"All Grown-Up", chapter 2
<p>Mary-Alice's dad dragged her to the garage or, as he liked to call it, laboratory. Her head was spinning at the thought of a new contraption and its doings. She had entered the garage and was amazed by what she saw.<br />
Gadgets spread among every table, while some were scattered on the floor. Tools adorned the walls along with awards that her father had won. She'd been here once or twice when she was little but she never remembered it to be like this.
<br />She had read many sci-fi books in the past, each describing what a scientists' labs looked like. Well they hit in the ball-park,[i] She thought. Her dad was standing in front of a thing covered up in a tarp.<br /> "This is my newest innovation!" He announced to his daughter. He grabbed hold of the tarp and gave it a yank. Down rumbling the cloth came, meeting with the floor as it revealed a tall, metallic object.<br />The new invention had a cylindrical form. It had numerous switches and buttons to press and flip. Every few seconds they would change into different colors ranging from neon green to dark magenta. A spherical glowing ball was on the top of the invention, which gave off brilliant sparks every time it rotated. Mary stood there in awe and confusion admiring the metallic giant.<br ?>"You like it?" Her dad questioned her. She nodded. "Well I've tested it and it works like a charm. Are you ready?"<br />
"I don't know." She responded to her dad's question.<br />
She hadn't thought that she was going to use the experiment right now. Thoughts and ideas ran through her head. Questions about what would happen next and how it would affect her. She didn't know if she should wait.<br />"I'm ready." She announced.<br />"All right then, step-up into the Tempius Ager." Her dad instructed her.<br />She stepped into the metal cylinder and felt awkward doing so. As soon as she stepped in, her father closed the plexi-glass door behind her. He then went to the control panel on the side of the door. He pushed buttons and pulled levers like a mad man until the machine started to grumble and the nuclear heart buzzed. Mechanical braces and arms grabbed a hold of her nervous body. Mary took a deep breath and exhaled as smoke came from nano-pores in the metal. She inhaled the gas and drifted into a dazed state of mind.</p>
<p>All she could hear during the haziness was the faint humming of the Tempius Ager. She felt all tingly inside and out as if she were being poked by a million needles. Her brain, she felt, was growing with each second that she was in the machine. With her system shut down, he couldn't move a muscle. She felt the urge to punch the door and escape her fate that she had chosen. Then through the darkness of haze she heard her father calling.<br />
"You're all done, Mary!" He proclaimed to her. The humming of the Ager had died and the mechanical arms let go of her. She stumbled onto the floor and didn't have much energy to stand up. Her dad stood there amazed by what he saw. He ran and got a mirror and put it in front of her.<br />
She got enough strength to stand up and then she saw her reflection. Her clothes were now too small for her and made her feel like she was being squeezed. She was taller by 6 inches and was slimmer than her pudgy self. She looked more mature and older. <br />
"How old am I, Dad?" She asked as she was studying herself in the mirror.
<br />
"You're nineteen Mary." He stated as he wiped his suit clean. She stood there in shock when she heard that she was nineteen years old. "You're a spitting image of your mother."<br />
She smiled at the compliment. Mary had never known her mother; all she knew is that she died when Mary was just a newborn. Her mother had been a famous author of many books, mostly fantasy and science fiction. <br />
"Now what's the next part of your plan, Dad?" She asked him. <br />
"Well, first we have to get you some knew clothes." He informed her. "Then we must enroll you at my old college. Finally I shall buy you an apartment somewhere near the college campus."<br />
"Sounds like a plan to me." She stated and walked out of the garage with her father.</p>
<p>She liked being older. Mary liked that she was skinnier and she thought that her college teachers would take her more seriously. At her school, her teachers would just think she was acting up when she corrected them. [i] I was not, she thought, I only told them they were wrong so that the rest of the class would know the correct facts and not the wrong ones.</p>
<p>The only person that really took her seriously was her art teacher. Mr. Sorrent would encourage her to reach her full potential in the Arts. He taught her how to play and compose music on the piano. He also taught her about sketching strokes and how to take the most marvelous photographs and how to write the most magnificent of stories or a compelling essay. He had been her most favorite teacher of all time, not including her dad. Sadly, he had passed away a few months ago in a unfortunate car crash. He was twenty-five when he died.<br />
She just couldn't wait to go to college. It would be a new way of life, a new world. It was an adventure with many surprises in-store.</P>
Gadgets spread among every table, while some were scattered on the floor. Tools adorned the walls along with awards that her father had won. She'd been here once or twice when she was little but she never remembered it to be like this.
<br />She had read many sci-fi books in the past, each describing what a scientists' labs looked like. Well they hit in the ball-park,[i] She thought. Her dad was standing in front of a thing covered up in a tarp.<br /> "This is my newest innovation!" He announced to his daughter. He grabbed hold of the tarp and gave it a yank. Down rumbling the cloth came, meeting with the floor as it revealed a tall, metallic object.<br />The new invention had a cylindrical form. It had numerous switches and buttons to press and flip. Every few seconds they would change into different colors ranging from neon green to dark magenta. A spherical glowing ball was on the top of the invention, which gave off brilliant sparks every time it rotated. Mary stood there in awe and confusion admiring the metallic giant.<br ?>"You like it?" Her dad questioned her. She nodded. "Well I've tested it and it works like a charm. Are you ready?"<br />
"I don't know." She responded to her dad's question.<br />
She hadn't thought that she was going to use the experiment right now. Thoughts and ideas ran through her head. Questions about what would happen next and how it would affect her. She didn't know if she should wait.<br />"I'm ready." She announced.<br />"All right then, step-up into the Tempius Ager." Her dad instructed her.<br />She stepped into the metal cylinder and felt awkward doing so. As soon as she stepped in, her father closed the plexi-glass door behind her. He then went to the control panel on the side of the door. He pushed buttons and pulled levers like a mad man until the machine started to grumble and the nuclear heart buzzed. Mechanical braces and arms grabbed a hold of her nervous body. Mary took a deep breath and exhaled as smoke came from nano-pores in the metal. She inhaled the gas and drifted into a dazed state of mind.</p>
<p>All she could hear during the haziness was the faint humming of the Tempius Ager. She felt all tingly inside and out as if she were being poked by a million needles. Her brain, she felt, was growing with each second that she was in the machine. With her system shut down, he couldn't move a muscle. She felt the urge to punch the door and escape her fate that she had chosen. Then through the darkness of haze she heard her father calling.<br />
"You're all done, Mary!" He proclaimed to her. The humming of the Ager had died and the mechanical arms let go of her. She stumbled onto the floor and didn't have much energy to stand up. Her dad stood there amazed by what he saw. He ran and got a mirror and put it in front of her.<br />
She got enough strength to stand up and then she saw her reflection. Her clothes were now too small for her and made her feel like she was being squeezed. She was taller by 6 inches and was slimmer than her pudgy self. She looked more mature and older. <br />
"How old am I, Dad?" She asked as she was studying herself in the mirror.
<br />
"You're nineteen Mary." He stated as he wiped his suit clean. She stood there in shock when she heard that she was nineteen years old. "You're a spitting image of your mother."<br />
She smiled at the compliment. Mary had never known her mother; all she knew is that she died when Mary was just a newborn. Her mother had been a famous author of many books, mostly fantasy and science fiction. <br />
"Now what's the next part of your plan, Dad?" She asked him. <br />
"Well, first we have to get you some knew clothes." He informed her. "Then we must enroll you at my old college. Finally I shall buy you an apartment somewhere near the college campus."<br />
"Sounds like a plan to me." She stated and walked out of the garage with her father.</p>
<p>She liked being older. Mary liked that she was skinnier and she thought that her college teachers would take her more seriously. At her school, her teachers would just think she was acting up when she corrected them. [i] I was not, she thought, I only told them they were wrong so that the rest of the class would know the correct facts and not the wrong ones.</p>
<p>The only person that really took her seriously was her art teacher. Mr. Sorrent would encourage her to reach her full potential in the Arts. He taught her how to play and compose music on the piano. He also taught her about sketching strokes and how to take the most marvelous photographs and how to write the most magnificent of stories or a compelling essay. He had been her most favorite teacher of all time, not including her dad. Sadly, he had passed away a few months ago in a unfortunate car crash. He was twenty-five when he died.<br />
She just couldn't wait to go to college. It would be a new way of life, a new world. It was an adventure with many surprises in-store.</P>
