***
"Good morning, Mr. Jenkins," Jenny smiled towards the bus driver.
"Good morning," he called back.
The bus was noisy with many conversations. Jenny made her way towards the back of the bus where she sat with her friends. Partway down the bus, she noticed a backpack in the aisle blocking her way. Jenny recognized it immediately as Tiffany Bane's. Tiffany was pretending to be in a conversation with her friends.
"Excuse me Tiffany, could you please move your backpack?" Jenny was not in the mood for this immature behavior today.
"Just step over it. A good athlete like you should be able to handle that, but not much more," Tiffany teased, getting a laugh from her friends.
"Tiffany, why do you have to be such a pain in the butt?" Jenny asked as she stepped over Tiffany's pack.
"You'd better get used to it Thompson, because I'm going to whip your butt in every event today," Tiffany yelled back, so that all in the bus could hear.
Jenny did not have a comeback to the comment, and Tiffany knew it. Tiffany was the best athlete in the school. No matter how hard Jenny tried, she could not best Tiffany in any event. She was always runner-up.
She wouldn't mind being second best if it was to anyone other than Tiffany Bane. Tiffany was not what you would call a gracious winner. Jenny was one of the few people that would stand up to her bullying personality, and Tiffany did not like that, so she took every opportunity to try to make Jenny's life miserable.
"Just once, I'd like to beat her," Jenny muttered as she took off her backpack and sat down with her friends.
"Maybe today will be the day you finally do," said one of her friends optimistically.
"Yeah, maybe if I have a pair of rocket shoes," Jenny said in a dejected tone, as she secured her lighter than air backpack between her feet. As she settled into her seat, a light went on in her head, and her eyes shot down to her backpack, where the anti-gravity suit was stowed.
No, I couldn't, Jenny thought. Could I? That would be cheating, she wrestled with her conscience for a while, and finally decided, this very well could be the last day of fun for the rest of her life, and Relli did advise her to keep physical contact with the suit all day. How could she accomplish that without actually wearing it? That settled it. For the good of the human race, she needed to wear the suit today.
Jenny's mood picked up now, and she confidently stated, "You're right, to-day will be the day I beat her."
"That's the spirit Jenny," her friends said.
There were only two morning classes today. The entire district was meeting at Jenny's school to compete in a variety of running, jumping and throwing events. After her classes, Jenny went to the change room and put on the gravity displacement suit. She knew she was now capable of breaking every running and jumping event record known to humankind, if she wanted to.
I'll have to be careful. I don't want to arouse any suspicion, she thought. The first event was the 100-meter dash, an explosive acceleration of sheer sprinting speed. Jenny warmed up, and as she did, she experimented with different settings on the gravity displacement suit. She found a setting allowing her good sprinting speed, but didn't make her strides look unnaturally long.
Jenny had never realized before, all of the events of the day rewarded the person who was best able to battle the constant force of gravity. The winner was the person who could momentarily defy gravity the best, the person who could jump or throw an object the highest or furthest, and the person who could run the fastest, and Jenny knew she was that person today, thanks to the anti-gravity suit.
Tiffany Bane was assigned the first of two heats, and Jenny the second. The first four finishers in each heat would advance to the final. The starter called the first heat to the starting line.
"Nice sweatsuit Thompson. Where'd you get that, Barney's Bargain Basement?" Tiffany teased, as she walked by Jenny.
It seemed funny to Jenny, the exact same insult from her brother Martin just the day before had been humorous, but when it came from Tiffany Bane, it made her angry. This intriguing thought helped her to ignore the comment gracefully. And, it's also a lot easier to ignore a spiteful comment when you know you are going to have the last laugh, and Jenny was brimming with excited confidence. The first heat started with the crack of the starter's pistol. Tiffany easily won her heat in a time of 13.97 seconds. As Jenny adjusted the starting blocks for her heat, Tiffany jogged by and said, "There's more where that came from Thompson."
Jenny knew Tiffany was still holding something back for the final.
Two of Jenny's friends came over to wish her good luck.
"Don't worry about her Jen. Just relax and run your best."
"Yeah Jen, you can do it. You must be cooking in that sweat suit. Aren't you going to strip to your shorts and tank top?"
"No, I'm comfortable enough," she said. The suit was quite cool and comfortable Jenny realized. "And besides it's my lucky sweat suit."
"Since when?" asked one of her friends, as she curiously eyed the odd-looking suit up and down.
"Since yesterday," Jenny said with a smile.
She advanced to the blocks when called, and crouched down, waiting impatiently for the gun. She flinched in the starting blocks, and had to reset herself, just as the gun went off. The other girls left Jenny standing in the blocks, but she recovered quickly, and soon caught up to them. Halfway into the race, Jenny could feel herself still accelerating, as the other girls hit their top speed and began to slow down. She felt exhilarated as she surged past them. The finish line was approaching quickly, and Jenny figured she had better ease up and save something for the final, not to mention her fear of running too fast, and breaking Flo Jo's long-standing woman's world record. Now that would take a lot of explaining.
She crossed the line in a blistering time of 13.36 seconds, a new district record. Tiffany was furious; she had just broken the district record two weeks earlier.
"Way to go Jen!" her friends cheered.
"I never expected you to break the record!" said one of her friends in shocked disbelief.
"Especially in a heat!" another exclaimed.
"You were right Jen, that sweat suit is lucky for you," added a third.
Jenny noticed Tiffany storming over to them, and braced herself for the tirade.
"I don't know how you did that Thompson. I think it was a fluke, or the stop watches malfunctioned, or something. Whatever the reason, you'll be looking at my back in the final," Tiffany proclaimed, and she quickly turned and stomped off.
"A pleasure as always to talk to you, Tiffany. Please, do come again when you can't stay so long," Jenny said sarcastically. She could tell Tiffany was worried, and Jenny was loving it.
The final was only a half an hour away, so Jenny relaxed in the shade of a tall tree with her friends. As she lay in the soft green grass looking up through the shimmering leaves, she couldn't help but think about how mixed up the world had suddenly become. I can't believe I am here right now having the time of my life, and right after this is done, I have to prepare for a meeting with an alien. This is so important, I'm probably our only hope, or I must assume I am, so I have to pull myself together. I must be strong...Oh, please be strong, Jenny chanted in her head as she lay on the ground.
The voice of her friend Stacy disturbed her thoughts, "Jenny, that's you. They called the runners up for the final."
"Oh, I didn't even hear it. Thanks Stacy," Jenny said, jumping to her feet and jogging over to the starting line.
This is going to be fun, she thought, her face a portrait of blazing confidence.
Tiffany was already in her lane, pacing like a caged cat. Settling into her lane, Jenny performed a final stretching routine. She reminded herself to be careful not to run too fast...just win.
"Runners, take your marks," called the starter, and the eight athletes crouched into their starting blocks.
"Set," was his second command, and the runners prepared for their quick reaction to the gun.
; "BANG!" The gun went off, and the eight runners exploded from the blocks. Jenny got a good start and drove hard with her legs and arms. Tiffany got an excellent start, and was actually even with Jenny for a short distance, but Jenny felt light, strong, and confident. She looked over at Tiffany's straining face and smiled, only slightly distracting Tiffany's focus on her race.
Jenny effortlessly started to pull away from the other competitors, and Tiffany strained to no avail, in an attempt to keep up to the surging Jenny, who felt as light and nimble as a young doe. The exhilaration of the moment made her feel like she didn't want it to end, like she wanted to keep running forever, maybe to try to outrun the troubles now confronting her.
Jenny hit the finish line well ahead of Tiffany and the rest of her competition, and kept right on going.
Why stop when I'm feeling like this. I'm going to do the fastest victory lap in history, she thought. She kept on running, much to the amazement and delight of most. She felt agile and tireless as she sped around the track, waving and laughing at the shocked smiling faces of her friends, who immediately mobbed her when she finally slowed down.
"What were you doing?"
"I can't believe how fast you were going!"
"You finally beat Tiffany!" were just some of the comments.
A man's voice interrupted the celebration. "Excuse me!" he had to shout to get Jenny's attention over the chattering excitement of the girls. He passed his business card to Jenny, and everyone instantly quieted down. Jenny recognized the man immediately as a track and field scout from the University of British Columbia, but never dreamed he would ever approach her.
"Hi Jenny. I'm Jack Koharski from the athletic department of the University of British Columbia."
"Hi," Jenny said sounding a little caught off guard.
"That was quite a show you put on out there," he said.
Oh, oh, I'm caught, Jenny thought her carelessness had given away her secret.
"Thanks," Jenny said.
"I'd just like to make you aware of the numerous academic options at U.B.C. We are a very good university, with strong academic and athletic programs," he said. "You still have a few years to decide on a university, but we like to get an early start on athletes and students showing remarkable potential."
Jenny was relieved and flattered that this was his reason for approaching her. The university scouts only talked to the most exceptional athletes, and a generous athletic scholarship would be nice, but today was just a lark, just a for fun thing to help her get her mind off of the only thing that really mattered right now, the giant comet heading straight for Earth.
"Thank you very much for your interest, Mr. Koharski. I'll discuss it with my family," Jenny politely replied. The university scout took his leave, and Jenny went back to her celebration.
At the end of the day's events, they awarded Jenny with the honor of "Athlete of the Day", an award presented to the most inspirational athlete in the track meet.
As Jenny and her circle of friends stood and recalled the thrilling moments of the day, Stacey's attention was diverted, and her eyes got bigger. She spoke softly, but purposefully, and her eyes darted back and forth, from her friends, to her new focus of attention. "There's Ty Nash," she said excitedly. "He's looking over here." The girl's conversation stopped in its tracks, as their attention was now diverted along with Stacie's. "He smiled at us!" she said more intently. "He's coming over here!" Stacie was now beginning to vibrate with excitement on the inside, but tried her hardest to suppress any outward signs.
Tyson Nash strode over to the group of girls with a little dimpled smirk on his face. He walked with a confident swagger that all of the girls found irresistible, and his tousled dark hair blew in the breeze. He looked proudly down at the gold medal dangling from his neck, suspended by a blue ribbon. It soon became apparent that Jenny was the reason for his visit.
"Hello girls," he politely greeted.
"Hi, Ty," they replied in chorus.
A broad, bright smile spread across his tanned face.
"Congrat's on the award Jenny. Man, you really tore up the track," he congratulated.
"Thanks Ty, same to you. You broke the javelin record, didn't you?" Jenny responded.
"Yeah, I guess we both had pretty good days," Ty answered.
Jenny liked Ty a lot. They had been friends since kindergarten, but had kind of drifted apart the last couple of years. He had always been nice to Jenny and to everyone for that matter. Although they were old friends, Jenny felt differently when she talked to him now. She had always been so comfortable with him, but now, she got an excited nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever she saw him.
"I think I just got lucky today," Jenny added.
"Yeah, me too. I think a gust of wind blew in just as I let my last one fly," Ty chuckled, and Jenny laughed along with him.
"Well, I just wanted to come over to congratulate you. I'll see you around," he concluded.
"Yeah, thanks Ty, see ya," Jenny said, as he turned and walked away.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Jenny's friends closed tightly in on her.
"Oh, my, gosh! He is soo, cute," Amber squealed as her eyes rolled skyward.
"You are so lucky, Jen. Aren't you excited? That was Ty Nash for crying out loud," Stacie put her hands on her hips, and slightly scolded Jenny for her lack of enthusiasm.
"Yeah, I know. I just wish I hadn't frozen up. I sounded like a total weirdo," Jenny said in a disappointed tone.
"Oh, you did not! You're just imagining it. Shoot, I would have fainted on the spot if it was me," Sue stated, as she fanned herself and pretended to whither to the ground.
They all laughed at her antics and went on with their celebration.
.
The bus ride home was a triumphant experience and Jenny basked in the glory of it. Everyone on the bus, with the exclusion of Tiffany and her circle of friends, was sharing in the excitement. They all congratulated Jenny for her amazing accomplishments. It was over all too soon, and Jenny waved goodbye as the bus pulled away in a cloud of dust.
"Well, that's that," she said to herself, as she came back to the reality of the troubled times, and again she was alert to anything suspicious.
"I'm home!" she yelled, as she entered the quiet house. She got a sudden rush of adrenaline when she didn't receive an immediate answer, and she prepared herself when she heard unidentified footsteps approaching. It was Relli. "Oh, you scared me. I'm so on edge right now," Jenny admitted.
"Sorry. So how did it go?" Relli asked.
"Incredible, but I've got a confession to make," Jenny answered.
"You wore the suit for your events," Relli beat her to the punch.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"I thought you might. It was the easiest way to keep track of it. So how did you do?"
"Awesome, I won everything, easily. I had to be careful not to be too good, but it's hard when you have such a wonderful tool. I just wanted to let loose, but thankfully, I held back. You should have seen the look on Tiffany Bane's face. It was priceless. She's the only reason I used the power of the suit, and I had to keep it with me all the time, it was the only way. And anyway, who'll care about a track meet if I fail with the alien. A record is only a record if someone is around to record it," Jenny justified.
"Good, it sounds like you had a good time. You deserve it. Don't worry about using the power of the suit today. In the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter. You have the entire human race to save. Are you prepared for it?" Relli asked.
"No!" came the resounding answer.
Relli flashed a reassuring smile. "Come with me, and we can prepare our strategy," she said, leading the way to the kitchen.
"The alien appears to be very timid and shy, so I don't think it will try to come into the house again, except as a last resort. My guess is, it is watching the house, and is hoping to find you in a more private setting," Relli said.
"Is it just hunches, or do you know
?" Jenny asked.
"I've been meditating all day, and I can feel his presence, and sense his thoughts. They are hunches, but educated hunches," Relli explained.
"His?" questioned Jenny.
"Yes, it is a male of his species, and I think he is alone, but I can't be certain. Now, what I would suggest is, we give him the privacy he seems to need to meet with you, by simply walking out the door, and wandering into the backfields. I think he will follow you, and make contact," Relli suggested.
Jenny gulped, "And then what?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. You will have to try to communicate with each other, but I'm not sure how. Maybe being of an advanced race, he will be able to understand you. This part is totally up to your ingenuity, Jenny. You need to try to make him aware of the comet, and to try to get his help in steering it off course. He probably already knows about the comet, and is trying to get out of here before impact," Relli surmised.
"Why can't you come with me?"
"I think more than one person would spook him off, and this is your destiny. Don't ask me why, but you, on your own, is Earth's best chance of getting help from this creature. I can feel it, and I know it in my heart, and the time is now."
"So, how do I convince him to help us?" Jenny asked.
"You have been chosen for this task for a reason, and I trust you will find a way to convey our plight to him."
"Okay, I'm ready," Jenny said, acquiring some strength of self-belief from Relli's words of confidence.
"That's my girl. Now go and hide that suit again, and I'll meet you at the door."
Jenny could feel fear beginning to take its crippling grip on her as she packed away the suit. But she knew this was something she had to do, and she was determined to carry it through. "You can do it. You have to do it. You have no choice. Just do it!" she chanted. Her legs felt like concrete pillars as she trudged down the stairs.
"Now, just head out into the back, and let things take their course. Good luck," Relli said.
"What, no 'break a leg' this time?" Jenny said dryly.
Relli smiled warmly. "Break a leg my dear child."
Jenny returned the smile, and walked out into the late afternoon sunshine.