Free Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet by Matthew Kadish

he was
hoping to reach before he was within firing range of the enemy.  Sure enough,
he made it just in time, and got just enough power to keep his shields intact
while he fought off the new wave of fighters.
    Before he knew it, he was able to unleash his torpedoes and
destroy the enemy’s mothership, and a new warp hole appeared.
    Suddenly, he realized – he’d made it to Level 19!
    Jack’s heart pounded.  The gravity of what he’d just
accomplished crashed on top of him like a ton of bricks.  Not only had he
regained his high score, but also he’d finally been able to beat the level he’d
thought was all but impossible to defeat.  Jack’s mind raced.  He wondered what
new foe he’d be facing, what new obstacle he would have to overcome, what new
puzzle he’d have to solve, and a weird kind of excitement filled him and made
him woozy with anticipation.
    And just as his ship emerged from the warp hole, the screen
of Nova Commander IV suddenly flashed, the graphics melting into a
mish-mash of strange characters, and an annoying note began to hum from the
speakers.
    The game had locked up.
    “No, no, NO !” cried Jack.  He’d been so close.  Now,
not only was his high score erased, but he also might never be able to get to
Level 19 again.  He gave the game a swift kick that was so hard it hurt his
toe.  But the screen continued to project gibberish, mocking him.
    Jack marched up to the front counter where Fred was hunched
over, reading the swimsuit edition of his favorite sports magazine.
    “Fred! I thought you were gonna get that game fixed!” said
Jack angrily.
    “Huh?” Fred said in response, not bothering to glance up.
    “Nova Commander,” clarified Jack.  “It froze up again!”
    “Oh, yeah, gee, I’ll get right on that,” Fred responded in
mock concern, again without looking away from his magazine.
    “You don’t understand!” Jack pleaded.  “I did it!  I finally
made it to Level 19!  Beat my old high score!  And now no one’s ever gonna
know!”
    “My heart bleeds for ya, kid,” said Fred, picking his nose. 
“Maybe ya should get a new hobby, eh? Like curin’ cancer or sumtin’.”
    Jack glowered at Fred’s ugly unshaven mug. 
    “Can I at least get my quarter back?” he asked.
    “What do I look like? An ATM?” snorted Fred.  “Get outta
here, already.”
    Fred waved Jack off and went back to flipping through his
magazine.  Jack glanced at the clock that hung above the entrance.  It was a
quarter to five.  He’d wasted a good forty minutes playing the game, and it was
all for nothing.
    Since they weren’t already back, Jack reasoned that Matt and
Chunk had probably gone on home without him.  Jack gathered his things and
prepared for the walk back to Eagle Hill.  Once outside of Big Jim’s, he
decided to cut across school grounds and go through the Juniper cornfields
instead of following Detroit Street back.  With any luck, the shortcut would
get him back home before five-thirty, just in time to watch some bad,
family-friendly TV before dinner.
    As he passed by the football stadium, he could hear the
sounds of the team practicing.  No doubt J.C. was there in the middle of it
all.  Jack wondered if it made him a bad person to hope J.C. got tackled in a
freak pile-up of over-sized meatheads and was turned into a mushy human pancake.
    Jack was almost to the cornfields when he stopped cold.  At
the end of the bleachers, near one of the support struts, was Anna.  She was
sitting on the grass, staring off into the cornfield of the Juniper family
farm.  The sun was getting low in the sky, and its golden rays shined on her,
making her look like she was almost glowing.  Jack stood still, afraid to move,
overcome at the sight of just how beautiful she was.
    Jack looked around him.  There was no one to be seen.  No
Mr. Shepherd to intimidate him.  No other kids to laugh at him.  Even the
football team was hidden behind a massive wall of aluminum bench