Bits and Pieces: Part One

Greetings, internet citizens.  The blog makes another return as a regular series starts here today.  In my quest to become a published writer of note, I have written down many ideas, outlines, and stories.  Most have gone unfinished in my quest but here, they'll have a home to serve as a reminder that a writer's first ideas may eventually lead to that great story within all of us.

The first offering is the earliest surviving piece of writing in my archive.  It dates from late 2008 or early 2009.  Anything earlier was wiped out by a computer malfunction.  Anyway, it's also my earliest surviving trip to Hyperion.  However, you may notice that Cy and Conrad are no way to be found.  That's because that this was written before those two had fully come into their own.

As I look over the work, titled "The Crossover in Hyperion", I noticed that I had worked on it for quite a while.  I also notice that it has been marked Chapter Zero, as it represented an earlier visit to the town.  The one familiar element is Phil.  In this version of events, he didn't work with Cy and Conrad or anywhere near WHYP.  As you read it, you may find another familiar face.

And now, the story as written...

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In the small town of Hyperion, Michigan, life is of a small-town matter. Things play out the way people think they should. For one citizen, life has been unusual. 21-year-old Phil Turner's life began like all lives should, with one exception.

His father, before Phil's birth, met his end in a car accident. His mother, three days later, went into labor and gave birth to Phil. For the next ten years, Phil and his mother went through the world and for the most part, went unnoticed.  Phil, however, inherited an above-average brain from his father and put it to good use. He took in details and knowledge at a slightly faster rate than the other kids and was smarter than most by the age of 11.

This earned him the attention of the school's resident prankster and bully, Thomas. Thomas was looking to pull off a great prank on the school and he heard that Phil had a exact knowledge of the school needed to pull off the prank. On the playground one day, Thomas walked up to Phil.

"Hey, Phil. I've got something to say." said Thomas.

Thomas then told Phil of his prank and what he needed Phil for.

"So, what's it gonna be?" asked Thomas.

Phil thought over his decision carefully. He almost said yes to the idea but at the last moment, decided to turn it down.

"No, Thomas." he said as he walked away.

Thomas then decided to pull off the prank anyway. He failed and was expelled when he was caught.  This one act of defiance caused Phil to earn the friendship of Horace Jacobs, another student. The two became fast friends, especially after Thomas' explusion gave them no threat.

They would soon earn another surprise when Horace's single father got together with Phil's single mother and the two wed when Phil was 14. For the last seven years, life has yielded Phil a baby sister and a new step-brother, Horace. Phil and Horace, after high school, got a job at one of Hyperion's most interesting places, the local Easy-Mart, a member of a small regional chain that deals in market goods and gasoline.

Over the last three years, Phil has seen almost all of the citizens of Hyperion pass in front of him but the next few people he'll meet will give him cause to believe that the universe isn't perfect.  It all begins on a usual June morning when Phil and Horace are walking to work at the Easy-Mart.

"It's a nice day, isn't it?" says Phil.

"It sure is." says Horace.

Phil then stops in his tracks.

"I feel something wrong." says Phil.

"Like what?" asks Horace.

"I feel like I'm being watched." says Phil.

"By who?" asks Horace.

"I have no idea. Just this feeling of being watched." says Phil.

Then, for a moment, out of the corner of his eye, Phil spies a car.

"I see a car." says Phil.

"Where?" asks Horace.

"Over... " says Phil as he turns in the direction of the car.

When he looks, the car vanishes out of sight.

"That's weird, I thought there was a car there for a moment." says Phil.

"Sure you did." says Horace.

"You're right, I'm seeing things." says Phil.

"It happens sometimes." says Horace.

"I guess you're right." says Phil.

The duo soon arrive at work at Easy-Mart and the two take their posts. Phil is the main cleck and Horace is the aisle-boy. As the two began their day, a familiar face walks into the store: Officer Grace Baker.

"Hello there, Officer Grace." says Phil.

"What brings you by the store?" asks Horace.

"I have something strange to report to you." says Officer Grace.

"What about?" asks Phil.

"About a robbery." says Officer Grace.

"That's not strange." says Phil.

"It is when the owner of the house gives his descripition of the robber and it sounds like you." says Officer Grace.

"Me?" says Phil.

"That's what the owner said." says Officer Grace.

"Well, I was asleep during last night." says Phil.

"I'm not sure that's the truth." says Officer Grace.

"I'm telling you the truth. Tell me, what was stolen?" says Phil.

"TVs, CDs, a table, a computer, and a couple of chairs." says Officer Grace.

"I have all that, so why would I steal it?" says Phil.

"Robbers steal what they already have for no reason other than it's there." says Officer Grace.

"Well, I don't commit crimes." says Phil.

"I know that, but my superiors aren't sure." says Officer Grace.

"How can I convince them?" asks Phil.

"You could come with me to the station and give a statement." says Officer Grace.

"If it's the only way to prove my innocence." says Phil.

"All right, let's go." says Officer Grace.

"Horace, take my job. I gotta go to the police station." says Phil.

"What about?" asks Horace.

"Someone thinks I robbed them." says Phil.

"All right, take care." says Horace as Phil makes his leave.

"You know, I almost became a crook." says Phil as he walks with Officer Grace.

"Really, when?" says Officer Grace.

"When I was 11. A bully named Thomas wanted me to go in on this big prank he wanted to pull off and he said he needed my help. I almost went along with it but I didn't do it." says Phil.

"What happened to Thomas?" asks Officer Grace.

"He tried to do the prank and he backfired on him and he got expelled." says Phil.

"Well, nice to know that you avoided a life on crime." says Officer Grace.

"Thanks. It was because of it that I met Horace. He was awe-struck by me turning down an offer from Thomas. Thomas was a true heavy and when he got expelled, we all celebrated his departure." says Phil.

"Well, more power to you." says Officer Grace.

Officer Grace and Phil soon make their way to the police station, where the owner awaits to hear Phil's side of the story.

"There you are, boy. Now, tell me, where are my things?" says the owner when Phil enters the station.

"Relax, Mr. Shaw." says the police chief as he calms down the owner down.

"How can I relax when that man has stolen things out of my own house." says Mr. Shaw.

"I didn't steal anything of yours." says Phil.

"Oh, yes you did, because I saw you take the stuff." says Mr. Shaw.

"But I didn't take it." says Phil.

"Phil, why don't let the sergeant here take down your statement." says Officer Grace.

"Okay, Officer Grace." says Phil as he walks with the sergeant to give his side of things.

"You people are on a first name basis." says Mr. Shaw.

"He happens to know Officer Baker here." says the police chief.

"That I am." says Officer Grace.

Phil spends the next 15 minutes in a room with the sergeant giving his side of the story. When Phil is finished, he and the sergeant return to the front office.

"I've taken down Mr. Turner's statement. According to him, he doesn't even know where Mr. Shaw lives and he was asleep last night during the time of the robbery." says the sergeant.

"He's lying to you people. I'm telling you, me and my daughter saw him take our stuff." says Mr. Shaw.

"Mr. Shaw, in the dark of the night, don't you think you might have seen him wrong?" says the police chief.

"I might have. I was dark, and I only saw his face in the moonlight." says Mr. Shaw.

"Why didn't you turn the light on?" asks Phil.

"Because the robber had cut the power to the house before he came inside. We have an alarm system but he found a way around it." says Mr. Shaw.

"So, you didn't get a good view of the robber?" says the police chief.

"I got a good enough look at the robber and I swear it was him." says Mr. Shaw, pointing at Phil.

"Mr. Shaw, I didn't even know you lived in this town until this morning. Granted, I may have seen you a couple of times if and when you stopped by the Easy-Mart, but I promise you, I didn't take anything from your house." says Phil.

"I wish I could believe that." says Mr. Shaw.

"Mr. Shaw, it's your word against Mr. Turner's here and if he says he didn't do it, then I believe him. I've know him long enough to know he wouldn't committ any crime." says the police chief.

"Thanks, chief. If you don't mind, I would like to return to my job." says Phil.

"I'll take you back." says Officer Grace as she takes him back to the car.

"I would swear on the Bible that he's the robber." says Mr. Shaw.

"You would." says the police chief.

Phil soon arrives back at his job and he bids Officer Grace a brief good-bye as she returns to her beat.

"So, how did things go down at the police station?" asks Horace when Phil walks through the door.

"Oh, some guy named Mr. Shaw said I robbed his house." says Phil.

"Did you?" asks Horace. "Of course not. I would never do anything like that." says Phil.

"Maybe you did it in your sleep." says Horace.

"I don't remember seeing an extra TV when I woke up this morning. Besides, I don't think people rob houses in their sleep." says Phil.

"I guess you're right, but how do you explain it?" says Horace.

"I don't know. Maybe the guy mistook me for the robber. It was dark and the power had been cut off to the house, so there's no way he got a good look at the robber." says Phil.

"I hope so." says Horace.

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As you say, Officer Grace made an appearence and as now, there were the stirrings of a romance.  As with most of my work, it ends early, unfinished.  It was to involved Hyperion's brief encounter with a parallel universe and the doings of Phil's evil counterpart as he crossed from his world to ours, finally leading to a showdown between the two Phils, with our Phil winning. 
 
My mind tells me that, at the point I abandoned the story, the fateful encounter was due to take place in Cy's backyard, thus connecting this work with the world of Cy and Conrad, which was a separate world within this one.  I did plan once for the duo to meet Phil when they became astronauts (which goes to show you how my mind works).  The trio would have been involved in a moon race with the Chinese.  That idea fell away as the basics of the world changed.
 
In my next posting, I will post my earliest surviving piece of work featuring Cy and Conrad.  Trust me, you won't even regonized then as the same people you know.
 
Yours truly, John Maxwell.