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

     Tab was all set for the big Science 
Fair.  All visuals were done, all materials 
collected, her own memo-notes, and Greggy's 
script were neatly run off on the printer.  
She had called a totally confused Mr. Player 
who could not understand why she could 
possibly need "four 25 kg. sacks of flour on 
a pallet" and "a long rope" but promised to 
have them handy in his car at the arena.  
Her reference material was assembled, and 
Greggy would help bring it home afterward.  
But most important of all, she still had to 
call Mrs. Mallow for help.
     "I hope I'm not too late Mrs. Mallow--"
     "Not at all, Tabitha.  I still have a 
lot of papers to mark.  How can I help?"
     "Thanks... I hope it is not too late to 
ask your help, I mean if you could get the 
media there tomorrow when the final 
presentations are on...?
     "At the Arena."
     "Yes, by 2 in the afternoon."
     "Has it anything to do with your 
floating?"
     "Uh-huh, but please don't tell.  Just
convince them that it could become a 
national story."
     "You can guarantee that?"  Mrs Mallow 
laughed, but did not want to have them there 
for nothing.
     "It is very very important."
     "Has it something to do with what we 
talked about at school?"
     "Yes, Mrs Mallow, but much more than 
that."  Tabitha hoped Mrs. M. understood.  
"Uh, and could you bring your camcorder 
and tripod?"
     "Sounds exciting.  Of course, if you 
expect it to be worth recording."
     "As back up, if the TV cameramen don't 
come.  It will happen outside the arena, so 
if you need filters or anything..."
     "I understand.  I'll bring the whole 
kit."
     "Wonderful!  Thank you!"
     "Now about reporters, you want the BUGLE 
of course.  How about Meg Warren of the 
TRIBUNE over in--?"
     "The big city paper!  Oh COULD you?"
     "No problem.  She is my niece.  And she 
did feature interviews with school board 
members and superintendents--"  At Tabitha's 
audible gasp of dismay, she quickly added, 
"Meg told me that this is a toxic town to 
live in.  She is looking for things to give 
her a happier follow-up story."
     "Oh.  All right!  I think Mr. Player 
and I can do that."
     "You, and... Mr. Player?"
     "Yes but he doesn't know about it yet."
     "Ah.  I am looking forward to this 
mystery.  Now I had better call Meg right 
away so she can arrange it first thing in 
the morning."
     "Thank you, Mrs. Mallow.  I hope we 
won't disappoint you."
     Their good bye left Tab happier than 
she had been for a long time,  If it went 
as planned no one would ever forget what 
happened tomorrow.  Maybe even the TV 
people would come out.  The publicity had 
to be ready for a real show.
     But only if an adult notified them.  
Who'd pay attention to a request from a kid?

                         
     In the morning Tab had collected her 
charts and mounted pictures, props, papers, 
and stuff and set off for school late enough 
to avoid social contacts in the schoolyard.  
From previous years, she knew that most of 
the morning would be spent going to the 
arena class by class to set up their displays.
     Tabitha was ready.  All she needed was 
a location near a main door, and Akim had 
promised to help her get one.  Demonstrations 
would all be placed together, so much she knew.  
Meanwhile, she just had to wait and bite her 
fingernails, that the reporters would be there 
for her presentation.


     It was the turn of her class to go.  
By swapping with Akim, who had swapped with 
Glen, she did get a handy spot near the door.  
Set up, they had to stand around until all 
the positions had been filled.
     Still no sign of the reporters...  
Maybe they weren't coming.
     Tab looked at the program.  They all 
had to be there before two, or they might 
as well not come at all.


     She waved at Mrs. Mallow who came to 
talk with her.  "No," she said, "I'm not 
nervous, really.  I have it all planned.  
Greggy will help me, and maybe someone else."
     Mrs. Mallow looked at Tab's display 
boards, and said, "My, you are a thorough 
one, aren't you?"
     "Like you taught me, I did my best," 
Tab whispered, and her old teacher knew that 
what they were about to say had to be kept 
from other ears.
     Whispering too, Mrs. Mallow asked, 
"Now, about the videotape, what am I 
supposed to do?"
     "Okay, it's not just to tape my 
presentation.  Also the crowd, when they 
see me go--"
     "I take it, you're planning to...?"  
Mrs. Mallow showed a rising motion with her 
hand.
     "Flight, yes, many times while I talk." 
She showed an up-down, up-down motion.  
Very high, outside."
     In a whisper, with a strange expression 
on her face, Mrs. Mallow asked, "Outside 
very high?"
     "Don't tell!  Make it a surprise."
     "Everyone in our school knows."
     "Sure, but they ignore it now.  
Strangers won't.  Greggy will read the 
script I've given him when they can't hear 
me anymore.  And there's more." Behind her 
hand so no one could possibly know, she 
told how she was going to prove Mr. Player's 
innocence.  She watched Mrs. Mallow's eyes 
widen, to be matched with a warm smile.
     "Wonderful," Mrs. Mallow said.  
"Wonderful!  I'm so glad.  But please be 
careful."
     She checked the brightness of the sky 
with her light meter, and took out neutral  
density filters, ready to put over the lens 
when they went out.  She smiled and said, 
"I'm ready for anything.  Maybe I should 
stand where I can use that steeple as a 
background."
     "I hope to go higher than that."  
Tab knew she could count on Mrs. Mallow.  
"I think you're just super, Mrs. M.!"
     "I hope I have skills enough to do it
justice.  And you want me to keep all this 
to myself?" Seeing Tab's nod, she asked, 
"Does your mother know?"
     "Sort of.  She's seen me float."
     "All right!  I'll be ready when you 
need me."

                         
     The early afternoon program went off 
on schedule.  The panel of judges had 
questioned everyone, and on the basis of 
their visual displays and knowledge of the 
topic, chose six finalists from among the 
large group.  Having to wait for their 
decisions was the longest hour of her life.  
Finally Tab, with her work on Flight, was 
one of the finalists.
     Tabitha didn't mean to be smug about 
it, of course, but she had worked very hard 
on it, harder than anyone else she knew.  
How could it possibly be otherwise?  The 
hardest part of it was not to let on that 
she felt that way.
     The general public had turned up in 
greater numbers than the teachers had 
expected, at least that's what she heard 
Ms. Tempest say.  The crowd needed extra 
chairs as they settled in the open area 
to listen to the oral presentations of 
those chosen.  Who would win the Grand 
Prize?
     Tabitha let her mind wander during 
the first speeches, except to note that 
they didn't seem all that great.  One could 
hardly be heard, and another read it, but 
his pages mixed, and had to start again.  
So far at least, the top prize was in no 
real danger.
     Akim was next.  He had prepared a 
documented experiment on the decay of fruit, 
using five red grapes, a banana, a pear, an 
apple, and an orange. He controlled the 
conditions, giving all kinds the same 
unblemished start, to see whether thickness
of peel delayed decay.  He had photos taken 
at two-day intervals... and was able to show 
how drying gave oranges a real advantage.  
Tab thought Akim had done a really good 
job.
     Two other presentations followed, 
with their quality close to that of Akim's 
fruit.  Tabitha was glad she did not have 
to be a judge.
     "Our last candidate will be..."  Ms. 
Tempest looked at her list, and raised her 
eyebrows, dismissing her with an unconscious 
toss of her head. "The Story of Flight.  
Tabitha Gray."
     Tab stood, and with a reassuring smile 
from Greggy, went to the front with her 
posters and paraphernalia.  Her poise and 
confidence surprised everyone, even Tabitha 
herself.  She smiled as she spoke and knew 
from Elsbeth's "thumbs-up sign" at the back 
of the arena that she could be heard to the 
far corners.  All the hours of effort paid
off.  She relaxed and without referring to 
her crib-notes, made the history amusing as 
she rose up into the air, and came down, 
noticed by sharp-eyed little kids in the 
front row, and some of their parents whose 
eyes shone with laughter.  Tabitha explained 
the principles clearly.  With a sheet of 
paper taped to the front edge, she blew and 
her breath repeatedly made the paper rise,
showing how the curve of the top of an 
airplane wing produces lift.
     After that, the old technology of 
propellers in planes and as rotors in 
helicopters was simple stuff.  Combinations 
of things, such as in turboprops led to the 
first surprise: Greggy let several large 
inflated balloons escape with a rude 
splut-t-t-t over the heads of the audience.  
     The surprised laugh over, Tabitha went 
on, with charts, to compare rockets, both 
liquid and solid fuelled, with jet 
propulsion.  Right up-to-the-minute 
technology off the internet gave her facts 
to include ram-jets which need a lot of  
speed before they can begin to work, but 
then are capable of immense speed, to be 
used in next-generation shuttles.  Into the 
future with nuclear fusion, and its series 
of small explosions behind the vehicle, she 
finished with speculation about ion fusion, 
and light-sails, the latter having already 
been proven in a vacuum.  "You don't just 
have to be a Rocket Scientist," she said, 
"now you need a lot more than that."

     No one there, in the crowd assembled, 
was left confused by what she said, and all 
were impressed, applauding even before she 
finished.
     "For our next demo that shows the most 
ecologically friendly, least expensive step 
in future air transport, we all have to go 
out into the open area in front of the 
parking lot.  My brother and I will wait for 
you there.  Let's GO!"  
     Tab smiled as she put on her light 
jacket.  They had seen nothing yet.

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