A Useful Skill

I boy discovers an unexpected talent.

Chapter 1

 

 

 

Stu Braddock frowned down at the drawing of a beaver he’d just completed, comparing it to the illustration in the book on drawing. The best he could call it was okay. But to that he had to add a reluctant, “For a six-year-old.” He was eight and should be able to do a lot better.

With a sigh, he reached for the bottom of the page, to flip to a new one and start over. But then, he stopped. On the right-hand bottom corner of the page was a small number four, sloppily drawn, and not all that dark--a number he hadn’t placed there.

Someone had been using his book, probably Kaylie. As a first grader, the crude workmanship was what he’d expect from her. But in the end it didn’t matter, and he hadn’t told her not to use it, so, he flipped to a new page and got to work.

 

Grinning, he touched the latest version of the beaver drawing, saying, “Stu, you finally did it. This is a beaver.” This one he would present to Mom. It was with a great deal of satisfaction that he turned to a new lesson in the book, this one labeled, Negative Space.

Pulling the page from the sketchpad he set it aside, glancing at it one last time before going on. But then he froze. At the bottom of the page, again, was the number four, which he hadn’t drawn, and which had not been on the page when he began the sketch.

With hesitation, he began to check the other pages in the book. Beyond where he was working, it was pristine white paper, unmarked by anything. But before, on the pages he’d been using, every one carried that same digit in the same spot--every page but the one he’d accidentally skipped. That one was blank. And it carried no digit in the corner.

That’s just not possible. It had to be a trick. And the one who had pulled it had to be his father. The question was, how?

Inspection showed that the number had been drawn with pencil, and it erased easily. But how had Mr. Trickster done it? The easiest explanation would be some kind of opaque paper colored, material that covered the number, but which turned clear when the page was exposed to light. So, he flipped the book to a new page, placed the book on the windowsill, where sunlight would hit it, and waited.

Nothing appeared.

Assuming that whatever it was had a film that needed to be broken by his drawing on it, to trigger the change, he next drew a tic-tac-toe figure, complete with X’s and O’s, then waited. When that produced nothing, she angled the pencil and scribbled, covering an area as large as the picture of the beaver had.

When he checked, there it was, as always, the number four at the bottom right corner.

With a loud “Ah-ha,” he headed for a closet to see if the paper being in light when drawn on was necessary. And, it wasn’t. After scribbling in the dark, when he opened the closet door the number was there, bringing a huge grin.

How his father had done it was, as yet, unknowable. But he definitely had, and was definitely going to explain how as soon as he got home. Tossing the pad on the table, he called, “Hey Kaylie, pause your game and take a look at this.”

 

°  °  °

 

“Take a look at what?” Kaylie said as she came into the dining room.

“Take a look at that page and tell me what you see,” he said, pointing at the bottom corner of the beaver drawing on the dining room table.

“It’s a beaver falling out of the sky,” she said, with a laugh. “You better draw some water for her to land in.”

“Not the beaver,” he said, waving away her comment, look at what I’m pointing at.”

“The four?”

“Yes the four. I didn’t draw it. And it wasn’t on the page when I started. In fact, I--” He leaned toward the drawing, jaw dropping. The picture was turned, so that what had been a beaver standing had been converted to one falling. That was irrelevant. What was, though, was that the number four was now in the bottom right corner of the new orientation. And the place where it had been was blank. And that was flatly impossible.

“Stu...are you okay? Kaylie was leaning toward him, her expression troubled.  He glanced down at the table, and at the sketch book that lay there, oriented as it had been, with the number at the bottom right. Afraid that he was not going to like what happened next, he rotated the tablet to match that of the beaver drawing, then jerked his hand back, just in case.

“Wow!” Kaylie had her hands spread wide in surprise as she said, “How did you make it do that? That was amazing!” Then, without asking, she rotated the picture another turn, clapping her hands in excitement as the number faded from the corner where it had been and appeared at the new bottom right of the page.

Stunned and unable to respond to her comment, he could only stand, mouth agape, unable to accept what had just happened, but at the same time unable to deny it. The thought occurred that he now understood what the term “freak out” truly meant.

Finally, regaining a bit of control, he told Kaylie to stand by the side of the table where, to her, the beaver drawing would look as intended. When she did, and the number remained in place, terribly afraid of what was about to happen, but unable to stop, he joined her, to watch the number again fade and reappear. He, it seemed, was both making it appear, and determining where it appeared.

Unable to even think about what was happening, he turned and headed into the living room to sit on the sofa, stunned.

After a long moment in which he tried, unsuccessfully, to convince himself that he was asleep and dreaming, Kaylie called, “It didn’t change when you left, and now, when I turn it, it just stays where it was.” A few seconds later, she was in front of him, saying, “Come on, Stu. It’s a really good magic trick. But you have to tell me how to do it.”

Without lifting his face from his hands he said, “I can’t Kaylie, it’s not a trick.” The thought came that he should go out back to where his mother was working on the garden, call her in, and show her. But he was unable to do more than sit, head in his hands, shaking in negation.

 

°  °  °  °

Author's Note

The opening sequence in this chapter came to me as part of a dream, and was so odd and unexpected that I had no choice but to sit down and write chapter 1

The question is if I should continue.

So comments on if it works, problems or issues needing clarification, and more are welcome.

Reviews

[Lara]

Jay, to me (a very inexperienced story writer i confess) it reads really well.
The opening is smooth in its steadiness forward, and I especially admire how you manage to use dialogue without effort.

There was a mis-spelling, though, for what its worth: "the though came ... " near the end.

[JayG]

Thank you. I've started on chapter two, and according to his mother, it's happening at least three years too early, but I've still not figured out what's happening, or, where it leads. I suspect that he's not quite human, though. 🤣

[FireFlyScribe]

I am new to this site and this is the first piece I have felt compelled to comment on. I loved this! It kept me engaged and I felt the tension the boy was feeling. You do a really good job at building the suspense at a steady, even pace. If I were to be so bold as to offer any advice it might be to find a way to end the chapter on a slightly sharper note- something to really push the reader to the next chapter. Maybe Stu realizes something else about the phenomenon. Or even just rearranging the last few sentences so that the chapter ends with Stu answering Kaylie "I can't tell you because it's not a trick." I would love to see where you take it!

[Arti]

Hi Jay,
Can I comment on your story.

I don't know what to say but I would say, you are the right person to lead as king, but somehow some weak links hurt. We can make unknown understand only the grounds that he needs to know and he wants to know only for fixing ignorance not to take advantage. But for known he never needs to be known and even if we explain they will not credit on the grounds that if he was selfish and use it for self. But known person acknowledge you that I know and thanks for letting me know and will never take advantage because of grateful is it's nature.