Crossing Rubicon Matching
One strange Saturday night, Rubicon, the best student in grade seven at Cannery Academy, was swept away by a dream. You do understand, don't you? Although he was named after the River Rubicon, he was by no means actually swept away as if by a river in flood. Rubicon chose his dream or at least he did so during the day. He was undoubtedly labelled by his teacher as a great dreamer. School was so easy for him that he used to day-dream almost all day everyday.
Rubicon's dreams were not like those of Julius Caesar who crossed the River Rubicon in 49 BC. Rubicon, the lad, was not like Julius Caesar who had wished to be a great general and lead an army. Rubicon did not have similar goals. He merely wanted to entertain himself and others.
On the Monday morning following his weird dream, Rubicon was chatting with new-found friends, Billy Bob and Joe Fortunas.
"I bet you can't guess where I was on Saturday night." Rubicon let it out as if he had made a slip of the tongue.
It’s truly amazing how fast false rumours spread Rubicon devoutly believed. For entirely selfish reasons, he was about to create a singular situation. He set out to deceive Billy Bob and Joe Fortunas. He was about to make them an offer he knew they couldn't refuse. Instinctively he was sure that they would be even more interested if he set it up so that they had to pry his secret loose. This technique was right down Rubicon's alley for he was the grand master of feigned reluctance.
“You’ll never believe what happened,” Rubicon said by way of an opener.
“So tell us,” Billy Bob replied.
“You can rely on us,” said Joe.
Rubicon scuffed the toe of his sneaker in the dirt. “Not so fast.”
“We won’t tell a soul,” promised Billy Bob.
“It wouldn’t be fair,” replied Rubicon. “It’s too massive a burden for you to be expected to bear.”
“Come on,” said Billy Bob. “We swear.”
“If you think you can handle it.”
“We can,” Billy Bob and Joe said together sounding like trained parrots.
“If you’re absolutely sure.”
Taking his own sweet time, Rubicon looked around to make sure that no extraneous ears were within shouting distance. Dragging the moment out, he began with agonizing slowness. He kept his voice painfully low so that Billy Bob and Joe had to lean in so as not to miss a single word that Rubicon, a master of conspiracy, was granting them.
Rubicon began by speaking as though he were still in his dream. “The other night, while drifting off to sleep, I had an utterly awesome adventure. Kidnapped by friendly Martians and escorted on a secret mission into the far reaches of the known universe, I was all too soon returned to Earth. Although I know that it was supposed to be only a dream, I can’t accept that it was nothing more. Know what I mean? To think that I was in the Fourth Quadrant of the Charlatan Cosmos one moment and the next...” His voice trailed off.
Feeling like a goldfish must, Rubicon mouthed silence. Leave them gasping for more, Rubicon decided. He prided himself on knowing when to quit.
“Keep it under your hat, Rube Cube,” Billy said, thinking all the while, one brick short of a load. “That’s my advice to you.”
“Wouldn’t want to be subject to a spate of space cadet,” said Joe, who constantly concerned himself with what others thought about him and was avidly interested in forming opinions of others. Elevator no longer goes to the top floor, he decided.
“Wouldn’t want to be known as a space traveller whose rocket ship was cruising on empty, now would you?” Joe said softly.
“That’d never do!” said Billy as the end of recess rang. “Your secret is safe with us,” he promised solemnly but without meaning a word of it. There was a danger that the clanging of the bell had drowned out his promise. Billy found the clanging comforting but was too caught up in the conspiracy unfolding before him to question why.