Abstract Ink Painting on Colored Paper by Alana Wu
Painting
The Professor and I by Vishnu Rallapalli
Fiction
“Hi, could I talk to Professor Shackelton, please?” I said, still trying to catch my breath as I had rushed to let Liam know that I finally got my dream job.
“Hello Cameron, have a seat. He will be with you shortly,” Mary said in her gentle voice.
She had been working at the University of Central Florida for years as a receptionist. I met with Professor Shackelton almost every month and that’s how we got to know each other (if Liam was ever lost, she would know where he was. She always kept track of him. I mean Liam is a bit irresponsible).
"Thanks, Mary,” I said, heading to the lounge as I struggled to control my excitement.
“Ah, Cameron! Good to see you again!” Professor Shackelton yelled as he emerged from his office, looking just like he always does, black formal pants, a white lab coat, clean shaved beard, and short hair. Nevertheless, still a very unique man.
“Liam! You won’t believe it, I finally got the job at Disney as an Imagineer.”
“That’s amazing. But what does that mean?” he asked. “Well, as an Imagineer I'm responsible for coming up with ideas for rides, attractions, and so much more. It’s my dream job! There is nothing more I want than making this project successful and that’s why I wanted to talk to you, Liam,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t mind helping me make an amazing ride.
“I would love to help you, Cam, but I have a meeting that I need to attend down in Miami tomorrow.” He knitted his eyebrows together as he was thinking thoroughly, “Why don’t you join me? We could talk and have some fun while we are there.”
“Sure!” I said.
I couldn’t think of anyone better than Liam to help me come up with the perfect ride for my first project. This project means a lot to me. It would be the turning point in my career that I have worked so hard to reach. Liam is a Science Professor - a Harvard graduate Professor - and has always been creative with his knowledge. I couldn’t miss meeting Liam again. I headed out to Miami immediately that night and Liam and I decided to meet in the morning. I couldn’t contain my excitement!
“So what was it that you needed, Cam?” Liam asked in curiosity.
“Well, you see, my first project is to build a ride and I need your help because I can’t risk messing up anything. It needs to be perfect,” I said, not realizing I was panting in the end. I mean after all, the tension that surrounded this project was no joke.
“Hm... what if you make an adventurous ride of the Indiana Jones series?”
“See I knew you would come with a smart idea!” I said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few months pass. Early Summer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A couple months had passed since Liam and I had last met.
“Hey Liam, this is Cam. Just wanted to say sorry. I was so engrossed in the project that I didn’t even seem to care about anything else. I would love for you to come over and check out the ride one day. Call me back when possible, thank you, Cam.” I wanted everything to be perfect for when he would come and see it.
I went inside this mine themed cave and sat on the cart and put on the seat belt. The machine started up, the cart moved slowly but went faster, just wasn’t noticeable, and boom. There was a small explosion and a spark occurred in the back of the ride.
“What’s wrong?!” I yell as I rush to the spark.
“Technical difficulties most likely. It should be good now.” One of the technicians said. Of course he wasn’t as enthusiastic as me. There were other people testing with me too and we were all quiet. We could all hear each other's heartbeats as the cart went forward slowly, eventually to the end. At least it seemed like it. Then from there the track was very steep and it would just nose dive right down, only then it stopped for a second then moved forward slowly, again, it started to go up again. As it continued to go, the cart started to move around and felt rocky and bumpy. Then before you could blink your eyes it just shot forward so fast, then came outside the cave. It wasn’t over yet, though. It rolled, spinned, went around the track upside down then finally came back on track peacefully to the end. It was amazing! Once I got out of the cart my boss and others congratulated me and cheered but I still wasn’t happy, not until Liam could also feel what I just felt. I rushed out from the cheering crowd and went somewhere quiet and called Liam. He didn’t pick up. I tried a few more times and he still hadn’t picked up. I was hoping he would get back by tonight.
Before going to bed, I checked my phone again to see if he had reached back, and again there was nothing. I started getting goosebumps and weird feelings. As I sat on my bed looking at my phone I wondered,
Is the Professor mad at me for not talking to him earlier?
Is he alright?
What if something bad happened?
“Hey Mary, this is Cam. Have you seen Professor Shackleton recently? I haven’t been able to get in contact with him.” I had to call Mary. If anything happened she would definitely know.
“Hey Cam, I haven’t seen him either. I was going to call you soon as well asking about him. I haven’t been able to talk to him either. Let me know if you find out anything.
“Will do, Mary. Thank you.”
I started to get more and more worried and contacted his friends and they had no clue about him either.
What could have happened to Liam that no one knows anything about his whereabouts?
I finally decided to go to his house and saw that the door was locked. I asked his neighbors if they knew anything and one of them said he had gone to the UK for a vacation. I thought he might just be enjoying it and wouldn’t have checked his phone.
A week had passed and he still hadn’t said anything. I started to get scared and get bad thoughts. I had been searching for his family’s information and finally got it and when I contacted them also said that he was in the UK and might just be busy there and not to worry.
For some reason I couldn’t stop worrying. I turned on the News and they were talking about some car crash in the Widow-Maker in the UK. Apparently it is one of the most dangerous roads in the world. I suddenly had a stream of curiosity to go (I wish I didn’t) check on it. When I did, I saw that there was a man that had fallen off the cliffs and his car had rolled down into the deep cliffs. When they turned the body, I saw his face...it was Liam. I fell back onto my couch and just let a river of water flow through my eyes.
I hadn’t been to work in a while and when my boss had asked me why not I told him what had happened - how Liam was the reason that this ride was such a big hit. After hearing about the story he also felt sad. I would say Mark is one the best bosses ever. He’s nice and compassionate towards his fellow coworkers. I’m really lucky to be working in a magical place like this.
“Why not make this ride in memory of him?” He suggested.
“Sure, that would be amazing. Thank you, sir,” I said, astonished.
However, I still had a feeling that I may have been the reason he died. Maybe if I had kept talking to him and meeting with him he would have still been here with me. I couldn’t take in the fact that the person who has helped me so much and had been so close to me went away from me forever.
Maybe what they say is true, “There is a reason behind every person you meet.”
“Hello Cameron, have a seat. He will be with you shortly,” Mary said in her gentle voice.
She had been working at the University of Central Florida for years as a receptionist. I met with Professor Shackelton almost every month and that’s how we got to know each other (if Liam was ever lost, she would know where he was. She always kept track of him. I mean Liam is a bit irresponsible).
"Thanks, Mary,” I said, heading to the lounge as I struggled to control my excitement.
“Ah, Cameron! Good to see you again!” Professor Shackelton yelled as he emerged from his office, looking just like he always does, black formal pants, a white lab coat, clean shaved beard, and short hair. Nevertheless, still a very unique man.
“Liam! You won’t believe it, I finally got the job at Disney as an Imagineer.”
“That’s amazing. But what does that mean?” he asked. “Well, as an Imagineer I'm responsible for coming up with ideas for rides, attractions, and so much more. It’s my dream job! There is nothing more I want than making this project successful and that’s why I wanted to talk to you, Liam,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t mind helping me make an amazing ride.
“I would love to help you, Cam, but I have a meeting that I need to attend down in Miami tomorrow.” He knitted his eyebrows together as he was thinking thoroughly, “Why don’t you join me? We could talk and have some fun while we are there.”
“Sure!” I said.
I couldn’t think of anyone better than Liam to help me come up with the perfect ride for my first project. This project means a lot to me. It would be the turning point in my career that I have worked so hard to reach. Liam is a Science Professor - a Harvard graduate Professor - and has always been creative with his knowledge. I couldn’t miss meeting Liam again. I headed out to Miami immediately that night and Liam and I decided to meet in the morning. I couldn’t contain my excitement!
“So what was it that you needed, Cam?” Liam asked in curiosity.
“Well, you see, my first project is to build a ride and I need your help because I can’t risk messing up anything. It needs to be perfect,” I said, not realizing I was panting in the end. I mean after all, the tension that surrounded this project was no joke.
“Hm... what if you make an adventurous ride of the Indiana Jones series?”
“See I knew you would come with a smart idea!” I said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few months pass. Early Summer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A couple months had passed since Liam and I had last met.
“Hey Liam, this is Cam. Just wanted to say sorry. I was so engrossed in the project that I didn’t even seem to care about anything else. I would love for you to come over and check out the ride one day. Call me back when possible, thank you, Cam.” I wanted everything to be perfect for when he would come and see it.
I went inside this mine themed cave and sat on the cart and put on the seat belt. The machine started up, the cart moved slowly but went faster, just wasn’t noticeable, and boom. There was a small explosion and a spark occurred in the back of the ride.
“What’s wrong?!” I yell as I rush to the spark.
“Technical difficulties most likely. It should be good now.” One of the technicians said. Of course he wasn’t as enthusiastic as me. There were other people testing with me too and we were all quiet. We could all hear each other's heartbeats as the cart went forward slowly, eventually to the end. At least it seemed like it. Then from there the track was very steep and it would just nose dive right down, only then it stopped for a second then moved forward slowly, again, it started to go up again. As it continued to go, the cart started to move around and felt rocky and bumpy. Then before you could blink your eyes it just shot forward so fast, then came outside the cave. It wasn’t over yet, though. It rolled, spinned, went around the track upside down then finally came back on track peacefully to the end. It was amazing! Once I got out of the cart my boss and others congratulated me and cheered but I still wasn’t happy, not until Liam could also feel what I just felt. I rushed out from the cheering crowd and went somewhere quiet and called Liam. He didn’t pick up. I tried a few more times and he still hadn’t picked up. I was hoping he would get back by tonight.
Before going to bed, I checked my phone again to see if he had reached back, and again there was nothing. I started getting goosebumps and weird feelings. As I sat on my bed looking at my phone I wondered,
Is the Professor mad at me for not talking to him earlier?
Is he alright?
What if something bad happened?
“Hey Mary, this is Cam. Have you seen Professor Shackleton recently? I haven’t been able to get in contact with him.” I had to call Mary. If anything happened she would definitely know.
“Hey Cam, I haven’t seen him either. I was going to call you soon as well asking about him. I haven’t been able to talk to him either. Let me know if you find out anything.
“Will do, Mary. Thank you.”
I started to get more and more worried and contacted his friends and they had no clue about him either.
What could have happened to Liam that no one knows anything about his whereabouts?
I finally decided to go to his house and saw that the door was locked. I asked his neighbors if they knew anything and one of them said he had gone to the UK for a vacation. I thought he might just be enjoying it and wouldn’t have checked his phone.
A week had passed and he still hadn’t said anything. I started to get scared and get bad thoughts. I had been searching for his family’s information and finally got it and when I contacted them also said that he was in the UK and might just be busy there and not to worry.
For some reason I couldn’t stop worrying. I turned on the News and they were talking about some car crash in the Widow-Maker in the UK. Apparently it is one of the most dangerous roads in the world. I suddenly had a stream of curiosity to go (I wish I didn’t) check on it. When I did, I saw that there was a man that had fallen off the cliffs and his car had rolled down into the deep cliffs. When they turned the body, I saw his face...it was Liam. I fell back onto my couch and just let a river of water flow through my eyes.
I hadn’t been to work in a while and when my boss had asked me why not I told him what had happened - how Liam was the reason that this ride was such a big hit. After hearing about the story he also felt sad. I would say Mark is one the best bosses ever. He’s nice and compassionate towards his fellow coworkers. I’m really lucky to be working in a magical place like this.
“Why not make this ride in memory of him?” He suggested.
“Sure, that would be amazing. Thank you, sir,” I said, astonished.
However, I still had a feeling that I may have been the reason he died. Maybe if I had kept talking to him and meeting with him he would have still been here with me. I couldn’t take in the fact that the person who has helped me so much and had been so close to me went away from me forever.
Maybe what they say is true, “There is a reason behind every person you meet.”