Chapter 3

     Lee's and Miz’s adventure finally got them in front of the ever so sought after latrines.”It took us Twenty minutes, and a sea of people but finally we're here!” Lee said with excitement in his voice. Miz looked at Lee who was practically jumping up and down, and gave a deep sigh. Miz pushed Lee into the bathroom, almost making them trip. Lee half expected this outcome with how impatient Miz has been since they met. Lee grabbed the latrine's entrance walls to stop his tumble and in the process caught Miz using his back, ensuring both of their safety from gravity's mighty pull.

     Miz’s face turned bright red from the embarrassment.”Why did you do that!” Miz shouted.”Sorry about that buddy, I just didn't feel like hitting my face on the ground today.” Lee replied with a sly smile. Lee's face then softened, and with a gentle voice he said. “This position may be a little comfortable for you but my arms feel like they're going to fall off. Could you possibly move?” Embarrassed out of his mind Miz slowly pushed off of Lee.”I'm sorry.” He said in a voice just barely able to be heard.”No problem, I'm just glad neither of us got hurt.” Lee said with a friendly chuckle.

     Lee opened the door and like a gentleman gestured Miz to go in. Miz with his face still the same color as a tomato shyly walked in. Both boys walk in front of a mirror, only to gasp at their ravaged appearance. After staring in the mirrors for a minute they turned to each and gave out a hearty laughter. In that moment all their stress and boredom melted away as they shared a laugh. After a minute of laughing they stopped and looked at each other again.”Would you like to borrow a pair of clothes?” Lee asked sincerely.”I'm okay, I always pack a couple extra.” Miz said with a hint of sadness in his voice. Lee could see that he was trying to hide something so he decided not to prod any further.”Hey we're friends now, I'll have your back in any situation.” Lee said, trying to comfort him. Miz looked up a little surprised, but after seeing Lee's face he gave a smile of relief and said.”I'm looking forward to this new friendship.” Lee's face brightened so much Miz had to cover his eyes or he would go blind.

     Lee hurriedly pushed Miz in a stall.”Okay let's hurry up and change so we can start having fun!” Miz gave him a small chuckle. After a few minutes of getting changed the boys came out to reveal their new outfits. Lee in a black shirt with a tye dyed skull, and black pants with four pockets on his side and two in the back. Miz had on a gray zip up jacket with a dark blue shirt with big white words that said bored underneath, with black shorts with knee high socks that were black and white with vertical stripes. They wiped their heads to each, examining what the other was wearing. After a minute of thinking they stopped and stared each other in the eye like it was a cowboy showdown. Both acting like they had a loaded gun in their hands, they didn't need words to know the countdown had started. 3….2….1…. They threw their thumbs up in approval of the other outfit. Both of them gave a sigh of relief and then a big smile before heading out of the bathroom. 

     As they walked out, they noticed how eerily quiet it became in only a few minutes. Both the boys started to shake in their shoes as they walked to the wall. Basically huddled together Lee reassures Miz that he will protect him no matter what. Lee gains enough courage to take a peek from behind the wall, only to have a surprise waiting for him. “AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Lee yelled, almost falling back.”What'd you see??” Miz said about ready to pee himself.”M-m-mrs. N-n-n-norfman.” Mrs. Norfman then walked out from behind the wall with a disgusted look on her face.”Augh children, why did they force me to wait for them.” She muttered under breath.” Hurry up, the other kids are already in the briefing room. God, such a waste of my time!” She said as she hasted off. Miz fell to the floor from relief, while Lee gave out a small chuckle. “I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you, but her face is just so scary.” Lee said after letting out a small sigh. “I see why none of the kids like her.” Miz said, placing his face in his hands. 

     Even though Mrs. Norfman was nowhere near them; they heard her voice as clear as day when she yelled. “HURRY UP ALREADY!!!” Lee and Miz immediately got to their feet, and zoomed to the debrief room. It was a room that left nothing to the imagination, with its plain white walls that had no windows, with the only other things in the room being chairs and a board up front. Even the person who was giving the debrief was boring, it looked like a room full of zombies with all the head bobbing, apart from Mrs. Norfman who was flirting with one of the male teachers. There weren't quite enough chairs for the students so Lee and Miz had to stand in the back, and try to stay awake so they didn't fall face first.

     After thirty- five minutes of a very monotone debrief of what the children can and can't do, where is safe for them to go, and that the owls are in fact real and not plastic figures. At the end of the debrief Mrs. Norfman clapped, jolting all the students and teacher's awake except Lee and Miz, who looked absolutely bored out of their minds. “Now that Mr. Medley is done talking, let's go look at some owls.” Mrs. Norfman said, giving a wink to Mr. Medley. “Yes, and the gift shop is open when you are all done with sightseeing.” Medley said with an anxious sweat.

     All the kids rushed out of the room, while the teachers sluggishly got up from their seats. Mrs. Norfman and Mr. Medley were the last ones in the room, and didn't look like they were going to leave any time soon with Mrs. Norfman touching his chest. All the kids were jumping up and down with an extraordinary amount of energy that had all the teachers groan simultaneously. “Okay everyone, before we look at the owls come grab a worksheet. And they will be graded so do not throw them away.” One of the teachers said while rubbing their temples. All the students groaned in irritation, while some of the teachers snickered because the worksheets weren't actually going to be graded, the teachers just wanted to get paid back for how rowdy they've been. 

     Lee was one of the students who let out a groan, while Miz just looked around at the other kids wondering if they truly thought this was an assignment. “Psst Lee, I just wanted to let you know this is just a ploy the teachers came up with. They aren't actually going to grade it.” Miz whispered in his ear. Lee's face brightened. “Really, I don't have to fill it out.” Lee said, smiling ear to ear.”Yeah I overheard the teachers on the way to the bathroom, but that doesn't mean we can just throw the paper away.” Miz said, a little perplexed. Lee gave him an understanding smile and they both went to get a paper. After all the kids grabbed a piece of paper, they lined up outside of the owl like they were about to start a race on who can finish the fastest. 

     Lee and Miz stayed in the back chuckling at the chaos that was about to unfold. The children got into their sprinting pose, waiting for the sound of the imaginary gun to start the race. One of the teachers made a flag with a used napkin. “Get set…and……GO!” At the flap of the flag the kids took off like they were race cars going for first place. Lee and Miz started the race off with a nice walk, taking the time to enjoy the scenery that was made for the owls. Occasionally an owl could be seen flying around the disaster of children, curiosity in its eyes. 

     The owls were staring at the children who were as loud as sirens that go off when a disaster has happened. The owl attendees were unnerved with how the owls were acting. It was normal for them to stare but they haven't been making much noise since the morning, and their eyes felt different. It felt like they were waiting for something very bad to happen. The kids may not have noticed but the adults really wanted out of the owl dome. Lee and Miz could also sense something wrong, sending a shiver down their backs. They stopped in their tracks and looked at each other, giving a nod of understanding before rushing to one of the teachers to see if they could go to the gift shop.  

     The first teacher they came across seemed a little more nervous than the others. “We're done with our worksheet.” Lee said, a little anxious. The teacher jumped before realizing it was just a couple kids trying to get his attention. “You finished the worksheet? Good, good you can go to the gift shop. You know what I'll come with you so the other teachers don't think you guys are just trying to sneak away. Got it.” The teacher said drowning in sweat, not able to keep eye contact. His inability to focus on one thing made Lee and Miz very wary but they know that teacher worked at the school, they just didn't know his name. 

     Before they left the dome, Lee and Miz made sure to let a couple more teachers know they were on their way to the gift shop with the sweaty teacher. One of the teachers gave a sympathetic look at the sweaty teacher before giving the two a nod of reassurance. The look the teacher gave made the two boys curious about the anxious teacher. Once all three of them were out of the dome the teacher stopped and took a couple deep breaths before taking out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat. “Sorry about that boys, birds just scare me, e-e-e-especially o-o-o-owls with their big eyes that just stare into your ss-s-s-soul.” He said shuddering at the end of his sentence. “Why didn't you stay home?” Miz said with indifference in his voice. “I was supposed to but the principal called me in and suddenly said it was mandatory, so I had no choice.” The teacher said with embarrassment sweeping over his face. Lee went up to him and patted his hand with simplicit look and a nod of understanding. The teacher gave Lee a gentle smile of appreciation.