Apocalypse Before Finals by Julie Steimle (electric book reader txt) 📕

Jeff smiled and patted her on the head. "Somehow, I think you'll manage."

Brian, Mark, and them busted up, especially at the savage look Zormna was giving Jeff. She looked likely to throw him, and yet for some reason she didn't. A year ago she would have.

Zormna swatted Jeff off. "I am not amused."

"But what about a president?" Darren asked. "Didn't you say on that broadcast that you were having elections for a president?"

Grateful to Darren, Zormna nodded, casting peeks at Jeff who for some reason turned a quick shade of pink and looked skyward again. "We had them."

Their friends waited. Zormna said nothing, but smirked.

"And...? Who is the president?" Darren persisted.

"You know, that's funny..." Zormna said, grinning with amusement now. "Orrlar Aflov - you know him as Jafarr's Uncle Orren - started to run for President. Or rather the people were going to elect him as he is this entirely respected and venerated figure in the rebellion - when suddenly Orrlar changed his mind and supported someone else entirely... leading away all the votes onto that individual."

Brian glanced at Mark with Jonathan, and looked at Jeff, whose face had turned redder. Jeff's eyes had darkened peevishly, almost angry but not at them... and not at Zormna

Zormna peeked at Jeff with a laugh. "The funny thing is, that individual doesn't want to be President any more than I want to be Queen."

Jeff then growled. "They should redo the election."

Jessica leaned toward him, nudging him in the side. "You really wanted your uncle to win, didn't you?"

Cringing, Jeff looked down at the burned earth around the cairn, fighting the red rushing into his pale cheeks. "Besides that he's really not my uncle... he would have been a great leader. But it's not that."

"No." Zormna laughed gleefully. "It's not that." She hopped away from Jeff in case he took a swipe at her.

"You're the president?" Brian exclaimed, reading Jeff's expression too well. He started grinning from ear to ear. Jeff was only eighteen after all.

His face entirely hot, Jeff muttered dejectedly, "I wanted to be an ambassador to Earth. Zormna promised."

Jonathan laughed, and Mark dropped his rear end onto the picnic table, speechless. Adam just shook his head in amazement. The others stared like this was too surreal for them. An eighteen-year-old ambassador to earth sounded even sillier.

Jessica was giggling. She was also digging out her charcoal pencils, flipping open another page to her sketch pad. Jennifer nodded, fancying the idea.

Resting his hand on Jeff's shoulder, Brian said with a generous pat, "Well, Mr. President, would you sign my yearbook?"

Looking up at him, Jeff rolled his eyes. "You dork."

Brian laughed.

The last anyone saw of those two in Pennington, except on television, was of the pair walking together with their friends during lunch across the school parking lot to the football field where a white-silver spaceship rested on the fifty yard line. Jeff and Zormna carried their own school yearbooks in their arms, wearing their t-shirts and jeans, and their friendly, yet sad grins. They already looked homesick, but it was hard to tell which home they were missing more.

Though others had their cellphones, Joy pulled out a camera and took lots of pictures. It was a habit of hers during the last week of school, and they were all grateful for it. The group gathered in front of the ship, though Zormna allowed her classmates to sit on the wing steps and in the cockpit for photographs.

"It's amazing," Adam murmured, staring up at the spacecraft. "Beautiful."

"It's mine," Zormna said, offhand.

"No way!" several exclaimed.

 But Zormna nodded. "Jafarr tried to steal it once."

"Was that when you broke his nose?" Mark asked.

Groaning, Zormna hung her shoulders.

Jeff raised his hands in protest. "I didn't bring it up!"

With a dry look on him, Zormna said to Mark. "No, his nose got broken when he was trying to steal a shuttle, right after I took him off the surface when he had stolen a flight scooter."

"Flight scooter?" several murmured. 

"It is about as big as a jet ski, and looks about the same," Jeff said, "Only they fly."

His friends drew in breaths.

"Will we ever get to see those things?" one of their classmates murmured.

Zormna and Jeff shared a look.

Cringing, Jeff said, "The tech... uh, probably won't come to Earth until we make more treaties with the governments here. We want to keep things legal."

"Flying scooters," their classmates still murmured, awed now at the possibilities of technology that might come their way.

"Why was Jeff trying to steal your ships?" Jonathan asked.

Laughing, Zormna said, "He was trying to get off the planet."

"And get here to Earth," Jeff said. "It took eight tries."

"And he didn't only go after my ships," Zormna said. "It was just his bad luck."

"Good luck," Jeff interjected.

Zormna blinked and turned in a stare at him.

"I never would have met you if we hadn't constantly bumped into each other," he said, his eyes smiling. "The Surface Patrol is huge, and so many of my cohorts got away under the nose of your officers."

Zormna moaned. "No kidding. Why were they so blind?"

Jeff shook his head admiringly. "No. You just see more than other people do. And we were destined to meet."

Her cheeks flushed.

"Ooooo!" the crowd echoed with kissy noises.

Ignoring them, he said, "I mean, how else did I end up in the town where your great aunt lived when this world is so big? And I certainly didn't want to bump into you again."

She nodded. "That's creepy."

"That's destiny," Jonathan murmured, wide-eyed.

"That's prophecy," Brian whispered.

Jeff looked down to him and nodded. "Yeah. Exactly."

"Ah," Zormna threw up her hands and started climbing the steps up the ship wing, "Don't overwhelm me."

Nodding, Jeff said, "You're right. Let's take this picture."

His friends laughed, mostly because they were also overwhelmed and did not know how to respond. A lot more than just their cluster of friends had gathered around the ship. A considerable crowd had now gathered now at the fence and onto the football field to watch them, and speak with them (if possible) before they left.

Lots of pictures got taken. Lunch had long been over. Many of the Pennington students ditched class for one final good-bye at the 'Martian Queen's spaceship'.

Jeff looked up into the sky and sighed, gazing over the landscape and then at Zormna. He tapped her on the shoulder after another photo with girls who been 'long admirers' (though Zormna doubted it. Most girls at school had been catty and jealous, but she let them pretend).

"We have to get back," he said. "The Kevin and Alea Salvar will think I ran off with you - and Alea Salvar hates me enough as it is."

Zormna smirked and nodded.

Those nearby wondered who this Alea Salvar was and which Kevin Jeff was talking about. Jennifer's ex had not come to the ship and had avoided the pair of them when he had seen them on campus.

Zormna looked through her crowd of classmates, her eyes finding Jennifer McLenna, who had been with Jessica watching the pandering of her classmates. She was tearing at the eyes, trying to maintain her composure. Zormna walked away from the ship and parted the crowd, going to her, throwing her arms around her first friend. She hugged Jennifer tight, whispering, "Thank you for taking me in and being my friend when I really needed it." Zormna pulled back and wiped her eyes. She squeezed Jennifer's hand. "I would have been lost without you."

She then smiled at Jessica. "Thank you for being nice to me even when I didn't fit in with..."

Jessica laughed, hugging her. "I'm an individualist. And you helped me let go of all the dark stuff." She then handed Zormna a folder. "Open it when you get home."

Taking it, Zormna blinked at her - that same stare people always took for a 'dumb blonde' look. "What - ?"

"It's a gift," Jessica said. "One I meant to give you before this whole... you know, craziness happened."

Nodding, Zormna smiled and stepped back. Glancing around, Zormna took in all the jealous faces of the other students nearby. A sharp glint entered her eye, and Zormna lifted her voice. "I hope to hear Jennifer is treated well from now on. She was my friend when I needed one the most, and I will forever be her friend - and a friend to friends of hers." She then grinned at Brian and the rest. But instead of hugging, much to Mark's dismay, Zormna bowed to them in Arrassian fashion as she said, "Thank you for your kindness. I will never forget any one of you."

Jeff called from atop ship, "Hurry up, Zormna, or I'm flying."

Immediately Zormna's smile turned to a scowl - though it was not hateful. "Oh, no you don't!" And she ran, climbing swiftly up the steps like an acrobat - which she pretty much was. "You got to drive your motorcycle. This is my ship. I'm flying it."

As the crowd below laughed, they backed off.

Brian's group of friends watched it with a sense of loss, especially as Zormna popped down into the seat then pull on her helmet with a good-bye wave to them all. She really was going.

Jeff also waved then nodded once to Brian and the rest, his dark eyes saying 'so long'. He pulled on a helmet and adjusted the seat straps.

The silver white shield on the top slid into place, and nothing more could be seen. They could hear the engine hum, heating up they assumed. Then everyone stepped back father - or rather, an abrupt gust of air blew them back. They all staggered away to get their footing. Over the ground a moment. Then, it rose ten feet and remained there three seconds before it shot in an arch across the football field, straight over the opposite goal posts. It was gone quicker than a snap.

It was no wonder they had landed so easily on the White House lawn without being detected.

"Well," Darren said, rocking on his feet with a look to Jennifer and Jessica. "Off to seventh hour? Or do we just go home?"

They shared looks then connected gazes with Joy and Brian's gang.

"Seventh hour."

And they marched off the football field.

Publication Date: 10-21-2017

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