dream, 3:45 - 7:26, may 11. part 1.

We poured out onto the grass lawn from inside the building, but it seemed like the entire school had gotten there before me. The air was calm, and the students were strangely quiet. Everything was so dark, it could have been twilight, but it was two in the afternoon.
A large tower had been erected next to the building, with glowing lights on top.
Finally, my class sat down on the grass, on top of a tall grassy cliff that overlooked the rest of the lawn. We sat on the very edge.
Sean suddenly walked past me in a small group of people, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
“We need to go to the playground,” I said. “The money is there.”
He nodded.

We walked silently behind the school to where the playground was. In the grass all around there was strewn paper money. I tried to pick it up quickly, shoving fistfuls of crinkled fifties at Sean to put in his pockets until they were full, and I shoved more bills down my shirt.
But Ms. Peterka’s voice suddenly boomed out over the students, cutting through the still silence like a butcher knife.
“Shit,” I said.
The assembly was beginning.
I ducked into my spot at the edge of the cliff, just as Ms. Peterka was about to walk past. I shouldn’t have cut it so close.

“I have invented a machine,” she said, gesturing to the tower, “that can lend false color to stellar light in real life.”
I gazed up at the top of the tower again, realizing that the glowing lights were not affixed to the top of the tower, they were a part of the sky.
They were stars.
“Of course, this was all financed by the amazing corporation I have partnered with, American Inc.” Peterka paused as applause rose up from the collective before continuing. “Now, as their final project this year, my physics classes are going to reenact the process American Inc. went through to construct this, and I will be assigning them roles to play within the corporation. But right now, I will go set up the demonstration for this evening— I mean, afternoon.”
She put the microphone down and everyone clapped. I looked with dread as she climbed around the lawn to the cliff where I was sitting. I was sure she was going to call me out for cutting.
But she didn’t.
“Hello, cliff-sitters,” she said. “We have selected you to be the participants in today’s demonstrations.” She nodded her head at me, “Jill, I’m glad you’re in this group.”
“Well, I’m not,” I muttered.
“Also, Jill, just a heads up— I’ve selected you to play the part of the President on the corporation. This is one of the most important roles, and you’re normally such a slacker, that this will force you to learn.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“Well, now, I need all of you to close your eyes.”
We all shut our eyelids, and were immediately blindfolded. They lead us in a line across grass and up steps, until we were instructed to sit. I felt the metal chair, but my legs hung over into nothing.
“Open your eyes,” she said.