Science Fiction for Young Readers, grade 4 up
Story by Terry Gibson ©

     Next day at school, determined to 
try again Tab joined Maria at the 
swings.
     "Well," sniffed Maria.  "Ya came 
back."
     "Never was away."  Matching Maria's 
sweep on the swing, Tab was first to 
break the silence that had followed.  
"I've missed you."
     "Not much though, I bet."
     "Enough.  It used to be fun."
     Maria nodded.  If she'd been 
jealous, she didn't show it.  "So here 
you are," she said.
     What a dumb conversation, Tab 
thought.  It looked as if they were 
together again, but really only their 
swings matched, rising and falling 
together.
     Neither spoke.
     Tab watched two teachers on duty 
who kept looking their way.  They 
thought it was the Gruesome Twosome 
together again.  Actually, they had 
never been so far apart.
     Silence was not a natural thing 
between them, for there had always 
been such a lot to say, and Tab was 
sorry she had tried.  They continued 
to swing back and forth.
     At last Maria broke the silence.  
"I've got news."
     "Yeah?"  Tab smiled.  Maybe Maria 
didn't feel so good about the silence 
either.
     "We have new neighbours.  A girl 
about our age, real cute.  They bought 
Wilsons' house."
     Tab's eyes widened.  "That big 
one!"
     "The big one."  Maria had let her 
swing slow down, and Tab followed.  
"My mother said her father came here 
to build a new mall and convention 
centre on the waterfront."
     They must be rich, Tab thought.  
"How come she's not at our school?"
     "Private school.  Bridgestone 
Hall."
     "Oh, wow!  Like that book we 
read, RICH KIDS?" Gleefully Tab 
chortled, "Upper Crust!"
     "Oh!"  Another attack!  She 
grabbed for the supporting leg of the 
swing set.      
     "What's UP?" Maria screamed.  
She dropped off the swing and ran 
to Tabitha.  "Tabby, WHAT'S UP? Tell 
me!"
     Tabitha could scarcely hold on.  
It was the strongest attack yet; it 
tried to flip her up into the sky!
     "Please, Tabby!  Are you okay?  
Oh I'm so upset!"
     You're upset! Tab thought.  
Four, maybe five times the word had 
come out, and two of them were Maria's 
screams!  "No," she managed.
     Desperately Tab struggled against 
the uplift. With extreme effort, she 
forced her legs to wrap around the 
steel pole.
     "Oh Tabby, why are you hanging 
so tight onto the support?"
     Another upsurge of force trying 
to lift her away!  She hoped she 
wouldn't yank the pole right up out 
of the ground.
     The swings continued to carry 
no one back and forth while Tab glued 
herself to the metal support.
     Maria shrieked, "Please talk to 
me!  Did you hurt yourself?"
     Tabitha said, "No, I'm okay--I 
mean, I just can't walk right now."  
Panic!  The recess bell was about to 
ring.  She couldn't possibly let go 
and go in.  And if she didn't, she'd 
get into all kinds of trouble.
     Nearby kids had wandered over 
to see.  One said, "Chin up, Tabby."
     Another.  Her arms were aching.
     "Nah!, Tabby disease," another 
said.
     "Let me help you go in," Maria 
said.  "I can hold you up."
     Oh, oh!  Please, "No, just leave 
me.  I'll be all right."  Please, 
please leave me alone, she begged 
silently.  You don't know anything.
     "I'll go get Mr. Player."  
Maria left before Tab could say 
another word.
      "Ya hear that, Tabby?  She's 
gone for Mr. PLAY-ER!" A nasty laugh 
followed.
     The crowd was gathering, gawping, 
milling about, less than sympathetic.  
"It's Tabby Disease," someone said 
again.
     "Shush!  Here he comes." 
Everyone settled down as the teacher 
everyone adored asked, "Hello. What 
happened, Tabitha?"
     Clinging more tightly than ever, 
Tab tried to answer, but Maria said, 
"I don't know, Mr. Player. She just 
fell off the swing and now she can't 
walk."
     "Tell me where it hurts, Tabitha," 
he said.
     What could she say and still be 
truthful?  "Uh-- It'll go away.  Just 
give me a few minutes."  Oh, please 
understand, she prayed, and let me be.
     Some of the kids nudged each 
other, but with the teacher there, 
they didn't taunt her.
     "Has this happened before, then?" 
Mr. Player asked.
     His tone held such genuine caring 
that it quite undid Tab's self-control.  
Tears flowed, and she was so embarrassed 
she could die. She said, "Not like this..."
     He saw Tabitha's iron grip as she 
clung to the support.  "Dear child, you 
must be in great pain.  What a brave 
girl you are!"
     Tab felt like a total fraud.  She 
didn't hurt at all, except cramps from 
hanging on.
     "Here, let me help you to the 
nurse's room."
     "No!"  Her eyes widened. What will 
the kids make of that?  "Please, no!"
     Her teacher hesitated, and then 
said, "I don't want to hurt you.  Will 
it make it worse if I carry you?"
     A murmur passed though the crowd.  
"Carry!"
     It was hard to hear her say "No."  
How awful!  How could she hide it from 
him?  As soon as she'd let go, she'd 
start to pull him up into the air.  
What could she do?  It had to be NOW!
     He thought she was afraid of 
greater pain. "Ready to go?" he asked.
     She nodded, having no other choice.


     Mr. Player braced himself to lift her, 
his right arm behind her knees, left 
behind her upper back.  A most peculiar 
look crossed his face as she let go. "Hey! 
You don't weigh-" and he closed his hand
firmly around her left knee and arm, but 
even so Tab could feel herself rising 
alarmingly.
     "Here we GO!" he shouted as he ran.  
The kids moved aside.  "Make room.  Get 
that door open!"
     Tab wrapped her legs around him as 
he sprinted and strangle-held his neck.  
He could hardly see, but she knew he 
couldn't have held her down any longer 
without her active help.
     "HOO-Boy," Tom-Tom said, his eyes 
wide. "Didja see that?"
     Greggy's heart sank as he watched.  
There'd be a lot of trouble out of this 
for everybody.  Tab rode her teacher 
with her arms and legs wrapped around 
him.  What made it so shocking was that 
his arms were around Tabitha too.
     Their sneers had told Greggy what 
the older kids were thinking.  
"Oh, sure!  Look at HER!"
     "Like she knows him real well, huh?"
     "Gross!"
     "Like glue.  She HAS to have 
something going with him."
     "Didn't we guess it before?"
     "Yeah!  Remember that time when she 
stayed in the gym just to be near him?"
     "ALONE!"  What they didn't know 
they guessed, and by telling it, they 
made it true.  All the kids "KNEW," and 
they snickered at how dirty it had got. 
     Akim and Elsbeth had been watching 
too, and their mutual dismay drew them 
together.  "Akim," Elsbeth said, "You 
don't believe it, do you?"
     "The kids're just having fun."
     "Why do they think those ugly 
things?" she asked.  "Tabitha isn't 
like that at all."
     "I know she isn't.  None of it is 
true."
     Elsbeth smiled and blushed a little.  
"I think I know why.  All the girls love 
Mr. Player in their most secret hearts."
     "So?"
     "None of the girls would dare do 
what Tabitha was doing."


     Other kids had sprinted ahead and 
the door was ready as the strange pair 
burst inside, leaving a schoolyard of 
kids to make of it all what they could.  
News of the commotion had reached the 
office in advance.  
     Mrs. Meander, B.A., M.Ed.,Principal, 
had stood in her office window to see it 
with her own eyes.  Sure enough, there 
they came, what had to be Mr. Player, 
but looked more like one pair of legs 
propelling a tangle of arms and legs and 
clinging girl, all in close embrace.  
Mrs. Meander was not even slightly 
amused.
     Meanwhile, Mr. Player had a hard 
time trying to see where he was going, 
and even while gripping Tab with both 
arms, she still floated high.
     "Please, Tabitha, just relax.  
Don't move up and block my eyes!"
     As she felt the pull strengthen, 
Tab wailed, "I can't HELP it!  I CAN'T 
HELP IT!"
     Her sobs shook them both.  Mr. 
Player was nearly pulled off his feet 
by the increased force of her lift.  
If people had seen his red face, they 
would have found disbelief and 
amazement written there, and more 
than a little fear.
     Doors opened as if by magic as Mr. 
Player sprang inside, and in two steps, 
up the stairs to the main floor and 
the nurse's room.

                         
     Ms. Tempest, on hall duty, saw it.  
"Occult!" she shrieked.  "I knew it!  
Poor Jeremy!"  To her, it looked like 
a struggle to be rid of an alien life 
form.  JP's harshness made sense to her.  
Of course he would fight such a 
manifestation of the occult!  That's 
why, after her initial dismay and shock, 
she was the calmest of them all when 
she met other teachers.  
    "His work at the gym has done 
wonders," she told Mrs. Mallow.  "You 
should have seen him take those steps!  
Four and five at a time, like they 
weren't even there!"


     Tab was so embarrassed she just 
wanted to die.  The principal called, 
"MISTER PLAYER! STOP!" Even though she 
had buried her face against his neck, 
Tab could tell that he had no such
intention.  "Later, later," he shot out.  
"I have to get her down--"
     Tab felt some relief at that, and 
lifted her face.  The pull had eased.  
As she gazed at Mr. Player's flushed 
face, so near her own, she saw how upset 
he was.  Over his shoulder she could
also see that Mrs. Meander was furious!
     She noticed that Maria and Greggy 
had been following them.  Mrs. Meander 
had joined the parade into the nurse's 
small room, followed by Mrs. MacPherson 
the school secretary, and several
other teachers.


     Many people saw Mr. Player holding 
Tab at arm's length high over the cot.  
It was weird to be so strong.  By the 
expression on his face, they saw 
incredulity, exasperation, horror....  
It was plain that he was in trouble.
     Ms. Tempest's thoughts were never 
told, but her face displayed her 
disbelief at what she was seeing.  No, 
it couldn't possibly be true; you'd 
think he wasn't holding Tab up at all, 
rather the reverse, keeping her from 
lifting him away.
     Speechless for once, she was 
remembering Tab's Science Fair topic, 
and thoughts of the occult flashed 
through her mind, scaring her witless.
     "Impossible," Mr. Player said 
breathlessly.
     Then Tab heard Mrs. Meander shout, 
"Whatever do you think you are DOing!  
What are you waiting for?  Put her DOWN!"
     "DOWN!"  A screaming chorus, many 
others had also shouted it at the same 
time.
     "Aa-aa-gh!"  Tab's arms flew 
outward as she fell.  With a whump and 
a bounce, Tab landed hard on the narrow 
cot.  Except that her heart was pounding, 
it was over.
     What Tabitha did not know was that 
it had only just begun.