Options

Have to make some decisions about my future. At the most basic level I want to go back to university and redo the degree course I failed to complete last time. My original plan was to go back to the same university but now a different option has come up - I could try for a university in London that offers the same course or one that is similar enough. A quick look has found at least one viable alternative, at the London Metropolitan University.

But I am uncertain if I want to move to London. I'm not used to city life having lived in small towns all my life. It's not as if I'll be alone down there as my brother has been living there for over 6 months and now he's just about in a permanent job (instead of unreliable agency work) he's looking into getting a bigger place to live (he currently rents a one room place, and it's a fair distance from his new place of work) and has expressed an interest in me joining him down there not just to help with living costs but for companionship.

I tend to be reluctant to move from a safe place, I don't often take risks. Usually I cite that the needs of others take precedent, such as my flat sharing friend who couldn't afford to live here by himself but has said that in a few months he could be on the move himself (which would then mean I couldn't afford to live here anyway). And then there are my parents. It's a weird one this really, as they lived in another country for 10 years but since they've been back I'm closer to them than ever before. But they'll say that I should put my needs, my desires first. They'll miss me but they also want me to be happy.

My brother has talked about me moving down to London a few times since he went down there but this is the first time I'm seriously considering the idea. It's a scary prospect but also one that could be so fulfilling and life changing. I would miss things here, but maybe it's finally time to move on.

I don't have to make a decision right now. Hell it may turn out to be a unworkable idea. But I need to entertain the possibility and so with that in mind I'm going to add a few options to my UCAS (university) application. Just need to find a few courses in London that I can apply for. Who knows, without the history I've got with the local university I may stand a better chance of getting in at a new place.

It's worth a shot.

Plan

I don't know what to do. Not just now but near future and beyond. Well, I do know what I desperately want to do which is to return to university and redo the degree course I was on previously, only successfully this time. And hopefully getting in a year's placement at a game studio as well, the lack of which last time I feel really did affect my preparations for my final year.

So I have a goal, and frankly it's an achievable one. I've been accepted by the university before based on my education history and statements from myself & a former college tutor of mine. But I've already found out that this isn't enough this time. Last year I went through the UCAS procedure, putting everything that was needed in the application but there was one thing that I couldn't get which was a reference from a figure of authority (so basically a teacher or something like). The previous route I had taken for this part of the application was closed to me as it had been too long since I left college (about 12 years had passed at time of application and they only kept records for 10) and since leaving university in 2010 I've not had a job so the employer reference source was also out.

Simply put there wasn't anyone who was suitable to give me a reference, 'cos basically the only people who know me well enough are just my family and friends and they're a big no-no when picking a referee. Despite lacking a reference I sent in the application, hoping for the best. Hoping didn't work. It was rejected and despite many e-mails back and forth between various people at the university, each one higher up the chain o' command all the way up to the Dean of the School of Computing.

Though ultimately fruitless all these e-mails were worth it as I was able to get a clear reason why my application wasn't successful. Because of the way my final year went (in that I panicked, stopped going and failed the year by virtue of not attending, not trying) they needed proof that I had the drive and the work ethic to basically prevent a repeat of that. The best way for me to prove that would have been to be employed and working hard with the employer then able to provide proof of what they want. Simply put they really did need a reference for me about my ability to succeed on the course. I explained that my attitudes had changed, my drive to succeed where I was failed was very strong and that I had tried very hard to get a job since leaving university without success. While they were a bit understanding regarding difficulties in the job market but they still need proof of my efforts and the only real way to provide that was from a reference. But I was unable to find anyone suitable and as time was running out before the start of the scholastic year I had to give up, for now anyway.

It's nearly 6 months later and I've still been unsuccessful at getting a job. It's a situation that I feel won't change either. Not in time anyway. I still plan to apply for university again, in fact I'll be proceeding with that soon. But I know the whole exercise is pointless if I don't have a reference. The plan was after giving up on last year's application that I would get a job by the start of 2013, or a little into it. But plainly that plan hasn't worked. And realistically I would need to be in a job very soon so that I'm at least a few months into it before I start asking for a reference because ideally my university application needs to be in by the end of June and so with wanting at least 3 months to bed into a job I need to be in one by the end of March at the latest, but that sort of deadline is a bit too close especially on the application side. So a better date would be by the end of February, beginning of March. After 30 odd months unsuccessfully looking for a job I'm not confident at all that I'll find on in the next 30 odd days.

With further thinking having a full time job (it would have to be full time just from a monetary point of view) doesn't mesh well with a plan to enter full time education anyway, unless I got real lucky with an employer who wouldn't mind putting me on part time work during university term times. But the chances of that are slim and it's a moot point anyway if you can't get a job. So does that mean that this year's application is dead and buried before it's begun? Possibly not.

There may be a chance that I can get a suitable reference. Being unemployed means that I'm on government benefits, specifically Jobseeker's Allowance. As part of the jobseeker's agreement I have to visit a Jobcentre every fortnight with my evidence of looking for work. Further to that arrangement I also semi-regularly go to an external (private) agency that help find work for the unemployed, the company being Triage in my case. So there are these professional people who I see regularly, surely they must be able to help me in my case. That is what I thought last year when I tried to get a reference from anyone at either place but I wasn't able to secure one. The Jobcentre said it was something that Triage should be able to do but the problem I had with Triage was that I rarely saw the same person from appointment to appointment. The whole idea of a reference is that it comes from someone who knows me well enough to be able to judge my ability to complete the course. And simply no one at Triage did know me well enough.

But this year it has been different. For the last few months I've been going to fortnightly appointments all with the same person. During this time I feel that I've been able to build a relationship with this person, such as one that I've never built up before with anyone at Triage or the Jobcentre (who are just concerned with making sure I'm looking for work and processing my fortnightly visits as quickly as possible). Also in that time I've started and completed one external course (on work skills) and have put my name down for another course which is due to start soon.

So I have a plan. Hopefully my advisor at Triage will be able to give me a reference, and I've got evidence of the drive I have to improve myself with the course that I have already done and the one that is in the pipeline. If there are more courses on offer that I can do then I'll do them too. The way I'm looking at it now getting a job could be more of a hindrance but I still have to look. Who knows, I may get lucky with a decent short term job. Something like that would seal my university application.

Well well, after all of this writing it turns out that I do know what to do. I just needed to order my thoughts and consolidate my ideas of the plans I had. It's good to know that I have a plan, and it all actually feels achievable. Going to give it till at least the end of the month before I ask about the reference, as it gives me time if my advisor feels that she needs time herself before she can judge my ability to complete a university degree course. In the mean time I'll keep myself busy with job seeking and going on semi-helpful (but at least accredited) courses.

Here's to the plan!
(my this was longer than I thought it would be)

Story

After going through some old disks I've come across a short story I did for an English assignment in my later years of secondary school. At a guess I would have been about 14 or 15 at the time of writing so more than 16 years ago. More than half of my life time ago. Damn, that's making me feel old. Anyway, I thought it best if I wanted to share it with people that I put it somewhere and here is as good a place as any. So without any further ado I present my short story entitled "The Third Reality".

Note: this story is copied as is from the source document file, spelling and grammatical errors included. As well as just plain bad English! Oh and the formatting sucks right now, and for that I blame Microsoft Works which was used to write the story originally and doesn't convert into Word that well (for me anyway). That is one thing I may amend. Hell I might as well fix the spelling errors and horrible grammar. Well the spelling errors at least. Anyway, enjoy, or at least try to!

(additional note:  upon looking through the story after it has been posted and the formatting looks far better than it does in my Works converted to Word file, so I'll leave it alone completely.)

The Third Reality

Part One - The Beginning

Chapter 1:- The Entering

      Bart Conrad, a lively young American 10 year old, was with a group of friends playing baseball.  Bart was in bat, and needed a home run to win the game and the Little League.  He hit the ball, and made a run for it.  He did, he ran for it!  He was past first base, second, third.  He was running like mad to home base.  He dived for the base, then suddenly it was all black.

      Dave Bennett, a 12 year old English boy, was getting ready to save a goal that could win the match and the league.  He was in goal for Roseheath School (who were playing Henley Comprehensive School).  The ball was coming towards him, then their striker took a shot.  It came speeding towards Dave, he dived for it, and then he suddenly vanished!

      Chrissie Howard, an headstrong 11 year old was playing a netball match in Darwin, Australia.  She was lining up for an important shot.  She took it, but before she knew where the ball ended up, she too vanished into oblivion.   

      Some hours later, when they finally woke up, they were all as confused as each other.  Each one was wondering where they were; each one was as scared as the others.  "Where are we?"  they said, all at the same time.  They looked around at the landscape in which they were situated and gasped.  The ground that they were seated on was a black dusty rock, which may have once been molten lava; the cloud-filled sky was of a deep red, caused by what should have been the sun, and in the distance a long range of jagged mountains disrupted the horizon.  This barren landscape was completely void of life, be it animal or vegetable; no birds sang, no trees grew, the only life anywhere was the three individuals who had found themselves in this desolate world. 

"Where on earth are we?" said one. 

"I don't think we're on earth" replied another.

"You mean to say that this is another planet?" asked the third.

" 'Fraid so matey" replied the second.

"And who are you then Mister Knowitall?" demanded the first.

"My name is Dave Bennett, and who are you missie" said Dave.

"I am Chrissie Howard and I'm no 'missie'!" said Chrissie "and who are you shorty?"

"My name, as a matter of fact, is Bart Conrad, and I say if we want to stay alive, we all work together, isn't that right Dave?"

"Why?  What are you afraid of?  The Bogeyman?  Frankenstein?"  snorted Chrissie

"We don't know who is here.  There could be anything.  We have got to work together."

"I don't see anything.  This place looks dead.  You know.  DEAD.  D-E-A-D.  Dead."  said Chrissie, determined to get her own way.

"I agree with both of you.  It looks like there is nothing here but we never know so I suggest that have an exploration of the place."  Dave said, settling the argument.

"Ok, we'll start after a talk." said Bart.

"What were you doing before you came here Chrissie?"asked Dave                                         

"I was playing netball for my school, thank you very much."replied Chrissie

"Which school were you playing for, Chrissie?"asked Bart

"Darwin Hall, in Darwin." replied Chrissie

"Of course, I could have guessed, an Aussie!"said Dave

"An Aussie?" questioned Bart

"You know, an Australian." replied Dave

"Oh, one of them." said Bart

"Yes!" said Dave

"And what were you doing?" asked Chrissie

"I was playing football for my school" replied Dave

"Which school were you playing for?" asked Chrissie

"Roseheath in Dudley, England." said Dave back.

"Oh, a Pommie" she replied back

"A Pommie?" questioned Bart again.

"SHUT UP!!" shouted Dave and Chrissie

"OK! No need to shout!" said Bart back

"So what were you doing before you came here?" asked Dave

"I was playing for Cubs in the Little League" replied Bart

"What?" asked Chrissie

"You know, baseball. They play it America." said Dave

"Oh, a ......" started Chrissie

"Got you there!" said Bart

"Look here now, we've got to start this exploration thing that I suggested alright?  So now we shall stop talking and get on with it.  OK.?" said Dave

"Oh what boring speech!" remarked Chrissie

"Are you starting something?" said Dave back

"Yes, I am actually Dave." said Chrissie calmly

"I'm warning you!" replied Dave angrily

"STOP IT NOW!" shouted Bart "You are both acting like a pair of two year olds!  Not like you were 11 and 12 year olds!  Now lets get on with the exploration."

"He's got a very big mouth" whispered Dave to Chrissie

"SHUT IT DAVE!"

Chapter 2:- The Exploration  

      They started off along what they thought was a path.  Bart was making himself the leader of the trio with Chrissie following him and at the end of the pack was Dave, complaining about everything  They had been walking for hours and found nothing.  They had just come to a massive piece of rock.  Bart thought it looked like the Empire State building, Chrissie thought it looked like Ayer's Rock but Dave thought they were crazy and that it looked like his school building.

"Lets stop here" said Dave "I'm exhausted!"

"Yeah." said Chrissie "Hey, has anyone got any food?"

"No." replied Dave

"I don't have any either." said Bart

"Why?" asked Chrissie

"Well," replied Bart "it's a bit hard to get food in the bottom half of the ninth inning."

"What about you Dave?  What's your excuse?"

"I was in goal for my school.  You don't take food do you?!" replied Dave angrily

"I was only asking!"

"And you don't have anything, do you Chrissie?" questioned Bart

"No.  And do you know why I didn't?"

"No.  And we don't care.  But you're going to tell us anyway" replied Dave

"Well, I was attacking for Darwin Hall netball team, right?" said Chrissie

"Right." said Bart, in a sort of boring voice that you would use to talk to a two year old,

"And you don't get food until the end of the match, and since I came here before the end of the match, I didn't have any food.  OK!!"

"Well, since we don't have any food, I think we should carry on walking in that direction" said Dave calmly pointing northwards

"WHAT!!" said Bart and Chrissie together, surprised at the prospect of Dave wanting to walk!

"Well," said Dave "if you stand on this rock, and look that way (pointing northwards) you will see a very, very, very large building.  Well I think it is."

They climbed onto the rock and looked at where Dave was pointing.  Sure enough they saw a large building in the distance.

"He's right!" exclaimed Chrissie obviously surprised

"It's about a kilometer away." said Bart

"What are we waiting for?  Lets go!" shouted Dave

Chapter 3:- The Porthole

      The three of them stopped at the edge of a great cliff which lead into an enormous valley.  The strange building was half-way along the bottom of the valley. Bart sat down on a handy rock and started to think.  "Rope.  All we need is some rope.  It's not fair.  In all those adventure films where they are in strange worlds they always find what they need.  It just happens to be there."  He looked up at his two other companions. Chrissie was gabbing away to Dave although he probably wasn't listening.  "What a pathetic pair."  he thought to himself, "I mean, did Indiana Jones get stuck with these two?  No he got some beautiful woman to go around with.  These two would be hopeless if it came down to a challenge of wits, brain and cunning."  He looked away from the group and at the floor where something caught his attention.  It was a coil of sturdy rope.  He turned back to the others.  "Where on earth did this rope come from."  They both shrugged.

"I told you before, we are not on Earth." said Dave

"Well," said Chrissie "at least we can get down the cliff and get to the building."

"Yeah," said Bart "so lets do it!" 

     

      The trio of them tied the rope to a jutting out piece of rock and let it hang down the cliff.  After they tested it, they went down it.  Bart had put knots in the rope so they could get down easier.  Bart went first who was followed by Chrissie and last of all was Dave.  When they where past half-way down, Dave sent a message down to Bart to tell him that he had heard and seen the rope fray.  Dave looked up and saw it was fraying very quickly, then looked down to see how far they were from the ground.  It was a long way down.  He shouted a message to the rest of them to get down as fast as they could because the rope won't hold for very long and at that moment it was no longer true.  The rope snapped!  The three of them were bracing for the impact of the fall but it did not happen.  When the rope snapped, a porthole appeared in the ground.  It was a blue, purple, green and grey mixture of rings getting smaller, nearer to the center.  A bright white band was coming down the rings followed by, five rings behind, a deep black band.  When a band reached the center it appeared on the first ring.  There were twenty-five rings all together and the two bands were getting faster and faster as the three got nearer and nearer.  When they entered the porthole, all was black.

Part Two - The Challenges

Chapter 1:- The First Level

      The trio landed with a bit of a bump.  They were siting on a cold metal floor.  To the right there was a door with a few buttons on it, used to open, close and lock the door.  Above the door, there was a lighted panel with a name and the name of the room.  The name was 'BART' and the name of the room was 'THE FIRST LEVEL'.  They all looked at Bart and wondered what he would do.  Bart's mind was going crazy about what he might see behind the door.  Just then, another panel lit up on the door.  It read 'FLOOR' and a number read '4'.  A moment later a strange robot appeared.  It was a tall and thin.  It looked almost human.  Bart guessed what and who it was.  He said: "You're an android from Star Trek, The Next Generation and your name is Data."

"Yes.  You are absolutely correct." said Data "I have come to tell you what to do.  Bart, you must go through that door, and complete the task involved.  When you have done that, your friends will go to the next level.  I will be there to help you.  In different mazes, my form will change to support that maze.  I must go now Bart, see you in the maze."  With that he vanished into steam and disappeared.

"What are you going to do Bart?" questioned Dave

Chrissie repeated "Yeah Bart, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going in" replied Bart, very nervously.  And with that he pressed 'OPEN' and stepped in.  The door closed automatically behind him.  Chrissie said in awe "I wish I was like him.  Smart AND brave!"

      When he entered the room, there was a jet of smoke coming from a hidden pipe.  The steam changed into the form of  Data.  He started telling him what to do.  "When you go through the next door, you will get tested on your batting skills in baseball.  You will have two minutes and thirty seconds to hit three baseballs at three different targets.  After that time has gone, another porthole will then appear on the other side of the room.  You will then have a minute to get to the other side anyway you can."  And with that, he vanished again.  Bart opened the next door and went in.

      "Your three-and-a-half minutes starts now!" said a voice and on a wall a digital clock started to count down.  Bart picked up the baseball bat and went to the practice shooter and waited.  The first ball came out and Bart missed it.  He saw a light go out and the voice said "Strike one!"  The second ball shot out and Bart blasted it and knocked a target right over.  With the next five balls, he missed the target on one so there was one chance left to get the final target.  The time said '1:07'.  Seven seconds to go before the porthole will open.  This was his last chance.  Three seconds to go.  The baseball came out.  Four seconds to go.  He hit the baseball.  Three seconds to go.  The ball was speeding towards the last target.  Two seconds, one second. The ball hits the target.  Zero seconds.

      The targets falls.  The porthole opens.  Bart scrambles towards the porthole.  He had to get over a revolving bridge that went over a river of pink and yellow slime.  He got to the edge of the river and just missed the bridge.  A panel lit up and it read '5 Seconds.'  5 seconds until the bridge came round again.  He decided to risk trying to jump onto the bridge.  He stepped back a bit and then ran towards the bridge.  He reached the edge of the river.  He jumped at the bridge.  He missed the bridge but he got hold of the railings.  He dragged himself over the railings and to the bridge.  He stood himself up and waited for the bridge to stop turning.  It did.  He ran for the next obstacle which was some stepping stones.  Bart had to jump onto the lit stones to get to the other side.  '42 Seconds' read the time panel.  There were thirteen stones that he had to jump on but there were at least forty stones altogether.  The first stone lit up.  Bart jumped on it.  He jumped the next ten stones with out any difficulty.

      The twelfth stone proved difficult.  Bart was at one side of the stones while the twelfth stone was on the other side of the stones.  The last stone lit up.  It was an easy one from where he stood, but from the twelfth stone, it was impossible.  '30 Seconds' said the voice.  He decided to jump onto the thirteenth stone because Data had said before "You must get to the other side any way you can."  He jumped.  And he landed safely on the last stone.  Then he jumped to the other side.  '15 Seconds' said the voice.  The porthole was a meter away.  A chain bridge away.  The chain bridge was the last obstacle in the room.  He ran for the bridge.  He jumped onto the bridge. He was half way when the chain was braking.  He turned round to see it bend and buckle.  He started to walk faster. '10 Seconds' said the voice.  It started to count down "Nine, eight, seven..."  Bart started to run.  "Four, three..."  Bart reached the end and when he did, the chain snapped.  "Two Seconds"  Bart ran towards the porthole.  "One second..."  Bart dived for the porthole and vanished.

     

      He woke up a couple of seconds later in a room with nothing in it.  Except two different portholes with a name above it.  Dave and Chrissie where the names.  There were other names underneath the portholes.  Under Dave was Eric Cantona and under Chrissie was Jason Donovan. They were the person or thing they most admired. Bart turn around to see a door, probably where his porthole was, and two panels.  One read Bart, and the other read Data.  Then another panel lit up.  It read Closed.

Chapter 2:- The Canyon Of Doom

      The pair were suddenly jolted as the lift started towards the second floor.  They suddenly stopped.  They were in a room, like the first one, but the panels were different.  The top one read 'DAVE' and the other one read 'THE CANYON OF DOOM'.  Just then, another panel lit up.  It read 'FLOOR 3'  They knew what it meant.  It meant that the were 2 more floors above them.  Chrissie was looking very worried and was talking to herself other, thinking what might be behind the door.  Dave put all of his worries into the back of his mind, gathered up his courage and, without saying a word, went towards the door.  But he was stopped.  He was getting dragged back.  It was Chrissie.  "Wait!" said cried out, "don't go yet!"

"Why?" asked Dave

"Because if Bart had a helper, so should you." she replied

"I don't want or need some stupid futuristic android to help me.  I'm all right on my own." he said, impatiently.

"Is that so?" said a voice, with a french accent

"Yes, it is so!" yelled Dave, "and who are you anyway."

"My name is..." said the voice while somebody was coming into existence "...Eric Cantona, Manchester United's best player."  Dave and the others were speechless.

"E-E-Eric C-C-Cantona?" said a very surprised Dave, stuttering badly.

"Yes," said Eric "yes my name is Eric Cantona".  And it is me the test is against.  Enter the room and I will tell you what to do." and with that he evaporated into a mist.  Dave went, without a doubt in his mind, to the door and pressed the 'OPEN' button.  The room was like Bart's, with all the pipes and the door opposite Dave.  Some steam came out the pipe to the right of him.  The steam changed into Eric Cantona.  He said "When you open the door in front of you, you shall see 10 footballs.  5 on one side and 5 on the other side.  The 5 on the right are for me. The other 5 are for Henley Comprehensive's striker, Micheal C. McCrawley." 

"What do I have to do?" questioned Dave

"You have to save as many of our shots, McCrawley and I.  You have to save at least 7 of our total shots.  If you beat us (I will vanish and McCrawley will cry and explode because he is a computer sprite), you will have a minute to get to the porthole which will have opened up.  You have unlimited time to our shots and two minutes and thirty seconds to do the rest.  Your challenge starts now!"  Dave clears his throat, looks back to see the door has disappeared, and says "Well, there's no turning back.  McCrawley, it's time to see  what you are made of!" He walks up to the door. It opens silently and closes silently behind him.

      When the door closed, a voice said, "E. Cantona, first penalty."  And Eric Cantona took his first ball to the penalty spot, and waited.  Then the voice said, "Please will the goalkeeper D. Bennet get to his position."  Nervously, Dave went to his position, just outside of the goal mouth.  The voice said again, "E. Cantona, you may start when ready, and M. McCrawley may start when E. Cantona takes his first one, and then E. Cantona may have his second penalty, and so on.  If you do not succeed, D. Bennet, you will of course be punished. You may start when ready."  Cantona lined up for his first shot and Dave missed it.  The McCrawley lined up for his first shot and Dave saved it!  Only three more saves were left.  The number one lit up on a board.  Out of the next three more shots, Dave saved five and missed one.  Cantona lined himself up for his last shot, and he blasted it home. Dave had no chance of saving it.  Then McCrawley lined up for his last shot, but he hit the crossbar and went over.  Dave looked anxiously at the score board and saw only half of the number seven lit up.  Then he looked at McCrawley, and he saw him laughing so hard that he nearly died laughing.  Dave saw a football in front of him so he picked it up and booted it towards the score panel, and destroyed it.

     

      Underneath a panel lit up which read 'TASK COMPLETED.  2:30 MINUTES LEFT TO ESCAPE'  Dave looked towards the other end of the room, and sure enough, he saw the porthole in all it's beauty but he had no time to stand and admire it because he heard a crackling behind him and saw McCrawley just about to explode.  Dave instantly turned round and ran towards the porthole but there was a canyon in front of him.  He quickly looked down, thought he saw a ledge, looked back towards McCrawley to see him coming nearer so Dave decided to risk walking off the edge, and when he dropped down, Micheal M. McCrawley exploded.  The explosion was so horrific that if Dave had been up there, he would have been killed instantly.  As it was, Dave was standing safely on a bit of ledge so big, you could put the entire Manchester United football squad on it and still have room for all of their supporters.  As it was, there was only one Manchester United supporter, and that was Dave Bennet.  Even though the ledge was that size, he would still need another nineteen of them to reach the other side so you can see how big the canyon was.  Dave wasn't thinking about all this.  He was thinking if his goalie gloves would give him enough grip on the monkey bars at the edge of the enormous ledge as it looked like the only way across.  He decided to risk it.  The time clock read '1:46 LEFT TO ESCAPE' and counting down.

      He got about seven tenths along when the bars were breaking up.  He was reaching for the second to last rung when the whole thing gave way apart from the first and last rung.  He grabbed the second to last rung then threw his body towards the last rung, still fastened to the canyon wall. And his right hand just managed to hold it.  hen dragged himself up to find himself at the bottom of the ladder, going up to the top. he tested the side bars which were OK but a few seconds after he touched a rung, it dissolved into powder.  Dave realised that he would have to climb up quickly and his hands on the side bars. At the start he slipped and had to start again. But the next time he made it up easily. 

      At the top, there was a sign that read 'START' and there was a track running from the sign to the porthole.  It was about 400 meters away.  The clock read '0:16' but the seconds didn't start to count down instead the seconds went up to '0:46' and the voice said "30 second bonus.  Please will D. Bennet of England go to the starting blocks." when he reached there, the voice then said "Are you ready?  Go!"  And off went Dave running like mad to the porthole. "100 meters" said the voice "200 meters" then" 300 meters" Then he started the time count down "10, 9, 8..."  Dave had a few more yards to go.  "4, 3, 2..."  Dave jumped into the porthole, "1, 0!"  Everything went black.  Dave woke to see that he was on the floor of a hexagonal shaped room.  There was another figure in the room.  It took a while but Dave realised it was Bart. 

"Hi Bart, long time no see." said Dave 

"Oh Dave, it's you!" replied a shocked Bart

"Who did you think I was?  Freddy Kruger?  Carl Lewis?  The Pope!?!"

"I just was not expecting you, that's all.  God, trust you to make a mountain out of a mole hill!  Anyway look behind you."  Behind  him was his name, Eric Cantona's name and a place for where the porthole was.  Another panel lit up.  It read 'CLOSED'.

"Well, it looks like were trapped here." said Dave, grimly

"It looks like it." replied a tired Bart

"It looks like Chrissie is next as she is the last one.  Look, there's her porthole."  Dave pointed to the porthole next to him.

"I thought it was going to be Chrissie who was after me, not you."

"Why, what's wrong with me.  Ahh I get it.  Little Bart fancies Chrissie does he?"  teased Dave.

"Don't be so stupid.  I just thought it would be the person on my left."

"Why?  What's so special about your left?" enquired Dave

"Nothing.  It's just that I'm left handed and I thought..."

"Yeah I get it.  You thought, because you had your challenge first, everything revolves around you.  You're sad." 

Bart thought to himself, "I was right.  He is pathetic."

Chapter 3:- Netball Nightmare

      The lift started upwards again towards the third floor where the sudden jolt of the lift stopping almost made Chrissie fall over.  She looked at the now familiar panels.  She knew as she was the last one that she would be next.  'Netball Nightmare' was the name of the challenge. Chrissie started psyching herself up for the challenge ahead.  The cloud of steam was back and Chrissie was mesmerized as she saw who her helper was.  "Jason Donovan!  It's JASON DONOVAN!!!  I don't believe it!"

"You better believe it because you are only gonna get past this challenge by paying attention.  Behind that set of doors, there is a netball match like you've never seen before.  The game is being decided by a shooting competition.  One member of each team has five shots.  The one who gets the most, wins.  If there is a draw, it will go to sudden death.  You are to represent Darwin for netball.  You will be facing your most feared rival, Lauren Stanner of Sidney High.  You have unlimited time to complete the shoot-out but then you only have 2 minutes 15 seconds to escape.  Are you ready?"

"As I ever will be.  Lauren has beaten me once but never again."  With this she took a deep breath and walk through the doors. 

      As she entered the challenge room, a voice boomed out of a hidden speaker.  "Would C. Howard please make her way to the court to start the challenge.  Thank you."  Chrissie looked around the room.  The only thing she could see was the netball court.  She saw no walls and the floor looked like it went on forever.  She looked behind her, where she entered the room.  There was nothing there.  The voice boomed again, "I repeat, would C. Howard make her way to the court please."  As there was nowhere else to go, she headed for the court.  When she got to the sideline, she saw all her team-mates waiting there.  She looked at the other team.  Sure enough she saw Sidney High's top team.  They had beaten Darwin Hall in their only match against each other.  The crucial point was scored by Sidney High's top player, Lauren Stanner.  She was standing there, looking at Chrissie with that 'I'm better than you so you'll never win' kind of smile.  The Voice came again.  "L. Stanner to go first.  Would L. Stanner please make her way to the shooting point."  Stanner turned to Chrissie and smiled.

"Good luck kid, you'll need it." Stanner jeered.

"Don't you mean YOU'LL need it.  I'm going to pound you so far in the ground that you'll appear in Pommie land."  Chrissie retorted viciously.

"Dream on Howard.  I am here to see personally to your death."  With that, Stanner turned and headed to the shooting point.  Chrissie pondered her words in her head and wonder what she meant with "...to see personally to your death."  Perhaps she meant her death in her netball circle.  Or she could me something much worse and much, much more serious.  The latter could be something that doesn't bear thinking about it.  She pushed these thoughts into the back of her mind as she looked over to Stanner to see how 'well' she was doing.  Stanner took her shot with the grace of a slim-lined dolphin jumping up out of the sea.  The ball went up and over the shot distance to the net.  The ball started getting lower until it finally hit the net.  Stanner had scored which sent the entire team of Sidney High into mass cheering.  The Voice said, "Sidney High 1, Darwin Hall 0.  C. Howard to go next."  Chrissie went over to the shooting point and took her shot.  It went in.  "Sidney High 1, Darwin Hall 1.  L. Stanner to go next."  She went over to the shooting point and took her shot.  It went in.  This continued until the scores were "Sidney High 3, Darwin Hall 3.  L. Stanner to go next.  This is your last shot." 

"Your finished Howard.  You might as well accept it now before you face humiliation for the second time."  Stanner was really getting on Chrissie's nerves.

"It ain't over until the Fat Lady sings."  replied Chrissie.

"That may be, but I hear she has just come out of her dressing room, 2 minutes away from her performance."  sniggered Stanner.

"How inconvenient.  I have just happened to hear that the show's cancelled.  Sorry Stanner, but you're going down big time.  This time, you're the one that's going to be humiliated in front of your entire team.  And I'm going to savour every moment I have when I see your humiliated and destroyed career.  There's going to be a funeral alright, but it's going to be yours.  Nice knowing you Stanner."  Chrissie smiled as she put the finishing touches to her speech.

"Yeah, yeah.  You said that last time.  Now if your quite finished, I've got a match to win."  Stanner turned and marched off angrily to the shooting point.  Chrissie realised that she has got to her in a big way.  Maybe big enough to ruin her perfect concentration.  Now all Chrissie could do was watch, wait and hope.

      Stanner's mind was full of guilt about humiliating Chrissie at their last encounter.  Her mind went back to that day.  The scores were drawn and it was a shoot-out to decided the outcome of the match and the cup.  The Australian Netball Association (ANA) Cup.  The ANA Cup was the best netball competition in the entire world.  If in the Final, the scores were drawn, it went to a shoot-out.  Stanner had the last shot for Sidney High and Chrissie Howard had Darwin Hall's last shot.  Stanner went first and she scored.  The scores at that point were Sidney High 4, Darwin Hall 3.  Stanner went over to Howard and started to talk to her, putting her down.  In other words, Lauren Stanner, the high-filer who never does anything wrong was trying to manipulate Chrissie Howard, an equally successful student who has had her share of bad luck and misbehavior.  Stanner backed off Howard, knowing that her job was successful as she watched her go to the shooting point.  Stanner could see that Howard's concentration was else where as she took her shot.  Before the ball even left her hands, everybody knew she had fluffed it.  The ball went spinning up into to the air and came down a few feet in front of Howard.  Her head was lowered in shame and humiliation.  Stanner would never forget the last look Howard gave her.  It said "Why Lauren why?  Why did you do that to me?"  She knew the answer then but now she doesn't because Chrissie gave her a taste of her own medicine.  She was a about to take her shot when she dropped the ball, defeated.  Stanner lifted her head up.  "I submit the match.  Two years ago, I cheated Chrissie Howard out of the ANA Cup.  I knew she was better than me so I manipulated her mind so that she would be unable to win the match.  I now realize what I have done so I have decided to give her this match in return of the match I took from her and I hope that we can settle our differences and become friends and not rivals."

"I find your submission acceptable.  C. Howard, you have won the match.  You may leave the court." the Voice said.  Chrissie turned to Stanner.  She was surprised to see that she was fading.  In fact, everything around her was fading.  Stanner looked at Chrissie.  "See you, Chriss."

"Same to you, Lauren." replied Chrissie, softly. "See you."  Everything around Chrissie disappeared.  The Voice said, "Due to the way that you handled the situation, you don't have to escape the challenge room and you can join your companions anytime you want."

"I would like to go now please."  Chrissie said to the emptiness.

"That will now be sorted."  The Voice changed to that of Lauren Stanner.  "Although you think whatever you do to me here will not effect the real world, then you are wrong.  The real Lauren Stanner will have a full recollection of the events that took place here today as will you and your two companions.  We wish you well on your journey home.  Farewell Chrissie.  I'll see you soon."  At that moment everything went black.

      She appeared in the porthole room, glad to see Bart and Dave there.  "Bart!  Dave!  I'm so glad to see you.  How are you both?"  Bart and Dave looked at each other and then at Chrissie.

"We're fine." replied Bart.

"But what about you?  Are you feeling all right?"  asked Dave.

"I have never been happier.  And I can say that we can go home now." replied Chrissie

"Go home?  How can we go home when we are stuck here in this room?" shouted Bart but just after he said those words, the room started moving upwards.  "What the ....?!?!" exclaimed Dave but Bart said "Of course.  This must be the Fourth floor.  Underneath us is the lift that got us here."

"And we are heading for the Fifth and probably top floor."  finished Chrissie as she suddenly clicked on to the idea.  When the lift stopped, a door opened in the wall, leading out in a large hall.

"You go first Dave." said Bart

"No, you go first Bart." insisted Dave.  They both looked at each other.

"Ladies first!"  they said together.

"You guys are hopeless." said Chrissie as she ducked her head and went through the door.

Chapter 4:- The End

      When they were all through the door, they heard a closing noise as the door closed.  When they turned round they saw the lift go back through a hole in the floor, the hole sealing it's self after the lift.  They turned round to see six people coming towards them.  Three of them were copies of themselves and the other three were people they met in the challenge rooms.  The Bart copy came forward.  "Welcome.  We are sorry for the trouble we caused you but it was necessary to do it as our Dave and Chrissie will explain."  He stepped back as the Chrissie copy stepped forward.

"We are based on you from your various locations across the globe you call 'Earth'.  We are basically exact copies of you as in we have the same feelings, emotions, memory and ambitions as you.  We live in this world and it has been our home for many years.  This place is not as dead as you think.  It is just that we made sure no-one or nothing would see you as we tested you.  Our Dave will tell you more."  The Dave copy moved forward and the Chrissie copy moved back. 

"We call our home Reath, and anagram of Earth, and we have lived in this building for many, many years.  Although we are you, we do not know how we would work together when we needed to and how we would work in a situation by ourselves.  So we brought you here to find out about how you work under pressure.  That was the purpose behind the 'Challenges' as you called them.  Our research has been completed with the help of your Guardians.  For you Bart, Data helped you work to your full potential and the same with you Dave, with Eric Cantona.  But for Chrissie, it was different."  He stepped back and the Bart copy came forward.

"At first we thought it would be Jason Donovan who would help Chrissie reach her full potential but as it turned out, it was her old rival Lauren Stanner that did it.  Although she didn't realize it, Chrissie wanted to have Lauren as a friend.  The opportunity we gave here let her reach her full potential by reaching her life long goal.  You Guardians want to speak with you.  But after that, I'm afraid you must go.  If you stay any longer, you might never get back at all.  You might say this place here is the Third Reality.  Goodbye and I wish you have a good journey."  With that, the copies of Bart, Chrissie and Dave vanished leaving the Guardians to talk to the trio.

     

      About 30 minutes later, the Guardians bade farewell to the three companions and left the hall in a bright flash of light.  They then heard the Bart copy's voice say "When you would like to leave, just press the button next to the door in front of you and walk through the doorway.  You will be then returned to your appropriate places just before you came here so you won't have missed anything in your reality.  Goodbye noble ones."  They all looked at each other and nodded.  They all started walking across the great hall towards the door.  While they walked they started to exchange addresses and phone numbers so they could all get back in contact with each other. When they got to the door, Chrissie finished off the conversation by saying "I can't wait to see Lauren Stanner.  We are at the door.  Dave, would you like the honor of opening the door?"

"No thanks Chrissie, you deserve to have the honor." Dave replied kindly.  Chrissie shrugs.

"Ok, I'm opening the door." she said as she presses the button.  When the door opened, they could see nothing.  Just a black doorway.  "Are we going to go home?"  asked Bart

"Let's go." replied Dave

"Same here." added Chrissie

"Lets all go at the same time." finished off Bart and they started off towards the opening.  When they went through the doorway, the darkness enveloped them as they got a feeling of weightlessness.

"See you Dave, see you Bart."

"See you after both of you"

"'Bye Dave and Chrissie.  I'll miss you both."  And with that final sentence, they went into a sort of unconsciousness.

Epilogue

      When Bart got home, he finished the home run he started before the adventure began.  When his feet hit that final base, it was like nothing he ever felt before.  His team mates all came towards him, and lifted him off his feet and held above the crowd.  He thought to himself as he soaked up the cheering that although working on your own is important, "..working with friends is even more so."  He took his cap off his head and shot it high into the clear American air with another 20 or so caps going up just after his.

      Dave's home coming was well timed as he snatched up the ball and shot it half-way down the field.  The scores were drawn and they were in injury time.  This would be the last chance his team will have of scoring so it had better come off.  The ball was well intercepted and booted home by Dave's best friend, Micheal O'Hara.  The ball went straight in the top right corner of the goal.  Henley Comprehensive had no chance to retaliate as the final whistle blew.  Dave's team won by one goal.  He also realised that working with friends was more important than working by yourself as the entire squad of Roseheath United gathered round Dave and Micheal.  It was a moment to be savoured.

      Chrissie arrived in time to see where her ball had landed.  Straight into the basket.  The home team cheered, the home crowd cheered and Lauren Stanner cheered.  Chrissie heard Lauren in the crowd so she turned round and saw her standing there.  She started running over to her.  "Hey, Chriss.  Nice shot there." Lauren said to Chrissie.

"Thanks.  Hey Lauren, do you remember....?"  Chrissie asked, not needing to finish her sentence.

She nodded "Yeah, I remember.  What you said to me before my last shot helped me realised where I went wrong.  I'm extremely sorry about that."

"It doesn't make any difference.  We are still rivals when it comes to the game."

"Not anymore Chriss.  That's why I'm over here.  I transferring to Darwin Hall.  I went to see the principle and he accepted straight away.  I was getting sick of Sidney High.  My family and I are moving anyway."

"Where to?  Anywhere nice?"

"Anywhere nice?!  Of course it's nice.  It's the best place in Australia.  Darwin."

"Really!  Where about?"

"27 Oakland Road."

"That's next door to my house.  That means will shall go to school together.  Let's go to my place to have a chat.  I have a couple of friends you might want to know.  Their names are Bart Conrad and Dave Bennett."

      Over the following year, Dave and the others have become close friends.  Dave has started seeing Lauren and Bart is getting there with Chrissie.  Although they all live in different counties, (apart from Lauren and Chrissie), they have promised the spend all of the summer together.  This year Dave and Bart went over to join Chrissie and Lauren in Austalia where they had a time to remember.  Next year hopefully, they are going to see Bart in America where they hope they will have an even better time to remember!

The End.