[Henry Sparks: Trip Start]
"Huh. He was shorter than I am."
Henry spoke to no one in particular, standing amidst the crowds in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. He had spent the last few minutes walking slowly past the displays of spacesuits used by both the United States and the Soviet Union. The orange SK-1 suit used by Yuri Gagarin in his first spaceflight stood up in front of him, a small mannequin head inside of the helmet. It was situated next to John Glenn's spacesuit used in his similar orbit. Henry preferred the Gagarin suit, not in the least because he related to Gagarin more.
Apparently the man had an absolutely terrible night the day before his launch. Given that no one had done what he was about to do before, and the likelihood he was going to die doing it, he looked pale and spoke little beforehand. The man was climbing atop what was essentially a refitted nuclear missile for a program that had a not-perfect track record when it came to exploding on the launch pad. Furthermore, he was to be ejected from the capsule on re-entry, after pulling around eight g's, for a ten minute descent via parachute from seven kilometers above the ground, with only a vague idea of where he was actually going to hit the ground.
Where did they find room in the suit for his enormous brass balls?
Yet he did it. When the engines were firing and they gave him the go-ahead signal, he replied with a Russian expression that roughly translated to "Let's Go!" Henry was finding it easier to pronounce some of the strange sounds of the Russian language, but he'd probably never pass off as a fluent speaker. There was time, and at the very least he just needed to know functional enough Russian to do the job. He read the text of the spacesuit, quietly enough that he wasn't bothering anyone but enough to practice his pronunciation.
Скафандр Космический
"Skaf-andr Kosmich...eskiy. 'Cosmic Armour.' Neat!"
It all sounded almost too awesome to have been real, let alone to have happened almost sixty years ago. The fact that the man went from being shaken and afraid to presenting an air of fearlessness. He was known for always having a bright smile on his face, for having a positive attitude in the face of doing something extraordinary and terrifying. It was probably not just for him - making sure to visibly have his spirits up probably put the rest of the people involved more at ease.
Henry couldn't help but smile, himself. He knew so much about most of the items on display here, but there was something about seeing it all here. It made it seem more real. He kept walking, his eyes glancing across the crowd to see if there was a familiar face he might be able to assail with enthusiasm.
Apogee
Adventures at the Air & Space Museum - Open!
[[Gervais Frans Lambotte Start]]
Gervais was fascinated by The National Mall. There was so much to discover, but only little time they could explore everything. Gervais experienced so much here that he could look over the obnoxiously long bus drive to D.C. It was worth it.
While walking through the crowd he saw a familiar face. Small Henry, clear-cut with his curly hair.
"Hey, Henry!", he shouted. He smiled at the classmate through the crowd.
Gervais was fascinated by The National Mall. There was so much to discover, but only little time they could explore everything. Gervais experienced so much here that he could look over the obnoxiously long bus drive to D.C. It was worth it.
While walking through the crowd he saw a familiar face. Small Henry, clear-cut with his curly hair.
"Hey, Henry!", he shouted. He smiled at the classmate through the crowd.
[Amelia Fischer Trip Start]
Amelia was almost skipping through the museum she was so giddy. She’d just had such an amazing experience at the public observatory. Being able to actually look through the 16-inch Boller & Chivens telescope was thrilling! It was quite the thing to be surrounded by other people just as excited about space as she was. The only person she could usually share this kind of thing with was Dean, but he didn’t come on the Trip to DC, so she was stuck kind of coming here alone. She’d taken lots of pictures though, and she couldn’t wait to show them to him when they got back home. Amelia was nowhere near done with her time in the museum, however, so she still had lots of time to collect pictures and stuff. She had tickets for the Planetarium in a few hours, so she had to try and fit as much in as possible before then. She’d told Roxie she was going to spend some time at the museum today, and asked her not to let her stay too too long, so she wanted to get as much out of it as possible before she got the phone call saying she had to go back to the hotel.
As she bopped along, she kept her eyes peeled for anything interesting. Maybe some other cool space exhibit she’d missed in her first go around. She found herself drawn to a few things here and there. She marveled at a spaceship replica at one point, getting herself so over-excited she felt like she needed to lie down before she passed out from sheer happiness. She had to take herself to a bench for a while to just let herself breathe and relax for a moment. While sitting she let her eyes scan over the crowd, watching the other visitors as they went about their lives. Amelia enjoyed people watching. It was always so interesting to try and figure out what kind of lives other people you had no connection to were living.
As she watched the people pass by, she noticed someone who looked sort of familiar. Curly black hair and cargo pants… That seemed like someone she knew? Or at least knew OF. She couldn’t place a name for the boy but she was sure he was from her school. She was pretty darn sure they’d been on the same bus. Amelia felt like she should go over and say hello. After all, it was a big city, so they should be letting each other know that they’re safe, right?
But what was his name?
Scott? Adam? It was something common she knew that. Oh, it started with an H she thought. Hmm…
As she thought about his name, she got up from her seat and moved closer to the boy, still attempting to recall his name. Before she was able to reach him, however, another boy appeared from the crowd, calling his name.
Henry! That was it!
But one question is solved and another arises… What was the new boy’s name?
Oof… She was going to be here all day if she couldn’t remember these names. It wasn’t like she meant to forget, she was just not the sort of person who really payed attention to names and such. Not unless they were her close friend at least. She frowned a bit as she racked her brain for a clue, before getting too confused and deciding to just approach the two and improvise. She was sure one of them would say the new boy’s name before long. Amelia marched over to the boys and waved politely when they noticed her.
“Hello! You both go to George Hunter too, right?”
Amelia was almost skipping through the museum she was so giddy. She’d just had such an amazing experience at the public observatory. Being able to actually look through the 16-inch Boller & Chivens telescope was thrilling! It was quite the thing to be surrounded by other people just as excited about space as she was. The only person she could usually share this kind of thing with was Dean, but he didn’t come on the Trip to DC, so she was stuck kind of coming here alone. She’d taken lots of pictures though, and she couldn’t wait to show them to him when they got back home. Amelia was nowhere near done with her time in the museum, however, so she still had lots of time to collect pictures and stuff. She had tickets for the Planetarium in a few hours, so she had to try and fit as much in as possible before then. She’d told Roxie she was going to spend some time at the museum today, and asked her not to let her stay too too long, so she wanted to get as much out of it as possible before she got the phone call saying she had to go back to the hotel.
As she bopped along, she kept her eyes peeled for anything interesting. Maybe some other cool space exhibit she’d missed in her first go around. She found herself drawn to a few things here and there. She marveled at a spaceship replica at one point, getting herself so over-excited she felt like she needed to lie down before she passed out from sheer happiness. She had to take herself to a bench for a while to just let herself breathe and relax for a moment. While sitting she let her eyes scan over the crowd, watching the other visitors as they went about their lives. Amelia enjoyed people watching. It was always so interesting to try and figure out what kind of lives other people you had no connection to were living.
As she watched the people pass by, she noticed someone who looked sort of familiar. Curly black hair and cargo pants… That seemed like someone she knew? Or at least knew OF. She couldn’t place a name for the boy but she was sure he was from her school. She was pretty darn sure they’d been on the same bus. Amelia felt like she should go over and say hello. After all, it was a big city, so they should be letting each other know that they’re safe, right?
But what was his name?
Scott? Adam? It was something common she knew that. Oh, it started with an H she thought. Hmm…
As she thought about his name, she got up from her seat and moved closer to the boy, still attempting to recall his name. Before she was able to reach him, however, another boy appeared from the crowd, calling his name.
Henry! That was it!
But one question is solved and another arises… What was the new boy’s name?
Oof… She was going to be here all day if she couldn’t remember these names. It wasn’t like she meant to forget, she was just not the sort of person who really payed attention to names and such. Not unless they were her close friend at least. She frowned a bit as she racked her brain for a clue, before getting too confused and deciding to just approach the two and improvise. She was sure one of them would say the new boy’s name before long. Amelia marched over to the boys and waved politely when they noticed her.
“Hello! You both go to George Hunter too, right?”
Henry quickly noticed Gervais walking over, and waved to him. He was kind of a geeky kid, and they hadn't spoken much - not for any particular reason, mostly in that he hadn't shared many classes. Still, he seemed like the kind of person who would find this kind of thing just as interesting as he did.
"How's it going, Gervais? What do you think of all of this?" He motioned towards the array of rockets, his eyes locking on the somewhat comical and threatening-looking V2. Before he had much of a chance to expound on the relationship between weapons of war and the inherently peaceful and unifying nature of space travel, another voice joined into the conversation.
Oh, I know you! You don't seem to know me, though. Might wanna just steer right into this one.
Amelia - he was fairly sure that was her name. He'd sat behind her in class and caught her doodling some kind of space scene. He imagined she was the kind of girl he could probably talk to about wacky sci-fi paperbacks, but maybe not much else. Either way, he could completely understand why she'd be excited to be here.
I mean, I'm kinda excited she's here. She's pretty cute, in a goth-y sort of way.
Henry ignored the thought crossing his mind, and offered a bright smile to Amelia. "Hey, Amelia right? I'm Henry, I think we had English together in first semester."
"How's it going, Gervais? What do you think of all of this?" He motioned towards the array of rockets, his eyes locking on the somewhat comical and threatening-looking V2. Before he had much of a chance to expound on the relationship between weapons of war and the inherently peaceful and unifying nature of space travel, another voice joined into the conversation.
Oh, I know you! You don't seem to know me, though. Might wanna just steer right into this one.
Amelia - he was fairly sure that was her name. He'd sat behind her in class and caught her doodling some kind of space scene. He imagined she was the kind of girl he could probably talk to about wacky sci-fi paperbacks, but maybe not much else. Either way, he could completely understand why she'd be excited to be here.
I mean, I'm kinda excited she's here. She's pretty cute, in a goth-y sort of way.
Henry ignored the thought crossing his mind, and offered a bright smile to Amelia. "Hey, Amelia right? I'm Henry, I think we had English together in first semester."
Gervais nodded at the question of Amelia whether he was also going to George Hunter High. At the question of Henry, what he was thinking of all of this, he looked around and while he was doing that several facts about rockets came into his mind, most of them being random fun facts or historical, some technical. Basic knowledge about the history of space science, etymologies of some things, in what year which country tried whatever. Stuff like that.
But he didn't feel anything special towards these rockets protuding around them. Gervais then looked at Henry and shrugged.
"Yeah. This is kinda boring. I'm not that interested in this kind of stuff. I just stumbled into this area by accident."
He eyed Amelia.
"And you, Amelia? Have you learned anything in here?"
But he didn't feel anything special towards these rockets protuding around them. Gervais then looked at Henry and shrugged.
"Yeah. This is kinda boring. I'm not that interested in this kind of stuff. I just stumbled into this area by accident."
He eyed Amelia.
"And you, Amelia? Have you learned anything in here?"
Another mystery solved! Gervais was the second boy’s name. Amelia felt much more confident now that she knew both of the people she was talking to’s names. It was a bit difficult for her to have a full-on conversation if she was trying to figure out a name the entire time, so this was a huge load off of her shoulders. Henry greeted her, and when he mentioned sharing a class together it sparked a memory in her mind. She nodded with a smile as she recalled he used to sit behind her in English. She knew she recognised him from somewhere! Now she felt a bit bad that she hadn’t remembered him straight away.
Gervais then spoke up, continuing the conversation with Henry she’d interrupted, and stated that he really wasn’t very interested in the stuff around them, which Amelia couldn’t understand. He even said it was boring! She pouted a bit, but she understood that she couldn’t expect everyone to be as excited about this kind of stuff as she was. It couldn't be helped that everyone had their own specific interest. She just didn’t get it. There was so much magic around them right now. Insights into a universe that they would probably never get to experience themselves. How could you NOT be excited and awestruck? Gervais turned the question to her, asking weather she’d learned anything of note. She beamed at him and before she could stop herself (not that she wanted to) she began to word vomit all over the two boys.
“Yes! I’ve had such a good time so far! I was just at the public observatory, and I got to look through THE Boller & Chivens telescope they have here, which let me tell you was a million times more incredible than using my own telescope back home! Like a bajillion times better!”
She was so excited she was almost bouncing in place, swinging her arms around wildly as she explained her experience.
“And I've been taking lots of pictures, so my phone is kind of dying but its okay cuz I really want to remember everything I see here. And I have a ticket to go to the planetarium later and I just know it's gonna be awesome!”
She was a bit out of breath after all of that, but that didn't hinder her excitement at all. She looked at the two boys in front of her, her eyes darting back and forth between the two, hoping they would share in her enthusiasm.
Gervais then spoke up, continuing the conversation with Henry she’d interrupted, and stated that he really wasn’t very interested in the stuff around them, which Amelia couldn’t understand. He even said it was boring! She pouted a bit, but she understood that she couldn’t expect everyone to be as excited about this kind of stuff as she was. It couldn't be helped that everyone had their own specific interest. She just didn’t get it. There was so much magic around them right now. Insights into a universe that they would probably never get to experience themselves. How could you NOT be excited and awestruck? Gervais turned the question to her, asking weather she’d learned anything of note. She beamed at him and before she could stop herself (not that she wanted to) she began to word vomit all over the two boys.
“Yes! I’ve had such a good time so far! I was just at the public observatory, and I got to look through THE Boller & Chivens telescope they have here, which let me tell you was a million times more incredible than using my own telescope back home! Like a bajillion times better!”
She was so excited she was almost bouncing in place, swinging her arms around wildly as she explained her experience.
“And I've been taking lots of pictures, so my phone is kind of dying but its okay cuz I really want to remember everything I see here. And I have a ticket to go to the planetarium later and I just know it's gonna be awesome!”
She was a bit out of breath after all of that, but that didn't hinder her excitement at all. She looked at the two boys in front of her, her eyes darting back and forth between the two, hoping they would share in her enthusiasm.
Henry nodded enthusiastically, very much sharing in Amelia's enthusiasm.
"You've got a telescope at home? I'm surprised I'm just finding this out now, I've been bugging anybody who'll listen to take a peek through mine."
Noting Gervais' less-than-enthusiastic demeanour, he tried to include him in the conversation. "I think this stuff is cool because of the contrast. You've got a V2 Missile standing right in front of our first space station. It's this cool balance between weapons of war and instruments of peace and exploration. Our worst instincts gave way to means of discovering the nature of reality. We designed outrageous ways to kill each other that just happened to get us into space. This whole exhibit - the space race? It's this big contradiction, how we had to race the Russians to space and then the Moon because if we tested each other the way nations used to, the world would've ended."
He probably could've toured people around here. Or taught a course on it. Sometimes he wondered if he wasn't better suited to just being a hype man for rockets and the crazy places they could take humans.
Isn't that the idea, though?
Henry produced his ticket to the planetarium from his pocket. He didn't know Amelia really much at all, but she seemed just as excited as he did about this stuff. It was distracting in a way he didn't entirely mind; enough that his gaze was now lingering on her more than the rockets.
"Hey, I'm going too! I've been looking forward to it, but I'm in no rush. This place is amazing. I've seen everything here before, in books; but it's not the same as seeing it in person though, is it?"
"You've got a telescope at home? I'm surprised I'm just finding this out now, I've been bugging anybody who'll listen to take a peek through mine."
Noting Gervais' less-than-enthusiastic demeanour, he tried to include him in the conversation. "I think this stuff is cool because of the contrast. You've got a V2 Missile standing right in front of our first space station. It's this cool balance between weapons of war and instruments of peace and exploration. Our worst instincts gave way to means of discovering the nature of reality. We designed outrageous ways to kill each other that just happened to get us into space. This whole exhibit - the space race? It's this big contradiction, how we had to race the Russians to space and then the Moon because if we tested each other the way nations used to, the world would've ended."
He probably could've toured people around here. Or taught a course on it. Sometimes he wondered if he wasn't better suited to just being a hype man for rockets and the crazy places they could take humans.
Isn't that the idea, though?
Henry produced his ticket to the planetarium from his pocket. He didn't know Amelia really much at all, but she seemed just as excited as he did about this stuff. It was distracting in a way he didn't entirely mind; enough that his gaze was now lingering on her more than the rockets.
"Hey, I'm going too! I've been looking forward to it, but I'm in no rush. This place is amazing. I've seen everything here before, in books; but it's not the same as seeing it in person though, is it?"
Amelia talked and talked and talked and talked. Then Henry talked and talked and talked.
Yeah. Fascinating. Whatever.
Space. Space equipment. Yeah really, that's fascinating. And then Henry passionately trying to make a connection between all this around him and the world and everything and the meaning of life.
What a dweeb. Gervais knew Henry acted like this in class - annoyingly saying things in an annoyingly pretentious and boring way. But that was class, Gervais could respect that - you had to participate in class and all of that - act smart in front of the teachers. But who knew Henry was such a dweeb as a private person as well? He should've guessed.
Gervais wondered if he acted like this back then when he was rather nerdy himself. It felt very uncomfortable watching the two of them being in love with astro science. Cringe.
Then both found the soulmates in each other when they discovered they both owned a telescope. Well, he could imagine them coming from snobbish families and living in Riverview or Lookout. But good for them, they were now telescope buddies. Telescope buddies.
Wait, what the fuck?
"Uh-huh."
Gervais looked around the crowd, hoping to find a familiar face of someone he knew, so he could have an opportunity to get away from these freaks. Where was Abel when you need him?
Yeah. Fascinating. Whatever.
Space. Space equipment. Yeah really, that's fascinating. And then Henry passionately trying to make a connection between all this around him and the world and everything and the meaning of life.
What a dweeb. Gervais knew Henry acted like this in class - annoyingly saying things in an annoyingly pretentious and boring way. But that was class, Gervais could respect that - you had to participate in class and all of that - act smart in front of the teachers. But who knew Henry was such a dweeb as a private person as well? He should've guessed.
Gervais wondered if he acted like this back then when he was rather nerdy himself. It felt very uncomfortable watching the two of them being in love with astro science. Cringe.
Then both found the soulmates in each other when they discovered they both owned a telescope. Well, he could imagine them coming from snobbish families and living in Riverview or Lookout. But good for them, they were now telescope buddies. Telescope buddies.
Wait, what the fuck?
"Uh-huh."
Gervais looked around the crowd, hoping to find a familiar face of someone he knew, so he could have an opportunity to get away from these freaks. Where was Abel when you need him?
Once Henry mentioned also owning a telescope, Amelia lost all sense of composure. This was quite possibly the most incredible and exciting information anyone had ever shared with her up until this exact moment. She had no idea there was another person in her school who was as interested in this kind of stuff as she was. Sure, Dean showed interest, and getting to share her own enthusiasm for it with him was fantastic, but having someone who was just as much of a nerd about this stuff as her was the real dream! And here he was, standing right in front of her.
“Wow! That’s so cool what kind of telescope do you have? I have a Celestron NexStar 127SLT, which you must know is one of the best at-homes you can get for a reasonable price.” She rambled excitedly.
She listened intently as Henry explained the contrasts in how space exploration came about and she hung on every word. He was so knowledgeable about this! That was really exciting and awesome. Listening to him speak made her feel like she was listening in on one of the Ted Talks she subscribed to on YouTube. Honestly it was pretty mesmerizing. It was becoming increasingly harder for her to keep the smile off of her face. Gervais for the most part seemed uninterested in everything, but compared to the raw enthusiasm radiating off of herself and Henry, that really couldn’t be helped. Then Henry produced a ticket out of his pocket, and told her he too was going to the planetarium.
Her entire mind exploded into fireworks.
“O-oh You’re going too?! That’s so awesome! Maybe, um, I mean if you wanted maybe we could go together?” She blushed a bit after she asked, realizing the slight implication a bit too late. She cast her eyes down and played with the hem of her shirt.
“I-I mean I’m not planning on going till later either, and there's still lots of stuff I wanna see in the museum.” She grinned and looked back up at him.
“But I think it’d be a lot more fun if we looked at stuff together, right?”
“Wow! That’s so cool what kind of telescope do you have? I have a Celestron NexStar 127SLT, which you must know is one of the best at-homes you can get for a reasonable price.” She rambled excitedly.
She listened intently as Henry explained the contrasts in how space exploration came about and she hung on every word. He was so knowledgeable about this! That was really exciting and awesome. Listening to him speak made her feel like she was listening in on one of the Ted Talks she subscribed to on YouTube. Honestly it was pretty mesmerizing. It was becoming increasingly harder for her to keep the smile off of her face. Gervais for the most part seemed uninterested in everything, but compared to the raw enthusiasm radiating off of herself and Henry, that really couldn’t be helped. Then Henry produced a ticket out of his pocket, and told her he too was going to the planetarium.
Her entire mind exploded into fireworks.
“O-oh You’re going too?! That’s so awesome! Maybe, um, I mean if you wanted maybe we could go together?” She blushed a bit after she asked, realizing the slight implication a bit too late. She cast her eyes down and played with the hem of her shirt.
“I-I mean I’m not planning on going till later either, and there's still lots of stuff I wanna see in the museum.” She grinned and looked back up at him.
“But I think it’d be a lot more fun if we looked at stuff together, right?”
It was hard for Henry to hold back what he could only assume looked like a stupid grin as Amelia began gushing about her telescope. These were the kind of topics Henry avoided with most people, even Morgan, because their patience for it was more or less paper-thin. Plus, the more he thought about it the more he felt incredibly embarrassed at the specifics of how invested he had become in this particular hobby.
If I say what it is, is she going to know just how much I spent?
It wasn't easy to tell someone's class just by looking at them. He knew rich people that dressed in track pants and t-shirts every day and poor people who seemed to live and breathe fashion. Amelia was hard to place. Was it really such a good idea to mention it? He didn't want her to feel like he was trying to one-up her. Still, it was rare he ever ran into someone who was as deep into astronomy as he was. Gervais was a pretty bog-standard example of the kind of attitude he usually encountered at GHHS. People preferred to bow their heads rather than crane them upward, at least among his peers.
Henry chuckled, trying to pepper his speech with enough good-natured charm that she might forgive him for what must have seemed like showing off. "Heh, yeah. I've got uhh, a Celestron too. The Starbright 1100 XLT Model. It's, uhh..." He couldn't help but look down to the ground himself, shaking his head and laughing nervously. "...not a reasonably priced model. Incredibly worth it, though!"
At least I paid for half. That was a lot of shifts at the community center.
Looking back up, he noticed she was having something of a moment of awkwardness herself, as she stumbled through inviting him to go to the planetarium with her. He'd thought that had been implied when he said he'd been going as well, but she clearly didn't quite see that. It looked like she'd really wanted him to come with her, though.
I really wanna go with her too, now that I think about it.
"Hey, of course! There aren't a ton of people I get to share this stuff with."
An idea struck Henry like an errant meteorite, and he quickly produced his phone from his pocket. Scrolling past a few pictures of the trip, back a couple of weeks, he found what he was looking for.
"Here, check this out."
After a moment that felt altogether too long, he found what he was looking for. Turning the phone towards Amelia, he showed her the last few pictures he'd taken from the telescope. They were high fidelity pictures of Jupiter, and a few of its moons.
"I managed to snag some pretty good ones of Jupiter. You can see Ganymede and Callisto pretty clearly, and there's Europa. Io's pretty faint in this one, but you can just barely make it out."
What seemed like a legion of distracting and tangential thoughts suddenly had a pretty clear purpose. It was something between dread and excitement, and he knew exactly what it was.
Ah, shit. She's really cool, isn't she?
If I say what it is, is she going to know just how much I spent?
It wasn't easy to tell someone's class just by looking at them. He knew rich people that dressed in track pants and t-shirts every day and poor people who seemed to live and breathe fashion. Amelia was hard to place. Was it really such a good idea to mention it? He didn't want her to feel like he was trying to one-up her. Still, it was rare he ever ran into someone who was as deep into astronomy as he was. Gervais was a pretty bog-standard example of the kind of attitude he usually encountered at GHHS. People preferred to bow their heads rather than crane them upward, at least among his peers.
Henry chuckled, trying to pepper his speech with enough good-natured charm that she might forgive him for what must have seemed like showing off. "Heh, yeah. I've got uhh, a Celestron too. The Starbright 1100 XLT Model. It's, uhh..." He couldn't help but look down to the ground himself, shaking his head and laughing nervously. "...not a reasonably priced model. Incredibly worth it, though!"
At least I paid for half. That was a lot of shifts at the community center.
Looking back up, he noticed she was having something of a moment of awkwardness herself, as she stumbled through inviting him to go to the planetarium with her. He'd thought that had been implied when he said he'd been going as well, but she clearly didn't quite see that. It looked like she'd really wanted him to come with her, though.
I really wanna go with her too, now that I think about it.
"Hey, of course! There aren't a ton of people I get to share this stuff with."
An idea struck Henry like an errant meteorite, and he quickly produced his phone from his pocket. Scrolling past a few pictures of the trip, back a couple of weeks, he found what he was looking for.
"Here, check this out."
After a moment that felt altogether too long, he found what he was looking for. Turning the phone towards Amelia, he showed her the last few pictures he'd taken from the telescope. They were high fidelity pictures of Jupiter, and a few of its moons.
"I managed to snag some pretty good ones of Jupiter. You can see Ganymede and Callisto pretty clearly, and there's Europa. Io's pretty faint in this one, but you can just barely make it out."
What seemed like a legion of distracting and tangential thoughts suddenly had a pretty clear purpose. It was something between dread and excitement, and he knew exactly what it was.
Ah, shit. She's really cool, isn't she?
Ah, geez. Rent a room.
All this nerdy talk was too much for Gervais. Celestron, Europa, Io. Gervais decided to quickly find an excuse. He quickly adressed both of them to say goodbye and looked at his watch swiftly.
"Hey, I got to go. I wanted to meet Jackson in five minutes. Roommate stuff, y'know. See ya."
Then he quickly waved his hand and got the hell away from the freaks.
[[Gervais continued elsewhere]]
All this nerdy talk was too much for Gervais. Celestron, Europa, Io. Gervais decided to quickly find an excuse. He quickly adressed both of them to say goodbye and looked at his watch swiftly.
"Hey, I got to go. I wanted to meet Jackson in five minutes. Roommate stuff, y'know. See ya."
Then he quickly waved his hand and got the hell away from the freaks.
[[Gervais continued elsewhere]]
Henry was grinning at her, and she felt herself getting a bit embarrassed by his smile. It’s not like she was uncomfortable or anything, but he had a really nice smile and it felt weird to look at him while he was smiling like that for some reason. He chuckled a bit and told her that he too had a at-home telescope. This of course made her completely abandon her mild case of bashfulness and instead focus intently on every word he said with an excited and overjoyed smile on her face. Henry had a Starbright 1100 XLT?! That was an amazing model! It had a GPS database that could recognise over 40,000 celestial objects with just a push of a button! She felt like she was hyperventilating she was so uncomfortably excited. She didn’t know what to do with herself, and felt like she could come crawling out of her own skin at any moment.
“Oh wow, that’s so cool! I bet it’s the clearest look you can get outside an actual astronomy lab!”” She bounced up and down with glee at the thought.
He agreed to go to the planetarium with her as well, and she felt her heart swell with his acceptance. It was going to be so cool to actually have someone to talk about all of this with who actually cared and knew what they were talking about! Most of her friends just sort of tuned her out when she started rambling about this stuff. And she didn’t blame them, they just aren't that interested. But Henry…
Henry was someone who cared a lot it seemed.
She was really happy.
Henry dug through his phone for a second before turning it to show something to her. She gasped and grabbed it from his hand when she saw it. Jupiter was clear as day, and so were its moons. She felt a chill run down her spine looking at the fantastic shots he was able to grab. This was the coolest thing ever! How had she never known that there was a boy in school who cared about space as much as she did?!
Oh yeah… she just realised. He was a boy.
Her age.
And she was still kind of holding his hand because she was looking at his phone.
Eep!
“Ahh! Um… oh wow that’s so cool! M-maybe when we get back home we could go stargazing together or something?” She sputtered as she removed her hand from his and turned away from him slightly to hide her tomato-red face.
She noticed something was missing too.
“Um… did the other guy leave?” Oh no… that meant they were alone now.
Was she happy? Yes. But it made her tummy feel weird.
“Oh wow, that’s so cool! I bet it’s the clearest look you can get outside an actual astronomy lab!”” She bounced up and down with glee at the thought.
He agreed to go to the planetarium with her as well, and she felt her heart swell with his acceptance. It was going to be so cool to actually have someone to talk about all of this with who actually cared and knew what they were talking about! Most of her friends just sort of tuned her out when she started rambling about this stuff. And she didn’t blame them, they just aren't that interested. But Henry…
Henry was someone who cared a lot it seemed.
She was really happy.
Henry dug through his phone for a second before turning it to show something to her. She gasped and grabbed it from his hand when she saw it. Jupiter was clear as day, and so were its moons. She felt a chill run down her spine looking at the fantastic shots he was able to grab. This was the coolest thing ever! How had she never known that there was a boy in school who cared about space as much as she did?!
Oh yeah… she just realised. He was a boy.
Her age.
And she was still kind of holding his hand because she was looking at his phone.
Eep!
“Ahh! Um… oh wow that’s so cool! M-maybe when we get back home we could go stargazing together or something?” She sputtered as she removed her hand from his and turned away from him slightly to hide her tomato-red face.
She noticed something was missing too.
“Um… did the other guy leave?” Oh no… that meant they were alone now.
Was she happy? Yes. But it made her tummy feel weird.