Free Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet by Matthew Kadish Page A

seating.  As
far as the eye could see, the only two people in the world were Jack and Anna. 
    There would never be a better time to talk to her.
    At this realization, an overwhelming sense of anxiety
crashed over Jack.  What would he say?  What would she say?  Was she mad
at him for what happened earlier?  Would he continue to make a fool of himself?
    Jack struggled with his emotions for a minute.  His gut was
a tangle of nervousness.  His brain was telling him to just keep walking.  He
could always try again later when he knew the right thing to say.
    Then, the oddest thing happened.
    Jack remembered his talk with Mr. Shepherd, about how he
needed to start taking responsibility for himself.  About how he could get
everything he wanted, if he were just willing to take action to do so.  He
thought about the intense gaze of Shepherd’s piercing grey eyes, and in that
moment, he felt a small spark of courage flare up inside him.
    With that, Jack took a deep breath and walked toward Anna.
    “Hey,” said Jack.
    Anna looked up at him.  If she were happy to see Jack, he
couldn’t tell.  Her face was absolutely blank.  For a moment, Jack thought he’d
made a mistake coming over, but as far as mistakes went, he could think of a
lot worse.
    “Don’t worry,” he said putting his hands up, “I promise not
to start any more fights around you.  At least for the foreseeable future.”
    Anna nodded.  “That’s good,” she said.
    “I just wanted to come over and thank you for having a talk
with your dad about what happened,” he said.  “He went easy on me today.  It
made detention… well, not so sucky.”
    “You’re welcome,” she said simply, before turning back to
the cornfield and gazing into it, as though she were deep in thought about
something.  Jack hesitated for a second.  He felt as though he should take that
as a cue to exit, but he also knew, chances were, he’d never get the nerve to
talk to her like this again, so he might as well give it all he had right now.
    “I also wanted to apologize,” he continued.
    Anna looked back up at him.  “Apologize?”
    “Yeah, for dragging you into that whole mess to begin with,”
said Jack.  “Coming from someone who knows what its like to be badgered by J.C.
Rowdey, I just couldn’t stand to sit there and let him… I don’t know… bug you
like that.”
    “That’s okay,” replied Anna.  “I can take care of myself.”
    “Oh, no doubt,” said Jack.  “In fact, that’s part of the
reason I came over there to begin with.  I mean, I hate J.C. and all, but I
thought I’d take pity on him, since my fists of fury are obviously no
match to what you would have done if he hadn’t left you alone.”
    At that, finally, Anna smiled, a slightly shy, good-natured
grin.  Jack couldn’t help but notice how glossy and soft her lips looked.
    “Hey, I’ve got a question I’ve been wanting to ask you since
you showed up,” said Jack making as smooth a transition as he could to sitting
down on the grass next to her.
    Anna looked at Jack suspiciously.  “What type of question?”
she asked.
    “Well, I just gotta know,” he continued.  “Where are you
guys from?  You and your dad, that is.”
    “West Virginia,” she said quickly.  “We moved here from West
Virginia.”
    “Are all girls from West Virginia like you?”
    “I don’t know,” Anna replied.  “What am I like?”
    Jack cocked his head to the side, studying Anna’s face
slightly.  “You’re just… I don’t know… different.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Jack smiled and shrugged.  “Well, you’re prettier than any
other girl in the entire school, but you don’t like to hang out with anyone,
you don’t like to talk with anyone, you don’t seem to have any friends… you
spend all your time reading books and stuff…”
    “Are you saying I’m weird?” asked Anna.
    “Yeah, I guess,” replied Jack.  “But in a good way,” he
quickly added.
    “So you think