Catalina and the 31

Chapter Three- HoloPhones and Lions

Catalina watched the world fly past in a blur- flashes of grey becoming green, then returning to grey- the only indications of the changing scenery. When the helicopter had picked her up an hour ago, her entire family had been in shock.

Her father had come up to the helicopter first, as soon as the pilot had turned off the propellers at the top of it. He had asked the pilot a billion questions about Catalina's safety. "How well is the school guarded? Do you perform background checks to all your teachers and staff members? Is your curriculum really more advanced? Will Catalina be challenged enough? Will Catalina be able to contact us every week? How can you prove to me that your school is not a faux?"

Catalina had inwardly groaned. Can a girl be any more embarrassed? But the pilot had been surprisingly calm. He'd answered each of her father's questions without a second's hesitation - that they had a well fenced property that required a retinal scan before entering, that all staff members down to the janitors were given though background checks and interviews, that their curriculum was a new advancement created by the world's top scientists, as it was a science and technology gravitated school, and that Catalina and her family would be provided with new holiPhones to keep in contact.

Wow, Catalina had thought. I've only heard of holoPhones in textbooks! Apparently, holiPhones were based off an old invention called the phone. They allowed to you make a hologram of yourself to talk to someone else, no matter the distance. They also allowed you to write messages to another person. They seemed unreal.

"And now for your last question," the pilot had said. "To prove that the TREASURE school is real? Catalina will have to do that for you. Her holoPhone will only be unlocked by a her retinal scan and her fingerprint, and will sense if she's scared or in danger, so you can know that she is telling the truth."

Her father had frowned. "And when will she, and us, receive these... holoPhones?"

"Right now," the pilot had responded. He'd pressed a button on his suit (which was super fancy and high-tech looking). The button glowed fro a few seconds, then fell off his suit. Oh no! Catalina had thought. His suit's malfunctioning! But then the button had transformed into this sleek black bag. When the pilot had opened it, there were 10 brand new holoPhones, each in their boxes. "There's one for each member of the family." Olivia had jumped for joy, and Mateo had grinned like a maniac. Julia, Gabriel, and Natalia had acted more calm, but Catalina could tell they were excited. Her parents, tio, and tia took theirs with looks of amazement.

"Can we set them up now?" her mother had asked.

"Of course!" the pilot had responded. He stepped out of the helicopter and helped each and every one of Catalina's family members. He'd showed them how to turn them on, how to set up their retinal scans and finger prints, and had explained how to send and receive a hologram. Catalina had never seen anything like it. It was super fancy, with all these buttons and different apps. "For the children, the holoPhone has an app that gives access to almost all of the textbooks in use in the world. It has acess to the OKU and even more," he'd said, showing her dad the app on his holoPhone. Right then, Catalina's father had looked as if he could almost hug the pilot for giving his kids a better education. "There are more instructions in the box if you need them," the pilot had said.

After everyone had set up their new holoPhones, the pilot had turned to Catalina. "We'd better get going now," he'd said. That was the first time that Cat had really been able to see him close up. He was a man in probably his early thirties, with short blonde hair that peaked out of his pilot's hat. He had a kind face, with wrinkles from laughing. He wore his super fancy and high-tech suit, which was navy blue. The name tag on his suit said Ivan Hershel. Catalina had analyzed his light green eyes. Can I trust him? She was surprised when he didn't flinch as she examined him. After a while, she had deemed him trustworthy. "You can say goodbye," he had said, then went into the helicopter to prepare for their flight.

Before she climbed into the helicopter she said a final goodbye to her family. Natalia had hugged her. "Stay safe, Cat. I'll miss you."

Gabriel, who usually wasn't much for physical contact, had embraced her as if his life depended on it. "Have fun, Catalina. Learn a lot, then share it with me when you come back, okay?"

After hugging her, Julia had thanked Catalina for watching her when their parents wern't home. "I know I wasn't always the most happy about the arrangements," she'd said. "But when you hologram me, tell me your tips and tricks for watching the little ones! I'm going to need all the help I can get." Since Catalina was leaving, Julia would be the one to watch Mateo and Catalina when their parents got jobs again.

Little Mateo was almost crying. "When will I see you again?"

"Soon," Catalina had said, trying to make herself sound confident. "I'll come back for the  holidays, and you can tell me about all you've learned and what new games you can play, okay?" Mateo had nodded sadly, and then hugged Catalina as tightly as she could.

The last of her siblings was Olivia. She had tears in her eyes. "Who will play lions and tigers with me now?"

"Don't worry, Liv," Catalina had said, trying to stay strong. "I'm sure Julia would love to play with you. And I can play when I come back to visit." She had given her a strong hug.

Catalina hugged her tio and tia goodbye. She'd actually be seeing them more than she would have if she hadn't had to move in the middle of the night. "I won't be able to be with you as much as I thought I would have," she had said sadly.

Her tia had smiled. "Don't worry about it - this is a great opportunity for you. Enjoy it!"

Lastly came her parents. Her father hugged her tightly. "Stay safe, honey. I'd never be able to forgive myself if -" his voice broke. "If something happened to you." He had been crying.

"I'll stay safe," Catalina had sworn. "I promise."

Her mother had been the last to say goodbye. She hugged Catalina and kissed the top of her head. "Be strong, my little tiger. You can do anything you set your mind to. Even though we physically may not be there with you, we will always be with you in your heart." The tears in her eyes were beginning to overflow onto her cheeks.

After she had said her goodbyes, Catalina had climbed into the helicopter. She had tears running down her face too. After she got buckled in and put on the pair of SoundBlocks ( these little things that Catalina had never seen before that you put in your ears to block sound from entering ), she had looked out the window and had waved good bye to her family.

Then, as Mr. Hershel took off, Catalina had watched the landscape of Argentina pass by her faster and faster. They were probably going at about 800 kilometers an hour, Catalina had guessed. Pretty soon the large brown fields looked like the pieces of fabric her mother bargained for at the market. Above her, she could see the blue sky, with white clouds lazily drifting by. She had expected to feel scared, but instead she had felt amazement. Amazement at what was out there that she hadn't discovered yet.

This is what Catalina though of as she laid back in her seat and analyzed what had just happened to her. Her life had literally just turned upside down. She had been given this amazing opportunity to escape the life of hard work and little pay that her parents had been forced to take. But Catalina found it hard to focus on that. Instead, she found her mind drifting towards her family. She remembered her last goodbyes to them. She had never been away from them before. Would she be able to?

Catalina thought of her mother's last words to her before she had left. You can do anything you set your mind to...we will always be with you in your heart. These words gave her courage. Catalina looked down at the landscape passing by below. I can do it.