The metal room was cold and desolate. It held a simple metal desk with a simple metal chair. In front of the desk three paper shredders were placed, each with it’s own name. The far left read “Nowhere”; the exact middle claimed “Society”; the extreme right boasted “The World”. Nowhere was too full, Society was half full, and The World was virtually empty. Two men entered the room. Both were neat and pressed, but one clearly outranked the other for he wore the black suit and tie. Black suit sat in the medal chair while The Second Man pulled out stack upon stack of manila folders. Black suit sighed.
“Let’s get this damned thing over with,” he grumpily took one folder out at a time, professionally and methodically going through the paperwork. After looking at the logistics he would snap out the word “Essay”. The Second Man would flit about for a moment before making a piece of paper appear in his hands. He would cautiously set it in front of Black suit who would read the first sentence, move on to the second, hesitate at the third, and really not want to read the fourth. He would then stop. A waste of time. Black suit would harshly thrust the paper into The Second Man’s chest who would be startled and grapple for the paper. When he gained control he would await Black suit’s judgment. Many times he shouted “Nowhere!” and the far left shredder would scream as the paper became unrecognizable. Sometimes he would hesitantly state “Society…” and the exact middle shredder hummed a little tune as the paper strips fell into it’s cavern. And, rarely, he would joyously exclaim, “The World!”, and the extreme right shredder would sing gloriously, happy for the improvements. A seemingly infinite amount of hours passed: Black suit finally reached the last one. Tiredly, he opened it. It was a familiar tune; Good grades, good GPA, good class rank, good ACT score, an athlete. He wearily said, “Essay,” The Second Man was ready so the last paper was in front of him before the word had ended. Black suit took hold of the paper. He read the first sentence, enjoyed the second, looked forward the third, and couldn’t wait for the fourth! He read, the 500 or so words mesmerizing him. When they stopped, he was at a loss. Where to put this person? Nowhere certainly wasn’t an option. But Society didn’t seem right either. The World almost seemed too much. He stared at the page for a good five minutes before he tentatively stated, “Society…” The Second Man almost sadly took the paper to the sad little shredder. Halfway there something stopped him. He couldn’t quit discern what it was… A sound?… A word?… “No!”? The Second Man was shocked. It couldn’t possibly have come from the essay!
“S-sir? The Second Man nervously turned toward the metal desk.
“WHAT?” shouted Black suit. Before another word was said, from the paper came a loud crack! Out from the paper came a teenage girl, just like Athena bursting from Zeus’s head. The teen was not very remarkable at first glance; A bit short in stature, shorter than average hair, plain clothes. But what made her stand out was the un-ending chaos in her eyes. Within her soul she held a thirst-- a never ending hunger -- for knowledge. There was a longing -- for more than she had, has, or ever will. A longing for something more. And pushing these hidden wants and desires was shear determination. To be better than what’s expected, to never accept anything less than near perfection, and to never back down. The teen spoke.
“I will not accept!” Her voice rang throughout the cold metal room. Black suit and The Second Man were stunned. “I will not accept anything less than the highest. If I must fight you, then I will gladly fight. If I must force you, then know my will is unbending. If I must persuade you, then beware my silver tongue,” her words rang with clarity. There was no doubt, no cowardice. She was determined to have The World. Black suit smiled a little smile, mostly to himself.
“Then take it,” he shouted. The girl accepted the challenge. She took her paper and plunged into the shredder marked as “The World”.
“Let’s get this damned thing over with,” he grumpily took one folder out at a time, professionally and methodically going through the paperwork. After looking at the logistics he would snap out the word “Essay”. The Second Man would flit about for a moment before making a piece of paper appear in his hands. He would cautiously set it in front of Black suit who would read the first sentence, move on to the second, hesitate at the third, and really not want to read the fourth. He would then stop. A waste of time. Black suit would harshly thrust the paper into The Second Man’s chest who would be startled and grapple for the paper. When he gained control he would await Black suit’s judgment. Many times he shouted “Nowhere!” and the far left shredder would scream as the paper became unrecognizable. Sometimes he would hesitantly state “Society…” and the exact middle shredder hummed a little tune as the paper strips fell into it’s cavern. And, rarely, he would joyously exclaim, “The World!”, and the extreme right shredder would sing gloriously, happy for the improvements. A seemingly infinite amount of hours passed: Black suit finally reached the last one. Tiredly, he opened it. It was a familiar tune; Good grades, good GPA, good class rank, good ACT score, an athlete. He wearily said, “Essay,” The Second Man was ready so the last paper was in front of him before the word had ended. Black suit took hold of the paper. He read the first sentence, enjoyed the second, looked forward the third, and couldn’t wait for the fourth! He read, the 500 or so words mesmerizing him. When they stopped, he was at a loss. Where to put this person? Nowhere certainly wasn’t an option. But Society didn’t seem right either. The World almost seemed too much. He stared at the page for a good five minutes before he tentatively stated, “Society…” The Second Man almost sadly took the paper to the sad little shredder. Halfway there something stopped him. He couldn’t quit discern what it was… A sound?… A word?… “No!”? The Second Man was shocked. It couldn’t possibly have come from the essay!
“S-sir? The Second Man nervously turned toward the metal desk.
“WHAT?” shouted Black suit. Before another word was said, from the paper came a loud crack! Out from the paper came a teenage girl, just like Athena bursting from Zeus’s head. The teen was not very remarkable at first glance; A bit short in stature, shorter than average hair, plain clothes. But what made her stand out was the un-ending chaos in her eyes. Within her soul she held a thirst-- a never ending hunger -- for knowledge. There was a longing -- for more than she had, has, or ever will. A longing for something more. And pushing these hidden wants and desires was shear determination. To be better than what’s expected, to never accept anything less than near perfection, and to never back down. The teen spoke.
“I will not accept!” Her voice rang throughout the cold metal room. Black suit and The Second Man were stunned. “I will not accept anything less than the highest. If I must fight you, then I will gladly fight. If I must force you, then know my will is unbending. If I must persuade you, then beware my silver tongue,” her words rang with clarity. There was no doubt, no cowardice. She was determined to have The World. Black suit smiled a little smile, mostly to himself.
“Then take it,” he shouted. The girl accepted the challenge. She took her paper and plunged into the shredder marked as “The World”.
