High School Terrans

As the Saturday sun dipped down past the edge of the ocean, the school’s annual back to school bonfire was well underway as students mingle drinking out of plastic cups with cold cans of soda sitting in ice tubs resting on the beach all around. The few lifeguards that were still on duty kept watch but stayed in the background.

Kyle, arriving with Dan and Alan, walked down the beach seeing a surfer coming up to the shore and stuck his surfboard firmly into the sand.

“Good day for surfing,” Patrick said, running his hand through his wet hair. “You’re one of the new students, aren’t you?”

“Yeah I am,” Kyle said.

“Patrick,” he said extending his hand to Kyle.

“Kyle,” he replied, shaking hands.

“So you think you’ve fit in yet?”

“Yeah, so far.”

As she was in the middle of talking to Dan and Alan, Sarah could see Kyle and Patrick walking together up the beach to the bonfire.

“You made it,” she said smiling.

However, Sarah could hear Jason and his group of friends’ roughhousing within earshot.

“Oh boy. I was hoping he wouldn’t show up here tonight.”

Patrick took a look and said, “Jason just likes talking big. I wouldn’t worry too much about him.”

From the look Kyle could see on Dan’s face he knew that he was looking for a fight of some kind. He held a hand in front of him holding him back.

“Whatever you are thinking of don’t. You’re asking for trouble you don’t want.”

Kyle noticed that Alan had gone missing and soon saw him not too far away staring at a boulder with the words “TERRANS GO HOME” spray painted in red.

Kyle put a reassuring hand on his shoulder seeing Alan’s eyes well up with tears. “Hey, don’t pay any attention to this crap. You know not everyone is like this.”

Alan shrugged off Kyle’s hand and started to run down the beach.

“God, who would do such a thing?” Sarah asked seeing the vandalism.

“Alan saw it. I need to go after him. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s alright,” she said, smiling faintly. “You have to help your friend. I will be here when you get back.”

Kyle ran down the beach catching up with Alan seeing him sitting with his face in his hands.

“Why can’t I just be like other kids?”

“Because that is who we are,” he said, sitting next to him. “We’ve always been different from other people. Our parents brought us here so we could have a chance at a life because our world was dying.”

The two stared up at the night sky filled with pinpricks of bright stars shining down from up above.

“You know I don’t even remember what home was like,” Alan said. “I was too young when we all left.”

“It isn’t much different than it is here. Remember our ancestors came from here.”

“You mean the Ancient Ones story?” he asked chuckling. “I’ve heard that ever since I was a kid.”

Kyle smiled and said, “Do you think you wanna come back and join us?

“Yeah,” he said smiling.

Kyle and Alan walked back much to Jason’s dismay seeing Kyle and Sarah mingling and walking off together made him walk towards them until Patrick got in his path.

“Do you really wanna start something outside of school?” Patrick asked.

“You got to be kidding?” he said incredulously. “You really want Sarah with that Terran?”

“He has a name and if Sarah wants to hang with him let her.”

“Patrick, we’ve been friends ever since we were kids. Hell, we even used to surf together every day during the summer.”

“Yeah, were friends,” he said. “I like Kyle and I don’t see what the problem with him is. He is an okay guy.”

“But their aliens, don’t you know that?”

“Uh, yeah and I also don’t pass judgment on people until I get to know them. You’ve watched too many science fiction movies. So back off.”

Jason looked a final time and turned away acting like a sore loser.

Once school was over on Monday Kyle and Dan decided to stick around sitting outside on the bleacher stands noticing the start of the new football season judging by the looks of the several players on the field practicing under the tutelage of Coach Wilson.

“I would have loved to got my hands on whoever spray painted that rock on the beach,” Dan said sitting next to Kyle on the bleachers.

“You are too much of a hot head Dan, you know it,” Kyle replied. “We have to let it go.”

Suddenly a stray football flew up into the bleachers. Kyle reached down and picked it up throwing a perfect spiral throw back onto the field that made Coach Wilson take notice. He blew his whistle and said, “Okay, everyone hit the showers.”

“Good throw,” he said, walking to the bleachers.

“Thanks,” Kyle said.

“Have you ever played football?”

“No.”

“We are starting to hold tryouts this week. I’d be interested in seeing how well you do.”

“You mean possibly becoming a member of the team?”

“Yeah, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen anybody make a throw like that,” the coach said. “Will you consider coming?”

Kyle gave Dan a surprising look of a why not expression on Kyle’s face where Kyle turned back to the coach and said, “Okay, I’ll be there.”

“Good. Come tomorrow immediately after school. Don’t be late.”