by Dane Bagley
“Did you start the book yet?” asked Tess.
“No, did you?” Mark replied
“Yeah, it’s funny; the aliens are from Mars.”
“Mars? That’s almost as bad as having aliens from the moon.”
“My Dad says that in those days they thought that the only planets were the ones around the sun. They didn’t think that the other stars had planets. So, if there were going to be aliens they would have to be from planets like Mars and Venus.”
“Oh. So why are we reading it, then?
“Would you rather read Space Patrol comics for English?” she asked ironically, and gave him a sarcastic look. She was wearing a pink sweater today. Mark thought pink was a good color for her.
“Yeah!”
“Anyways, my Dad says that in those days they didn’t think that anything could travel from one star to another. So if they wanted to have an alien book, I guess they would have to be from Mars.”
“Do you like the book?”
“It’s okay. You need to read it…so we can talk about it. My mom says that when you talk about a book with someone else that’s reading it, that it helps you understand it better.”
The conversation was becoming bitter-sweet. He loved the idea that Tess wanted to talk with him about the book. But he was feeling a little sad hearing all of this ‘Dad says’ and ‘Mom says’ business. Gramps never said anything, except about what was on TV, and he didn’t like being reminded that he didn’t have Mom and Dad around to talk to.
“Cool, I’ll start it tonight. If it doesn’t disintegrate in my hands, that is. I took it out of my backpack, and was going to read last night, but it was so disgusting.”
“Yeah, thanks for letting me have the nice one.”
“It’s cool.”
“So your big brother is on the new ships, right?”
“Yep, he’s a Captain of one. I’ll bet he’s the Captain of the ship that found the mold.”
“What mold?”
“Oh, that’s what my gramps said. We were watching TV last night, and the Vice President said they found some life. Gramps said if they found anything, it was just some mold.”
“Dad says that we might find out today. That would be pretty weird if they sent all those ships out to just find mold.”
“Hey, if there is mold, then there is life out there. So, even mold would be pretty cool.”
“I guess.”
Their English teacher didn’t mind them talking the last ten minutes of class. She said that talking time was just as important as reading time and listening time for the development of English skills. Tess liked to talk, and she was smart. The other guys in the class were pretty rough, and Tess didn’t appreciate that quality. Mark, was rough in form, but not content. He didn’t dress or groom all that well, but he was intelligent. He was gentle, and behind that unkempt hair was a good-looking young man. He had a great smile and a nice demeanor. There was no crush from Tess, but she liked him well enough. She certainly liked him better than all the other rough boys around her. The other girls in the class were ‘cliquey.’ They didn’t dislike Tess, they just hardly knew that she existed. Tess had her own circle of friends, and was popular enough in her other classes. So, Mark was in luck with English. She liked him better, in that class, than anyone else. Mark overall, liked her best of anyone in any of his classes. She was easily the coolest person to him. She treated him like he was normal and worthwhile.
As the bell rang, Mark had a renewed motivation to plow through that old book at his home. He was excited to hear about the mold—or whatever else that the Space Force had found. A little TV with Gramps and some dinner, then a night with his book sounded pretty good at this point. Best yet, some conversation with Tess tomorrow. Things were looking up, at least a little bit. As he walked up to the apartment, he noticed that the door was open. He could hear the TV inside. “That’s weird,” he thought. “Why’s the door open?”
“Markey! Hey, Markey, get in ‘ere. Hurry up!”
Mark picked up the pace and came in.
“List’n up!” The TV was so loud that he would be listening even if he didn’t want to.
“I’ll repeat. Captain Jenners of the Space Force has discovered an inhabited world. There are intelligent beings on this world. They have been to the planet’s surface, and have one of these intelligent aliens on board in the research lab. This has been confirmed by the White House.”
Marks eyes were wide open, and his mouth was gaped. He could feel chills running down his spine. Gramps was pointing at the TV with a huge smile and looking at Mark.
“It’s Steve, he found it. Steve’s got ‘im an alien. That’s our Steve. He’s got it!” Mark looked at Gramps and smiled. He was speechless. He had a million questions, but he couldn’t think through any of them at the moment. It was too much. The Space Force had done it, and it was his big brother!
“Wow. I can’t believe it. Oh, wow!” he repeated. Gramps wasn’t too affectionate, but he walked over and gave Mark a hug.
“I’m orderin’ pizza. We’re celebratin’ tonight!”
Mark tried to listen to the news. But, between Gramps interrupting, and his mind spinning like a whirlwind, he wasn’t catching much. From what he could tell, he had gotten the gist of what information was out there. Apparently the White House thought that they had given enough info for one day.
This was the best news that Mark had ever gotten in his life. He wanted to talk with someone about it. He wanted to talk with Steve more than anything, but that was impossible. Who else could he talk to? After a few minutes, he thought maybe he would call Tess. He’d never called her before, but he had her number. Well, maybe, he thought.
After some pizza, and some more TV, he got up the nerve. “Hi, is this Tess?”
“Mark! It’s your brother, right?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“Hey Dad—its Mark—it is his brother; I told you,” he heard her shout. “That’s amazing. You must be so excited.”
“Yeah, I can’t believe it.”
“I told my Dad what your grandpa said about it being mold. We’ve been laughing about that all afternoon.” She paused for a few minutes, and Mark could hear that someone was talking to her. “Hey Mark, my mom says that you and your grandpa can come over for dinner tonight if you want.”
“Oh, that’s really nice, but we ordered some pizza. We were wanting to celebrate.”
“Yeah, they’re eating pizza,” she shouted to someone. “Okay. Hey Mark, my mom says that you and your grandpa should come over anyway. You don’t have to eat much, if you’re not hungry, and you can have dessert. You’re family’s famous now. We really want to have you over.”
“Okay,” he said hesitantly. “Just a second, I’ll ask Gramps.” He put the phone down, and walked into the front room. “Hey Gramps, my friend Tess wants us to come over to her house for dinner with her family. I told her that we had pizza, but she said her family wanted us to come anyway. They said we can just have dessert if we want. They’re real excited about Steve. Can we go?”
Gramps had been in high spirits until Mark’s request. He swallowed hard, and became fidgety. “We’re been invited as guests?” He had hardly ever been invited over to have dinner with anyone in his life. The few times that it had happened, in the past, his wife had received the invite, and she practically had to drag him to go with her. But, his mood was unlike any mood he had ever been in before. He looked at Mark’s eyes, and saw in them a glimmer, a happiness that he had not seen before. “Alright, get some good directions, and things. I’ll get in a shower.”
“Hey, I can come,” he said as he got back to his room.
“Cool.” Then addressing her mother, “Hey Mom, they’re coming,” Back to Mark, “I’ll see you in a little bit, then.”
“Wait. Where do you live?” They exchanged info, and said goodbye. Mark was almost in a daze. This was
the best day of his life. He could not image more things going his way.
As they traveled to Tess’s home, he was aware that they were leaving familiar territory. He had never been to the part of town with the large and nice homes. Gramps was swallowing hard, as they drove. He looked really nervous, but didn’t say anything. They parked their old white beat-up pickup and Gramps turned off the car, but did not get out. “Y’r sure this is it?”
“Yeah, this is the address.”
He took a few deep breaths, and swallowed hard then reached for the door handle. Mark always thought that Gramps walked slowly, but he seemed to walk slower than ever before as they made their way up the slight incline, and towards the large and beautiful home. Mark was starting to feel nervous now, too. He wasn’t sure if it was because of Gramps, or because of the fact that he was now at Tess’s house. He could feel his heart pounding and his hands getting sweaty.
Gramps made it to the doorbell first and pressed it. He then put his head down, with his hands behind his back. He looked more fidgety and uncomfortable than Mark had ever seen before. The door opened, and a nice-looking man with dark brown hair and bright brown eyes opened the door. “Hello, I’m Ryan Gilmore,” he said as he held out his hand.
Ryan Rickson held out his hand, and he told him his name. Both Ryans seemed to be happy for the similarity. “This is my grandson Mark. I’m raising him after his mother, my daughter, passed—you see.”
“Please come in.” Mark and his grandfather entered the Gilmores’ beautiful home.
Mrs. Diane Gilmore came in to welcome them at this point. She had a pink sweater on, as Tess had had that day. She actually looked a lot like Tess. I guess that is where Tess got her love of pink, Mark thought. Tess and her younger brother Johnny came down the stairs. She waved to Mark in a friendly manner, but didn’t say anything right away. The family brought their guests into the living room and began a lively conversation. They were so pleasant and easy-going that Ryan Rickson soon became more at ease. He had never been a guest, or even treated very well by someone in this class before. But Ryan and Diane Gilmore were so friendly that he began to be more comfortable. He began to slip into his more rugged English, and didn’t feel judged or looked down upon. He, too, was having one of his best days.
The room quickly took on two distinct conversations. Ryan Rickson and the Gilmore parents were the primary and loud discussion. Tess and Mark were the second. Johnny hadn’t quite warmed up, but he was getting ready to. There was a sense of excitement in the air; a sense of celebration—like they were feasting after a victory of war. The Gilmores were in no hurry to get to the dinner. They seemed to be respecting the fact that their guests had eaten, but they wanted them to be able to enjoy some of the meal. The longer they waited the more likely that would be.
Eventually, Mrs. Gilmore said apologetically, “I wish that we had invited you sooner. I hear that you have eaten already. Please join us, and enjoy however much you want. At least have some dessert.”
“It smells awful nice, ma’am. The pizza only whett’ my appetite. I’ll be pleased to enjoy dinner with you,” said Ryan Rickson. Mark wasn’t starving, but he had reached that age where one leg is always hollow, and another helping always has a place to go. He had not dined in a nice manner in years. He was very happy to enjoy the meal, as well.
As they were seated around the table, and the food was being passed, the conversation turned to the main subject of the day: namely, the success of the Space Force and Captain Steve Jenners. Prior to this point conversation was primarily icebreakers and pleasantries.
“Had you gotten any word, or did you find out about everything on the news today?” asked Diane.
“No, ma’am; I’d heard it myself on the news this afternoon. I could hardly believe when they said ‘Captain Jenners.’ My Steve is a good boy, and a fine Captain, I’m sure. But no, I’s as surprised as anyone.”
“They got an alien!” said Johnny, now ready to enter the conversation. “I bet it is uggglyyy! Do you think that your brother is scared of the big ugly alien on his ship?”
“Johnny!” exclaimed Tess.
“What? I bet it’s ugly.”
Mark smiled. He liked Johnny already, and he had been wondering the same thing. “Nah, my brother isn’t afraid of anything. I don’t think that you can be Captain if you are scared of stuff.”
Mr. Gilmore smiled. He too was enjoying the conversation.
“I’ll bet they’re figuring out all of their weaknesses so that they can pulverize them!” Johnny continued, pulling a grotesque face.
“Johnny!” exclaimed his mother in faux shock. “How do we know that they aren’t friendly? Maybe we won’t need to pulverize them,” she said with a motherly smile.
That thought had never crossed Mark’s mind before. Johnny snorted.
“Nah, I don’t think there is such a thing as friendly aliens. Besides, we captured one, so they won’t be friendly after that. We wouldn’t be friendly to aliens that came and captured us.” Johnny had clearly been thinking of all of the diplomatic intricacies involved in this situation; at least at the Space Patrol level.
“If they were friendly, do you think that we would have captured one?” asked Mr. Gilmore in seriousness.
“Maybe, we’d had to get un to figur’ out if it’s friendly’r not,” ventured Mr. Rickson.
“Did the news say anything about them being attacked, or being hostile?” asked Mrs. Gilmore.
“No, um… just smart, they’d said.”
“Not so smart that my brother couldn’t catch one!” Mark exclaimed to victorious laughter.
“I want to see a picture of it,” said Mr. Gilmore.
Tess shivered. She had been a little unnerved by the conversation thus far, but the idea of seeing a picture of the grotesque and unworldly thing was a little much for her.
“You okay, honey?” asked her Mom.
She reddened a bit, but smiled. “I’m fine. I just don’t want to see any pictures of it. I think that I’m going to have enough trouble sleeping tonight as it is. I’ve been reading this book for school about aliens that attack earth and trying to destroy us. If these things are smart, maybe they let us capture this one as a decoy. If we can get to them, then they can get to us, right? So, I don’t want them coming here. And I don’t think that I want to see them. It’s kind of scary, you know?” Tess slumped in her seat a little and bowed her head. She looked up at Mark, a little embarrassed, but smiled.
“I might be scared too, but I know that Steve will protect us. If anything should be scared, it’s that alien that he’s got. He’ll torture it, and make sure he knows everything. No, I’m not scared. We’re going to be just fine.”
Tess smiled, and looked physically more relaxed. Mark spoke with such confidence that she really did feel protected. If Steve was a confident as Mark, everything was probably just fine.
“We’re going to pulverize ‘em, before they even know what’s hit ‘em. I’m not scared one bit!” Johnny exclaimed, putting the finishing touches on the discussion.
Chapter 30
