Most parents want their kids to do well in life, and Lorenzo's parents are no different. They sent Lorenzo to a very prestigious private school and hired numerous tutors to improve his mindset as well as his knowledge.
But Lorenzo was not a child of education, nor was he interested in doing anything that involved using intelligence. Ever since he was boy, not that he wasn't still, Lorenzo had wanted to be an artist. He loved the way artists can pour their hearts out on canvas, or spend hours perfecting a single stroke. However, his parents were not as thrilled at the idea. In fact, they were appalled by the very notion that their son would want anything to do with that crowd of "penniless fools".
Lorenzo, on the other hand, couldn't care less what his parents thought of his ambition. Late at night he would sneak out to the pier and draw to his heart's content. But unfortunately, his parents caught him creeping out of the house last Thursday and decisively put an end to his refuge.
Ignoring his pleas, Lorenzo's parents took away his sketchbook, bolted his windows, and added a lock to his door. Lorenzo was now shut in his room whenever school was not in session.
Undoubtedly it had crossed his mind many times to run away and live as an artist, but he feared that he had neither the skill nor the money to pull it off. So naturally Lorenzo settled for the only other option he could think of; to go to the pier when he should be at school.
When Monday rolled around, Lorenzo grabbed his school bag, kissed his mother on the cheek, and set off for another day at the beach. How, you ask, does his parents not find out about him skipping school? Well the answer is very simple. The school does not care whether or not Lorenzo comes to class as long as his parents pay them money. Frankly, if Lorenzo fails, his parents will most likely send him back there for another year, which, of course, will result in them gaining even more money.
Settling down in his favourite spot, Lorenzo removed his shoes and placed his feet into the water. He rolled up his slacks in hopes of keeping them dry, but the waves clashed higher and higher until they were drenched.
He stood up again, not in the mood to do anything that day, and resolved to take a walk on the sand instead. Tugging his sodden trousers away from his body he awkwardly picked up his shoes from where he had thrown it only a short while ago. He dragged his hazel eyes towards the horizon once again and gazed into the distance, pausing a while before walking away.
Absentmindedly tugging at his tie, Lorenzo noticed two people in the distance. Curious, and having nothing better to do, Lorenzo walked towards them. As he got closer, he managed to get a better look at their faces. The taller of the two was a fox that walked on two legs and had slanted eyes and a sly smile. He wore a grey top hat and carried a cane, but the state of his clothes proved him to be nothing but a poor swindler. The other one was a anthropomorphic cat who seemed eager to please and his clothes were in even worse conditions than his companion's.
The fox stopped his friend with his cane and whispered something in his ear, causing the other to nod furiously. He then turned towards me with a huge smile on his face and said, "Why lookie here Gideon, it's a young student."
"Yeah! Yeah! It's a young stupid!" Gideon replied happily.
The first gentleman, if you could call him that, whacked Gideon on the head and said, "Ha-ha-ha, you must excuse my friend here, he's a bit…slow, if you catch my drift."
Lorenzo looked at them curiously, "Who are you?"
"Oh how horribly rude of me! I…" he pointed at himself, "…am Honest John. And this here…" he gestured carelessly at his friend, who was now massaging the growing bump on his head, "…is Gideon."
"Um…hi. I'm Enzo. Lorenzo Bellini."
"What a manly name, Enzo. I bet you'll grow up to be a strong young man."
"Thanks…I think."
"Well, you're welcome!" Honest John replied with a toothy grin.
"Um…what do you want with me? Money?"
"No, no, no, my dear. Of course not. Have you ever heard of Pleasure Island?"
"What's that?"
"It's the happy land of carefree boys and girls where every day is a holiday! No school and no homework! No nagging parents! Just you and everything you've ever wanted to do! Think, boy, you'll be free of restrictions, free of rules. But remember, the only person you'll have to listen to on Pleasure Island is you."
"But what about food? And shelter? Who's going to provide for us?"
"Ha-ha-ha! No worries my troubled friend! There will be mountains!"
"Mountains?"
"Yes boy! Mountains of cake! Any kind you can think of! Chocolate cake! Cheese cake! Triple fudge sundae cake! Maybe even carrot cake if you dig long enough!"
"Ee-yuck!" Gideon added in disgust.
"Do they have banana cake?" Enzo asked excitedly.
"Do they ever! You know what else, boy?"
"What?"
"They have all kinds of other foods too! That is, if you're too full to eat more cake! I for one never get full on cake, but who knows! Maybe you're in the mood for ice cream! Or cookies! Or pie!"
"I like pie!" Enzo smiled.
"Of course you like pie. Everyone loves pie! And if you get tired and wish to sleep, there are all kinds of beds too! Big beds, small beds, rainbow upside-down beds! Hard beds, soft beds, rumbling moving truck beds! Trust me boy, you will not be disappointed!"
"Wow! Can I draw too?"
"Can you draw?" Honest John laughed, "Can he draw, he asks!"
"Ha-ha, yeah boss. Can he draw!" Gideon laughed too before stopping to ask, "Can he?"
"Of course he can!" Honest John tipped back his hat, knocked Gideon out of the way and grabbed Enzo around the shoulders. "Picture this, my friend, your very own gallery, where everyone will go and see your art! You'll see my boy! You'll see! It'll be like heaven! No, no, no! It'll be better than heaven!"
"How do I get there?"
"With this!" Honest John pulled out two tickets from under his clothes. "One is for you and the other is in case you want to invite a friend. There's a coach leaving tonight with tons of other children who're looking for adventure. You and your friend can be one of them."
"Thanks mister!" Enzo held the tickets with glee.
"That's my boy." Honest John grinned wider, "The coach will come by the old library. It'll come at precisely nine o'clock. It won't wait long so don't be late!"
"I won't!"
"Splendid…"
Enzo was looking excited at his tickets. But when he looked up, he saw that Honest John and Gideon had vanished and Enzo was all alone.