You know, I originally thought of writing this story like a diary.
Something I could update every day.
But... life is pretty boring.
Most days, nothing notable happens.
But sometimes, something does. The kind of thing that actually matters.
So, I'm back.
Writing about one of those moments.
That said, it's spring now.
It's been about five months since we discovered the factory.
A lot has changed since then.
First, it's not a secret anymore.
If anything, the whole town knows we use it. At first, the adults wanted to shut it down and stop us from going there, but after seeing it for themselves, they surprisingly let us keep it.
Because of that, there are about fifteen of us now. My group were the ones who found the place, so it's become an unwritten rule that we get the final say in decisions. Every now and then, other kids come by to check it out, but most of them don't stick around.
George decided we should name the factory, but only came up with uncreative names like "The Base" or "The Spot."
Leo took over and named it "Base 24," since it's off 24th Street. Still not very creative, but better.
Second, the factory itself.
Once our parents—and even some real estate people—found out about it, we were able to bring in bigger things from home.
A kid named Liam somehow figured out how to unlock the factory doors, so we can use them now. We still use the side entrance to get into the premises, though. We cut the lower part of the fence to make it easier to get in—now you just have to duck a little.
What started as a metal disc nailed to the wall is now an actual basketball hoop. We also set up a small garden in the field outside, growing fruits and flowers.
We even added furniture to the office.
The office is off-limits to anyone who isn't part of the original group. We use it as a kind of conference room whenever decisions need to be made.
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Now let's go back two months, when everything started to change.
The factory was still a secret base that only we knew about.
At school, we started working on group projects. Each group chose something to make and present at the end of the week on Friday. My group chose to build a city out of cardboard.
George, Leo, and I were paired up with three other students. Mel was in a different class, so she couldn't join us.
Our group ended up being two girls and a boy.
Elaine was loud and stubborn. She didn't like being told no, and cried when things didn't go her way.
Her friend, Sarah, was the complete opposite. She went along with whatever anyone else said without complaining.
The last member of the group was Liam.
We invited him since we needed one more person, and he was by himself.
I didn't know much about him.
Just that no one else seemed to want him.
Almost everyone had their own idea for what the town should be like.
Elaine most of all.
"We need a zoo!"
"And a castle!"
George wasn't much different.
"No! We should build a huge city!"
"With a giant park!"
Leo was calmer.
"I think we should keep the neighborhood separate from the school. And add a town center."
Sarah and I just listened.
We didn't really care what was added, as long as everyone was satisfied.
But they weren't.
The argument kept going in circles.
No one was actually listening to each other.
So I stepped in.
"Why don't we just make a town... where everyone gets their own part?"
Elaine frowned.
She didn't like that.
So I explained.
"Elaine can build the castle."
"George makes the park."
"Leo builds the town center."
"Liam builds the school."
"I'll do the neighborhood."
"And Sarah can make the roads and decorate everything."
They paused.
After realizing they would still be able to build what they wanted, the argument faded.
Leo still looked unsure.
"That's a lot of work though... do you think we can finish by the end of the week?"
"That won't be a problem," I said.
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We were only given an hour each day in class to work on the project.
Groups were made on Monday, and we started designing on Tuesday.
The design phase went well. We sketched out a map of what we wanted to build, and it ended up looking like a town bigger than our own.
On Wednesday, we started building.
At first, everything went smoothly. We spent most of the time cutting out the cardboard we needed before putting anything together.
Then we tried gluing it.
The glue didn't work.
It was the weak kind schools use—safe, but useless.
Every time we tried attaching roofs, they would just slide off.
So we switched to tape.
It worked... at first.
But some pieces were too heavy, no matter how much we used.
Elaine's castle was the biggest problem.
She wanted it big.
Really big.
Because we didn't build a hill for it, she made it almost as big as the entire neighborhood.
And if that wasn't enough, she tried bending the cardboard into a circle to make it round.
That only made everything harder to attach.
By the time we realized how bad it was getting, our time was gone.
Ms. Sharpe called out to the class:
"Time's up, everyone! Remember—we're presenting these on Friday!"
After she said that, we all went quiet.
We only had one day left, and we'd barely made any progress.
Imagine that.
A reincarnated person...
Struggling with a first-grade project.
———————————————————————
In a last-minute effort, we decided to keep working after school.
We asked Ms. Sharpe for permission to take the project home, and she agreed.
As we were heading out to figure out our next plan, Ms. Sharpe called me back.
"■■■■■, could you come here for a second? The rest of you can go."
I thought I was in trouble.
Did I do something wrong?
Nope.
"How are you feeling about the project?"
"It's a little stressful, but I think we can handle it."
"You seem very calm about it—like you're sure it'll work out."
I laughed.
"We just need more time."
"Well, I'm glad you're helping your group."
Turns out adults are really perceptive.
If she's singling me out like that, it means she knows something is off about me.
I need to be more careful.
When I met up with everyone again, I noticed Melanie with them.
They told her about our problem, and she said she was willing to help.
We originally planned to go to my house, but Melanie said Dad was on an important business call and couldn't be disturbed.
George's parents aren't very friendly, so we wanted to avoid his place.
Elaine's parents don't like the idea of boys coming over.
Sarah wouldn't say why she didn't want us going to her house. That was the first time she refused something.
So we went to Leo's.
When we arrived, his parents were welcoming. They gave us snacks and toys, but we weren't there for that.
We started working on the project.
Then his dad walked in.
Clearly not happy.
"This is a mess!"
"S-sorry, Dad... we'll clean it up when we're done..."
"No! This is unacceptable. Find somewhere else to do this!"
Great.
Now there really was no way to finish the project.
"Okay... now what?" Leo asked.
Mostly to me.
I said it wouldn't be a problem before.
Now it almost was.
Almost.
The only way I could think of was—
Elaine snapped.
"We're doomed!"
"It's impossible to finish now!"
"This is all your fault!"
After blaming all of us, she started crying.
Leo and Sarah looked pale, but didn't say anything.
They were probably trying to think of a solution.
George didn't seem to care.
"Oh, it's not the end of the world if we don't finish it."
"I just wanna have some fun!"
How nice.
Now I had to fix everything.
"Okay guys, I have an idea."
"There's a pla—"
"Guys, I think I know a place we can work."
"Liam?"
Everyone said it at the same time.
"How?"
"I remember an abandoned factory off 24th..."
"I think there's a chance we can get in and do it there."
The factory.
Our base.
George, Leo, and I exchanged looks, but didn't say anything.
Elaine was instantly on board.
"Wait—that could work!"
"Is there a way in?"
"I don't know, but it's probably our best shot."
"Let's try it," I said.
Nice one, Liam.