the napkin. "I don't get it. What does this mean?"

Dana asked, "This place is called a college, right?"

"Some people would call it that." Jeremy answered.

Dana pointed at the map, "Charles wrote that once we find the college the Courthouse is only 4 miles away!" Dana cheered for joy and grabbed Jeremy to give him a big hug. Jeremy was not as excited. Jeremy actually looked almost defeated.

Jeremy climbed out of Dana's arms and back up to her shoulder. Then he said, "So let me get this straight. We have been walking for half a day to get to this place. Let's just say we have been walking all day and we have only gone 1 mile. Let's go crazy on this and say we walked 2 miles today. You are excited that we are 4 miles away. Which means we have only 2 more days of travel left to get to the courthouse? Have you lost your mind?"

"No." Dana said. She didn't really do the math on how far away the Courthouse was. Now that Jeremy has explained it, she realized how far away it really was. Dana and Jeremy stood in silence for a moment. Then Dana asked, "How are we going to get there today?"

Jeremy scratched his head. Then he said, "Now that I know where we are… Let me take a look at the map." Dana handed it to him. He studied the map for a bit then said, "Let's go." Dana looked at Jeremy with confusion. Jeremy continued, "We have a long way to go. Hanging out with these bees won't get us any closer. I will think of something on the way."

Dana nodded and said, "Maybe, but I had an idea."

"Look at you with the big brain ideas, okay. Do tell, I am all ears. What is your idea?"

"Everyone here is coming from somewhere. Or going somewhere. Maybe there is one that can take us downtown."

Jeremy shook his head, "No. I doubt it will work. You are talking about a bunch of magic school dropouts! They aren't going to help us. And by the time you find one that does want to help us, it will be too late to get to the courthouse. Let's just walk."

Dana did not listen to him. She walked around looking for a bee that could help. After several minutes the bees started to clear out. The open courtyard started to look emptier. Dana looked to Jeremy and asked, "What should I do?"

"Besides give up? How about how about looking for a bee… with keys." Jeremy pointed to one of the bees that was coming out of the hive. "You see that one, he probably has a method of travel. Some fly, some walk, and SOME of them have flowers and other things that they drive." Jeremy pointed to a different bee that climbed into a honeycomb with wheels. With a roar of the engine the honeycomb drove off. Jeremy asked, "You have the cash, right?"

Dana pulled the wad of dollar bills from her pocket and said, "Yes I do."

Jeremy smile and said, "This is what you do, walk up to a poor starving bee and offer them money for a ride to the courthouse. They win, we win. Everybody is happy. Now you have a plan, make it happen."

Dana nodded. She walked over to the first bee she could find and tried to get his attention. But he was talking to someone and ignored her completely. Soon enough another bee came walking by. Dressed in nice cloths, very pretty female bee. Dana waved at her to get her attention, "Excuse me! Can you drive us to the courthouse?" The bee did not say anything back, she just kept walking.

Of course, Jeremy had to say something, "Look at her Dana, just think if you fail hard enough… you can be just like her."

"No thanks," Dana scoffed, "That was a rude one." Soon enough a third bee came walking by. This one was clearly a male worker bee. Dana once again waved her hands to get his attention, "Excuse me! Can you drive us to the courthouse?"

The bee slowed down only for a second to looked at her, "Are you lost kid? Or are you here for classes?" The bee laughed as he walked away.

As the bee walked away Jeremy shout at him, "This is what happens when you flunk out of Magic school. You become a jerk!"

Yet another bee walked by this one has keys in his hands! Dana stopped him and said, "Excuse me, would you be interested in going to the courthouse."

The bee stopped and said, "Not really, I am in a hurry."

Dana held up the wad of cash for him to see. "Oh really, how about if I pay you?"

The bee reached down and took the money from Dana. He quickly counted it and said, "You think 6 bucks is going to cover a ride downtown? My tank cost $40 to fill up." The bee handed the money back to Dana and walked away.

This was the way it went for a while. For at least 30 minutes Dana attempted to talk to several more bees as they were coming and going, but none of them were interested in helping her. Eventually the beehive courtyard was empty. Dana sat down on a bench to think. Even Jeremy was confused. "These bees aren't even slightly interested in helping a kid out or make a few dollars? What is wrong with this place?"

Dana put her hands on her face and said, "This has to work Jeremy. I have to see the Judge today. If we don't then we will be sleeping outside. It gets cold in the jungle."

Before Jeremy could answer he saw someone approaching. He pulled Dana's hair to get her attention, "On your right, Dog approaching. Big one too." Dana's heart skipped a beat as she looked to her right. There was a Pitbull walking her way. He looked angry. Dana thought about running but she knew how fast dogs can run.

When the Pitbull was close enough it said, "Campus security, can I help you?"

Dana wasn't sure what to say. She just said, "Umm, no."

"Where are your parents, kid?" the Pitbull questioned further, "Are they inside?" Dana did not respond to his questions this time hoping that he would go away. But he did not, he asked, "Are you waiting for a parent or guardian to come outside?"

Dana finally said, "I'm good. How are you?"

The Pitbull looked at her with confusion then grabbed a dog bone on his shoulder and spoke into it, "Central this is Officer Parker, we have a 10-66 on the front steps, please advise. Over." This dog bone made a strange beeping noise when he stopped talking.

Jeremy whispered in Dana ear, "We need to get out of here. He is going to get us in trouble."

Dana whispered back, "He is faster than us. We can't outrun him."

The Pitbull's dog kept an eye on Dana while waiting for a response. Soon enough the bone beeped again and said, "This is Central, is the suspect a student?"

The Pitbull grabbed the dog bone and said, "Negative, she is about 10 or 11 years old. There is no way she is a student, over."

Jeremy got her attention again. He said, "We distract him and run. It might give us the edge we need to get away." Jeremy looked around for a method to distract the Pitbull. Dana looked around too. Jeremy whispered, "I will find something to distract him with. Just stall for me." With that Jeremy jump down to the ground and scampered off.

Dana couldn't think of anything. She stood up from the bench and started to back away from the Pitbull. However, he followed her. Dana began to panic. She had to do something. She could pay him to leave her alone? No that wouldn't work.

Looking around for something, anything. But in the distance, she did see something. It caught her eye because it was so out of place. In the beehive area, she saw a Hamster carrying a set of books. And she knew that Hamster. Dana had meet him the day before at the bus stop. But his name was… she couldn't remember. The hamster had not noticed Dana yet and was walking toward them. Dana thought harder. What was his name?

The Pitbull spoke into the dog bone again, "Child seems lost, I am taking the child to campus security office. Over." Dana panicked at the thought of being taken to the Security office. Once she was there it would all be over. She couldn't take that chance. In one quick motion she jumped off the bench and ran toward the hamster. The Pitbull tried to grab her, but he missed. Dana ran as fast as she could with the Pitbull shortly behind her.

This is where the Hamster finally noticed her. He seemed confused but spoke, "What the heck is going on here?"

Hearing his voice Dana remembered his name! She shouted, "Argyle! Argyle! Your back!" Dana ran over and hugged his furry leg. The Pitbull who was fast on her tail stopped and looked at Argyle. The Pitbull and Argyle looked each other in the eye for a second then they both looked at Dana.

Argyle took off his headset and bent down and said, "Hey, what is going on? Are you okay?"

Dana whispered to him, "Don't let him take me to security office. Please."

Argyle looked at the Pitbull and back to Dana. He was still confused but the Pitbull started to question him, "Sir, is this your child?"

"No," Argyle stumbled over the words, but he put one hand on Dana as she held his leg. Then he said, "but she is a friend of mine."

The Pitbull asked, "Don't you think it was a little irresponsible to leave her unattended here on campus?"

"Yeah," Argyle finally stepped into the role he was playing. "I ummm," Argyle collected his thoughts then he gave Dana a hug to calm her down and said, "I was only gone for a minute. She knew where I was and that I would be back. What is the problem here?"

"You shouldn't leave children unattended on campus grounds." the Pitbull scolded Argyle, "What if she had gotten lost or WORSE someone walked off with her?"

Argyle nodded and replied, "Alright, alright, you campus security guys are so uptight. I will be more careful next time. Maybe I will leave her with a friend or something. Thank you for your help."

The Pitbull did not respond. He turned away grabbing the dog bone on his shoulder. He pressed a button making it beep, and spoke into it again, "Disregard. Child's family and or guardian has been located. Everything is fine. Over." With that the Pitbull walked away. Leaving Argyle and Dana alone.

Argyle looked at Dana. He was angry with a hint of confusion in his voice, "Okay, what the heck is going on here?"

Dana explained, "It's a long story but I need to get to the courthouse. Can you take me there?"

"What? No way," Argyle protested, "I want some answers first. Yesterday you were sitting around asking people riddles about waterless rivers and now you are getting chased around by campus Security? What is going on?"

Dana took a breath and told him about everything. "Argyle, all I know is that I need to go talk to the Judge at the courthouse so I can go home. I have been walking all day to get to the courthouse, my feet hurt, I had to dig through trash, and all I want to do is take a break right now. But I can't. Not until see the Judge. And I have to see him today. If I don't then I can't go home. Can you help me?" She intentionally left out the strangest parts of the story. She knew he would freak out like Charles did.

The confusion on Argyle's face didn't go away. He asked, "You have been trying to get to the courthouse since yesterday?"

"Yes, Argyle can you get me there?" Dana pulled out the wad of cash, "This is only 6 dollars, it should help you pay for gas."

Argyle shook his head and said, "I am sorry, Dana? Was that your name? I am here to go to class. Plus, I don't actually have a car." A wave of sadness washed over Dana's face. She let her head drop until she was looking straight down. With those words she felt like she had been completely defeated. Argyle was her best opportunity to get to the courthouse and now she was met with failure again. Tears were starting to form. Dana looked back to Argyle waiting to hear what he had to say next.

Argyle could see the pain in her eyes. He stopped and looked around. Then he raised one eyebrow and shook his head, "Screw it, I wasn't going to pass this class anyways." Argyle took Dana by the hand and walked her to the nearby river. Dana couldn't help but notice that his whole body was fuzzy except for his hands. She also looked around for Jeremy, but he was nowhere to be seen. Argyle pointed over to the covered bench and said, "I don't have a car, so this is how I get around. Public transportation. Busses run everywhere."

"Everywhere?" Dana asked wiping the water from her eyes.

"Everywhere. This is how us poor college kids get around." Argyle sat down at the bench. "It might take a while, so have a seat." Dana walked over and sat down on the bench. Argyle continued, "If I take you to the courthouse I will be back in time for my next class. So, it's fine. I am surprised you have been walking all day. You should have been talking the bus."

"Until a little bit ago I didn't have the money. And of course, I didn't know it was an option." Dana asked, "How much does it cost to ride the bus?"

"For you it is free." Argyle said with a smile, "Children under the age of 9 ride for free."

"What?!"

Argyle laughed, "Yeah, there is a sign on the bus that says Children under the age of 9 ride for free. But underneath that in the fine print it says, With an accompanying adult. That is why I am coming with you."

Dana was conflicted, then said, "But Argyle, I am actually 10."

"Oh, don't worry about that, you look 9 so… they ain't going to ask for your ID or nothing. How would they know? Just stick with me, it'll be cool." Dana was overjoyed. She gave Argyle another hug. A very long hug. Argyle finally said, "Okay stop. People are going to think we are dating or something like that."

Dana let go and wiped a small tear from her eye, "Sorry, I am just happy that you are going to help me. I asked everyone for a ride, but everyone just ignored me or told me it wasn't worth their time. Thank you, Argyle. I can finally get to the Judge and go home."

"Yeah, about that," Argyle asked, "You have a court case or something?"

Dana shook her head, "No, I just have to see the Judge, that is what Mr. Doberman said. Then I can go home."

Argyle blinked a few times at the name, "Mr. Doberman? Is that your lawyer or something?" Dana did not get the chance to answer. There was a hissing sound in the distance. Argyle looked to see the giant hamster wheel approach. Argyle stood up and said, "Bus is here." He looked down to Dana and said, "Take my hand so the driver knows we are together. You ever rode a bus before?"

Dana took his hand and said, "A school bus, but not one like that." The giant hamster wheel slowed to a stop in front of them. Another hiss happened and a door opened on the side. Several bees and animals got off then Argyle spoke to the driver, "Hey, Gena. I brought you a new customer today!"

Gena smile and waved, "Hey there Argyle, who is your new friend?"

"This is Dana she wants to see the capital building." Argyle and Dana stepped on board the bus. Argyle swiped his bus pass.

"That's nice," then Gena asked Dana, "How old are you sweety?"

Argyle nudged Dana as she said, "I'm 9."

Gena said, "Well I hope you have a fun ride."

Dana followed Argyle back to a seat and sat down. Dana was surprised. The exterior of the bus looked like a large hamster wheel, but the interior had seats. This was completely unexpected. The bus started to move as Dana watched the jungle fly by outside the window. This was the best way to travel. She closed her eye and imagined the Hamster wheel rolling through the jungle. Her vision of the wheel grew small and smaller as she zoomed away. Before too long she was above the tree line and couldn't see anything anymore. Then she zoomed out further to above the clouds and the whales. Time skipped forward. She imagined the sun rising and setting several times.

"You okay?" Argyle snapped Dana out of her vision. Dana blinked a bunch of times trying to pull herself together.

Dana finally answered him, "I am fine. More or less."

"More or less?" Argyle questioned her, "You been sitting here in your own little world for like 3 minutes."

"3 minutes?!" Dana said as she thought about it. How is that possible? We just got on the bus a few seconds ago. Finally, she looked at Argyle and said, "Sorry, I was thinking about the courthouse and all the things I have to do when I get there."

"If you are going to zone out like that," Argyle took his headphones and put them on Dana's head. "At least make it look natural."

Dana listened to some music. Beautiful music. Knowing that Argyle was guiding her to the courthouse she let her guard down. For the first time in a long time Dana relaxed and enjoyed herself. The music was different. Like nothing she had ever heard her parents play. Still, it was very good. After listening for a few minutes Dana took the headset off and said, "I want to put my tender heart in a blender, watch it spin around in beautiful oblivion."

Argyle smiled, "There you go little friend. Getting some of that culture in you right there."

After giving his headset back, Dana felt comfortable enough with Argyle to ask him a question. But she also knew that she needed to sensor herself, so she didn't scare him off. She said, "Argyle, you are a wise man in the ways of the world. You have heard a lot of strange things. Can I ask you something that might sound strange?"

Argyle nodded, "Nothing sounds strange to me. I am taking an engineering class plus my friend has me helping with his Quantum Mechanics studies. Nothing you could say can throw me off. Fire away."

Dana continued, "Argyle, do you have an active imagination?"

"Yeah sometimes. It depends on how boring class is. I swear I spent 2 hours in physics class trying to memorize the ceiling tiles, counting them, and trying to math out how many I would need to replace them all. And why? I am not a repairman for the school, I am just bored. Do you call that an active imagination?"

"Umm, yes." Dana confirmed, but do you ever imagine things that you know are not real?"

"Yeah, that's what imagination is. Things you create yourself, in your head, that are not real. What other kind of imagination is there?"

"What happens when you can't tell an imagination for the real world?"

Argyle smiled. "Yo, sounds you are talking about a party I went to last Saturday. I thought I had seen it all but then I came to college. Last Saturday there was a guy running around completely naked while paying a trombone. He didn't care that he was naked. Nobody else cared either. People were just sitting around watching this guy go crazy playing the fight song. It was crazy if you know what I mean." Argyle boosted.

Dana shook her head, "No, did you stop him?"

Argyle explained, "Heck no I didn't. That's college life. Highschool grads, who have been under their parent's thump for 18 years, they get away from their parents and have actual freedom for the first time in their lives. Those who can't control themselves do stupid things and make some bad choices. They skip class, end up broke, buy drugs, or worse selling drugs. You know what I mean?"

Dana smiled and shook her head, "Yeah, like the way you are skipping class right now?"

Argyle froze then said, "That is different. I am doing you a favor. What I am talking about is, sometimes people do bad things for bad reasons. And those bad things create bad habits. You know what I am sayin?"

"No."

"Of course not, I don't expect you to understand college life. You will someday. Maybe in like 10 years. You will see people lose their minds once they get just an ounce of freedom. People committing crimes, doing drugs, and girls that will…" Argyle stopped his explanation for a second, "We need to change the subject."