“I don’t know…”
“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” said Jack. “Hey, I have an idea, why don’t you go with me? I could introduce you to all sorts of non-annoying people.”
By the look on Anna’s face, Jack might as well have jumped out from behind a corner with his head on fire shouting “Oogidie-Boogidie!” Tactful, thought Jack, very tactful.
“I thought you weren’t allowed to go to the dance,” she replied diplomatically.
“If you say ‘yes,’ I can guarantee I’ll find a way to go,” said Jack with a hint of nervous laughter. “I don’t care if I have to do another month of detention and wash Principal Montgomery’s car for a year! I’ll find a way.”
“Oh, um…” said Anna.
“That wouldn’t happen to be West Virginian for ‘Yes’ would it?”
“Well, I don’t really dance,” said Anna.
“Oh, that’s totally cool,” replied Jack. “I don’t dance either. If you like, we could just GO to the dance and stand around making fun of all the losers who DO dance. How awesome would that be?”
“It does sound like fun, but… I… actually have something I’ve got to do the night of Homecoming.”
Jack nodded. “Actually, yeah… I forgot – I’ve got something I have to do that night, too.”
“Really?” asked Anna.
“Yeah, turns out that’s the night I go… uh… bowling. You’re not going bowling, too, are you? ‘Cause that would just be weird.”
Anna laughed. “No, I’m not going bowling.”
“Good. Then we get to avoid the whole awkward squabbling over lanes and who gets to use the six-pound ball, and stuff.”
“Lucky us,” smiled Anna.
“Yeah, it’s like fate, or destiny, or something. We’re just totally not meant to be together on the same night,” smiled Jack back. “What about the night after the dance? You wanna… do something then?”
Anna sighed. “You don’t ever give up, do you?”
“My mom always says, ‘winners never quit, and quitters never win.’ Or was that Vince Lombardi? I can never remember…”
“I’m sorry, Jack…” said Anna gently. “You seem like a nice guy, but I’m really not interested in dating anyone right now.”
Jack nodded. His gut felt like it was being twisted, and all of a sudden, he felt really, really stupid. He got to his feet. “Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.” Jack hesitated for an excruciating awkward moment before finally saying, “I guess I’ll see you around.” And with that, he started to walk away.
Jack made it a few steps before he heard Anna call out.
“Hey, Jack…” said Anna. Jack stopped and turned toward her.
“If I were going to date someone…” she said. “It would be someone like you.”
Jack smiled. It wasn’t the “yes” he wanted, but it did make him feel better. “Hey, you know… if you change your mind about the dance, I was like totally lying about that whole bowling thing.”
“You don’t say,” said Anna, good-naturedly.
“Yeah. I like to keep my nights open, just in case a pretty girl decides she wants to stop being such a loner and start having some fun. Like tonight, for example. I’m totally doing nothing.”
“You hoping the third time is the charm?” joked Anna.
“Just putting it out there,” shrugged Jack. “If a pretty girl were to suddenly show up at 7 Eagle Hill, she might be surprised to find that fun has a name, and it’s Jack Finnegan.”
Jack flashed his best winning smile and hiked his thumbs up toward his chest. Anna giggled at his goofiness.
“You’re certainly not like any of the other boys around here,” said Anna.
“Trust me,” smiled Jack. “You have no idea.”
And with that, Jack made his way into the cornfield, heading back toward home.
Chapter 7
The Shepherd household was a modest, two-story dwelling a mere 10-minute walk from the school. On the outside, it was a typical River Heights home, with white washed walls and light blue trim, a small yard, and even a white picket fence. But on the inside, it was far from typical.
The reason for this was because at that very moment, Professor Green and Mr. Shepherd were busy fixing their subspace communication device, a nifty little gadget which allowed them to communicate with a small fleet of starships hiding in the orbit of a planet named Jupiter, not all that far (relatively) from Earth.
In case it isn’t clear by now, Professor Green, Mr. Shepherd, and even the lovely Anna are not natives of the planet. Indeed, though most students often believe their teachers are from some type of distant galaxy, in this situation, they would actually be right.
At the dining room table, Professor Green was hunched over a silver box, roughly the size and shape of a briefcase. It was open, and he was furiously fiddling with various knobs, diodes, and other doohickeys that make rather complicated pieces of machinery such as this one work. While the good Professor was busy doing this, Shepherd stood at the nearby window, staring outside stoically.
“Infernal machine,” Green grumbled. “I can’t find a thing wrong with it.”
“Then why isn’t it working?” asked Shepherd, not taking his gaze away from the window.
“Best guess? There must be some type of interference that’s keeping us from establishing a connection with the fleet,” replied Green.
“Interference? Is that normal?”
“It’s not unheard of,” said Green, trying to sound cheery. “Sunspots and all. Maybe some gravitational anomaly is causing it. Who’s to say?”
“You,” said Shepherd. “And say it quickly. If we do not make our scheduled check in with the fleet, they will think something is wrong. Captain Rylack is the type who will launch a full out extraction if he even suspects we might be in danger.”
“Ah, I do so love a good extraction,” smiled Green. “It can be so exciting! Especially if it’s needed.”
“Professor…” muttered Shepherd.
“Right, right, I’ll figure out what’s wrong,” replied Green as he went back to poking about the communicator. “I will say, though, I’ll be rather sad when it comes time to leave. Such a pleasant planet. I think I rather like it here.”
“The sooner we get out of here, the better,” grunted Shepherd.
“Oh, come now!” chirped Green. “I know you well enough to see how much you enjoy teaching again, despite your sour demeanor. So don’t tell me you don’t like it here, too.”
Shepherd grumbled. “All the more reason to hurry up and leave,” he replied. “Our presence puts everyone here in danger.”
Green sighed. “I say. Must you always be so morbid? You could take a lesson from our students on how to relax. I’m sure Jack Finnegan would be happy to teach you. He seems to be quite good at it.”
“Our students are not fighting a war,” said Shepherd. “And I doubt I have anything to learn from Mr. Finnegan.”
“Don’t be so sure,” said Green. “That boy is full of surprises. Why, just today, he was able to grasp quantum theory, if you can believe it.”
Shepherd raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Indeed!” replied Green. “Albeit, he spent most of class trying to conjure up a bikini model, but all things considered, he was rather quick to grasp the concepts.”
Green noticed a hint of a smile form briefly on Shepherd’s face.
“Am I to gather you’ve taken an interest in the boy?” asked Green inquisitively.
“My interest is currently with the royal bloodline, and yours should be with that communicator,” said Shepherd.
“You know, this would go more quickly if I had your help, my dear Paragon,” said Green. “Staring out that window will not make her Highness appear any faster.”
At that moment, Shepherd spotted Anna walking up to the house. He abruptly turned away from the window and walked past Green toward the foyer without a word.
“Or… maybe it will!” mused Gree
n.
Anna entered the house and had just tossed her jacket onto the nearby coat rack when Shepherd appeared.
“Where have you been?” he asked.
“At the cornfield,” replied Anna, as if Shepherd should have known that little fact all along.
“We agreed you’d come right home after school from now on.”
“I needed to think.”
“You can think just as well here as you can anywhere else.”
“Anywhere else does not contain the secret to the universe’s survival,” said Anna. “And besides, I like being outside. The weather here reminds me of home.”
“All weather aside, how do you expect me to protect you if I do not know where you are?” asked Shepherd, pointedly.
“Protect me from what?” countered Anna. “We’ve been in this town for months and have yet to see anything more dangerous than a field full of cow manure.”
“Need I remind you that you were involved in a fight today?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a fight,” said Anna.
“And what, pray tell, would you call it?”
“Good natured rough-housing?” she said hopefully.
Shepherd grimaced.
“Don’t look at me like that,” complained Anna. “It was just the squabbling of two stupid Earth-boys. It was harmless.”
Shepherd crossed his arms and closed the distance between Anna and himself, his imposing frame towering over her.
“When you first suggested that we infiltrate Earth society,” Shepherd said softly, “I consented to do so only on certain terms, not the least of which was your agreeing to stay close to me as much as possible. As benign as this planet may be, it is still alien territory, and there are dangers you must be shielded from.”
“There are dangers everywhere,” Anna said with a sigh. “I’m in no more peril here than I am in the Capitol on Omnicron Prime. Or anywhere else in the galaxy for that matter.”
“It is not your place to judge what may or may not be considered safe for your continued well-being. That is my providence, and you will abide by my decisions, or this experiment of yours is over.”
“You forget yourself, Shepherd,” said Anna sharply. “Remember who you are addressing.”
“I never forget,” the man replied. “Which is why I am addressing you in such a way. You are many things, Princess. But I am your guardian, and in matters of your safety, I outrank you at every turn. Are we clear?”
For a moment, Anna and Shepherd were locked in a silent battle of hard stares, until Anna finally relented.
“Yes,” she said.
“Good,” replied Shepherd. “I will expect you home every day after school from now on. No excuses. If you wish to go somewhere else, I will have to accompany you. Agreed?”
Anna nodded. She had learned from experience there was no arguing with Shepherd. Ever.
“Well, now that’s settled,” chimed in Professor Green cheerily as he entered the foyer clutching the still open communicator box, “Perhaps we should discuss our remaining options before the excavation of the temple begins?”
“Actually,” said Anna, “I was thinking about postponing the excavation.”
Shepherd and Green looked at her quizzically.
“Postpone?” asked Green. “Whatever for?”
“I still think there is a way for us to unlock the temple without damaging it,” said Anna. “I’m close to figuring out the key, I can feel it.”
“With all due respect, your highness” said Green, “what is it you believe you’ll learn that we haven’t already been able to discover in our time here?”
“The Professor is right,” said Shepherd. “We’ve studied the inhabitants of this planet long enough. There’s nothing more to be gleaned from them.”
“We’ve studied books and history, and we’ve observed the Earthlings plenty,” said Anna. “But what if the answer to this riddle lies in who these people are? How they think, how they act, how they interact with each other? There has to be a reason why they’re here and why their society has so many similarities to different intergalactic civilizations. There must be a connection of some sort between them and the temple. There are just too many coincidences to ignore.”
“You’ve had plenty of time to interact with the Earthlings,” said Shepherd. “And none of that has given you the answer we need.”
“Yes, but… I haven’t really been interacting with them. Not truly. Today I realized that I don’t really know any of these people. I didn’t want to get attached to them, so I cut myself off. I chose to observe rather than engage, and that may have been a mistake.”
“What are you suggesting?” asked Green.
Anna hesitated.
“I’m thinking… I should go to Homecoming,” she said.
Shepherd raised an eyebrow. “The dance?” he said dryly.
“Yes,” said Anna, a little embarrassed. “Most of the school’s students will be there. It will be the ideal time to interact with them, in a social setting.”
Green smiled. “Why, I think that’s a marvelous idea.”
“Thank you, Professor,” she said, returning his grin.
“I think so, too,” said Shepherd.
Anna looked at him, surprised. “Really?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Shepherd. “By all means, you should run off to a party while millions of life-forms are being slaughtered. What’s one more day or two to them, anyway?”
Anna’s mood instantly darkened. “I do so hate it when you get sarcastic, Shepherd.”
“The dig team will be here next Saturday,” said Shepherd. “If this temple really houses the weapon of the Ancients like you think it does, it could be the key to winning this war. To postpone, for any reason, would be unwise.”
Anna sighed bitterly.
“As usual, you are correct,” she said coldly. “In the meantime, I suppose I will continue to look for a way of opening the temple without possibly demolishing valuable Ancient technology in the process.”
With that, Anna turned and marched up the stairs to her room. Shepherd watched her go with his jaw clenched.
“This planet is a bad influence,” he grumbled.
Green nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Or, she’s finally becoming a teenager, and you’re just now noticing.”
Shepherd looked at Green from the corner of his eye.
“I take it you think I’m being too hard on her,” said Shepherd.
“It is not my place to say, good Paragon,” shrugged Green. “But I have been on this planet longer than you, and I must say… as far as species go, the Earthlings can be quite pleasant. Can you really fault her for wanting to have some fun?”
“Fun is a luxury,” Shepherd replied. “One we cannot afford right now.”
“Honestly,” said Green. “Would it really hurt to let her be a normal sixteen-year-old girl, if only for a night?”
“You and I both know, Professor,” responded Shepherd. “She is anything but normal.”
Shepherd turned on his heel and left the Professor alone. Green sighed.
“Yes,” he said sadly. “I suppose you’re right.”
Chapter 8
Jack had planned on spending that night as he spent most of his nights – playing his favorite videogame, Arena Deathmatch, on his most prized possession, a Gamerbox 3000, the newest generation gaming console there was.
The storyline of Arena Deathmatch was a simple one. An elite military Special Forces team was kidnapped by aliens and forced to fight other elite military teams from alien worlds in an arena to decide who the ultimate warriors of the galaxy were. Though the single player campaign was a passable bit of video game fodder, Jack’s true love was playing online against opponents that were controlled by people, as opposed to the somewhat lacking artificial intelligence of the Gamerbox 3000.
Indeed, it was a guilty pleasure of Jack’s to run about with a highly overpowered weapon, blowing up enemies with pinpoint accuracy and wanton aggressio
n. To quote one of Jack’s favorite movies, “there is no better pleasure in life than to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women.” (Jack had no idea what that last part meant, but it certainly sounded cool!)
Perhaps the thing Jack liked best about the Gamerbox 3000 was the fact that it came with a microphoned headset that would allow him to actually communicate with the other players he was fighting with in Arena Deathmatch. This not only allowed Jack’s four-man squad to strategize and react more quickly during the matches, it also allowed Jack to talk smack to the opposing team – which, in all reality, was probably the most fun Jack actually had while playing the game.
Jack had worked two jobs over the summer to save up almost two-thirds of what he needed to buy his prized Gamerbox 3000 and Arena Deathmatch game. The rest he’d had to beg from his mother. Thus, Jack had been able to finally afford his Gamerbox 3000, which quickly became both a blessing and a curse.
It was a blessing because, well, it was totally awesome. It gave Jack something to do while his mom was at work and he had nowhere else to go after school. Not only that, it was one of the few things Jack actually felt he was good at. Sit him down in front of a math exam or put a basketball in his hands, and Jack was completely hopeless. But pit him against a squad of alien soldiers with a pistol and a couple of grenades, and he was almost unstoppable.
Many a night had gone by with Jack chucking his homework aside in favor of playing a quick session of online deathmatches, which was partially why his Gamerbox was a curse. He had promised his mom he’d improve his grades if she helped him get the console, but, in fact, the opposite had been occurring. Jack’s grades had been suffering, and what used to be a straight “C” average was now teetering perilously close to a “D.”
Rather than studying his American History textbook, Jack would spend his time pouring over maps of the various Deathmatch arenas on the internet, learning where all the weapon drops and resurrection points were. He’d learn which weapons were best to kill which enemies, as opposed to writing that science paper that was due the next day. And, of course, he’d take on all online challengers until the wee hours of the morning, which was the reason he was so prone to oversleeping, and thus, being late for school.
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