Beyond all the stars you could ever see sat a world called Geomass. It was a world inhabited by various shapes. The greatest city there was known as Shapeopolis. The city’s best school was Shapeopolis Academy. It was there where a young cube named Cubey stumbled on the adventure of a lifetime.
Cubey woke up in his parents’ car on the long ride to Shapeopolis. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. Highways, buildings, and billboards were scattered everywhere. These big sights made Cubey a bit nervous at all the busy activity. Then he remembered all the good things his parents had said about the city and the school. Excitement, adventure, and new challenges were supposed to be everywhere. As the car entered the city’s limits, Cubey felt a chill run up his spine. The feeling somehow led him to look at a distant building where something thin seemed to be floating in the air. Cubey blinked, and the strange sight disappeared.
Cubey wondered what he saw until his family arrived at school. Now he needed to grab his bags and get out of the car. The sight of the school grabbed his attention too. Old buildings towered above his head. Fine fields of grass filled the space between them. Rings of trees surrounded the whole area.
Soon a voice called out, “Hello there, I’m Ms. Pyth, the Dean of Admissions. You must be the new student.”
Cubey turned to see Ms. Pyth was a triangle with a clipboard. She was heading out the door of the nearest building.
Cubey’s mom spoke first. “We drove straight through the night.”
Cubey’s dad added, “Wanted to make sure this guy of ours could be here for the first day.”
Ms. Pyth nodded. “Thank you for that. So, Cubey, are you excited to be starting here today?”
Cubey nodded back. He said goodbye to his parents and followed Ms. Pyth into the building.
The building was the dorms. Ms. Pyth led Cubey to his room. It was at the far corner of a yellow hallway filled with old movie posters and pictures of students having fun. The room had an old bed, a decent desk, and a bookshelf. Ms. Pyth pointed to the room’s window and said, “Be sure to take a good look outside before we head out. This room has the best view of the school’s central garden. You’re lucky to have it.”
Cubey ran to the window. Flowers bloomed around a tall tree. Its massive roots reached all the way to the sidewalk. The same thin floating figure from earlier was kneeling under the shade. A chill ran up Cubey’s spine. He blinked and stepped back.
Ms. Pyth reached out her hand asked, “Is everything alright?”
Cubey forced a nod.
Ms. Pyth paused for a moment. Then she nodded back. “Alright, then please follow me to your first class. It’s close by, in the science building.”
Cubey followed Ms. Pyth out of the dorms and across a stone path to the school’s newest building. She left him in a biology class which had already started. Cubey stumbled to explain himself to the class. He only really wound up talking a bit about cartoons and video games before moving into the middle rows. The front was taken up by some whispering rows of circles, squares, and triangles while the back was filled with silent pyramids, spheres, and cylinders.
Things did not improve as the day continued. Cubey felt awkward trying to talk to his classmates. Most of them had already been stuck in their own little groups for years. The rest did not seem to share any interests with the poor shape. After the school day, Cubey went to the library to see if they had any video games or movies. Unfortunately, the library only had books and study guides. Cubey then went to dinner in the dining hall before returning to his room and collapsing onto his bed. He wondered if things would get better. He did not know if something was wrong with the school or with himself. He just wanted to know what to do.
Cubey felt another chill run up his spine. Strange sounds blew through his window. He grew curious but chose to stay in bed. The strange sounds only continued, so Cubey stood up to close his window. As expected, he saw the thin floating figure by the tree again. Cubey blinked to make the figure disappear, but this time it stayed. He gasped and decided to head outside. He would prove to himself the creature was not real.
Cubey snuck out of his room and approached the tree. His eyes widened at seeing the floating figure up close. It was mainly a thin transparent line. Eyes and a mouth floated in front of the line. The whole thing floated over a pair of ghostly feet. Cubey tried to think of something to do. Instead, he found himself asking, “What are you?”
The floating figured perked up. It turned to face Cubey, and the shape saw the thing had been crying. Tears filled its sad eyes. The figure soon said, “You’re a shape.”
Cubey stepped back. “I guess.”
The floating figure moved forward. “You can see me. Nod! Nod if you can see me, if you can hear me.”
Cubey nodded.
The floating figure rushed forward. It coiled around Cubey, its tears now gone. The shape gulped, and the figure shouted, “I can’t believe it! A Guardian of Matter’s finally here!”
Cubey panicked and pushed the figure. “What are you talking about?”
The floating figure moved back. “Careful. Don’t wake the city. I guess you wouldn’t know about what’s going on. But still, you have to help me save my brother.”
Cubey shook his head. “Brother? What? Look. You’ve got the wrong shape. I’m just a kid.”
Cubey turned to leave, but the figure reached in front of him. It said, “Please. Me and my brother are the last of our kind, the Line Spirits and the Sceptars. Shapes refuse to see us anymore, which is why we couldn’t believe it when some weird group of shapes and monsters attacked us a few months ago. Sceptro helped me run away, but I haven’t seen him since then. If you can see me though, you may be one of the world’s chosen guardians. You may be one of the shapes called to bridge our kinds to yours. You can help me. You’re the only one who can.”
Cubey prepared to refuse. Then he looked at the Line Spirit’s eyes again and saw someone desperate for help. So, Cubey said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
The Line Spirit jumped into the air. “Thank you! I just know we can do this. Oh, I’m Liney by the way.”
Cubey chuckled. “I’m Cubey.”
Liney sat in the air and laughed. “Alright, Cubey and Liney. Sounds like the perfect team.”
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