Chapter 2: Testing

Saturday started early; David was an early riser. He was up and dressing for a brisk walk around the block. He wanted to run, but knew that it would raise a few eyebrows starting off running. So, walking was the plan of the day for the next week. He was a little surprised when Meri joined him.

"Good morning, Sunshine," he greeted her cheerfully.

"The earth says hello!," she sang back at him.

This lead them both to singing together "You twinkle above us, we twinkle below," and then she walked into his embrace and kissed him while pressing her body firmly against his. They had made a habit, in their previous life, of singing bits of songs together, if one or the other started it off, even if unintentionally. It always made them smile and brought a little joy into their lives.

"If that's the kind of greeting I can expect every morning, this is going to be a great life!"

"Come on," she told him, grabbing his hand and leading him out the door. Thankfully, he had his keys and ID in his pocket already. They lived in the Town of Holland Patent, NY, on Steuben Street. They took off going North, then followed Ward Street over to Elm Street, which they followed South. There was still snow on the ground, and the temperatures were chilly, but they were fine. They continued their walk to Main Street, past Steuben, and on to Church Street and around "The Green". All the while, they talked about various ideas they had for the future. They both wondered if they could do anything to prevent the Challenger Incident; he wondered if he could help prevent the losses in 1983 in both Grenada and Beirut. They would do their best, but would not be surprised if those events weren't so big that they couldn't be prevented. Sometimes big events lead to necessary changes, even if it cost the lives of many to get there.

David also quizzed Meri about the changes that Nekita had given them in their pre-return lives. Their enhanced eye-sight was still there. David picked up a rock and threw it aiming for red squirrel he saw, and clipped it, but did not injure it, as was his intent. At the moment, they couldn't test their ability to breath underwater, or to cling like a gecko to various surfaces. It seemed, however, that it would likely be the case. Why would only some be available while others were not? It just didn't make sense that, that would be the case.

Finally, they returned to David's house, where they kicked off the snow and mud from their boots in the mud room, took off their outdoor coats and the boots and went inside. Once inside, David started breakfast going. It was going to be simple, but filling. While he was making egg sandwiches on toast, Meri got the pot of water going for hot tea or cocoa. Soon, Sandy had joined them.

"My, my, my. Breakfast, too. Will wonders never cease?" His mother teased.

"Only if you keep making me feel foolish, mother," he called back, but with a smile.

"Meri, could you make me some tea, please?"

"Sure, mom," she said and went to it.

"Well, that's a first. Now you're calling me 'mom'."

"As much time as I spend with you and David, it just seems right. You don't mind do you? You are kind of like a second mother to me."

"No, not at all. It's nice, honey. I like it."

Meri smiled as she brought the steeping cup of tea over to Sandy, placed it in front of her and gave her a warm hug, which was returned without hesitation.

David piped up saying, "Mom, we need to talk to the school about me testing out of 9th grade. When can we do that?"

"I think I can get the time off in the next week or so. In the meantime, you may want to go back to school and see if you can't do anything to make up tests and what not. Though, that will have to wait until Monday."

"We'd also like to see if we can test out of of a few of our courses. Not just for this year, but all the way through. We'd both like to take comprehensive tests for placement. We don't want to skip grades, just not have to take courses we can already pass. I'm thinking English, Spanish, Algebra 1 and 2, US and World History."

"Well, Meri," she said as she looked at the young woman, "will have to talk to her parents about that. I'm fine with it, but it will be up to you to pass. Why the sudden desire? Is there a reason?"

"I want to do it to give me a chance to take AP courses and and higher maths. I'd like to see about going to Notre Dame High School, too. I know we're not religious, but they have a great program and high rate of acceptance into good colleges and universities. They also have a well run Junior NROTC program, which I am very interested in. I've decided I want to go into the Navy, after I go to college. I'm going to start researching schools that have a Navy ROTC program."

"Are you sure about that? Your grades haven't been all that stellar. You'd have to really change your attitude about school, and homework."

"Yes, I'm sure mom. I've got a few goals, now. You know how I am when I set a goal. I can do this. A lot of my grades have been what they were because I didn't give it any real effort and I didn't do homework. Honestly, before this incident, I really didn't care about grades and college. I can't say why, but I've had a change of heart. I still consider homework a waste of time, but I'll do it to improve my grades."

"We'll see. You know that they don't accept everyone at Notre Dame. You'll have to look into what's required and see that you have all your ducks in a row before you even have a chance."

Sandy was glad to hear his attitude towards school had improved. She just hoped that it would last and that he would do better. She wanted her son to have a good life, something she wasn't sure he'd have if he didn't get a college education. She'd known he'd be going into the military, but thought it would be right out of high school. This new development was a promising one; one she hoped would come to fruition. If he applied himself, got into an ROTC program, and possible a sports scholarship, she'd be able to help with the rest of it. It wouldn't be a first time she'd worked multiple jobs to ensure he had better than they might have had. Fortunately, for her, she thought to herself, she was nearly done with her own degree. One more year and she'd be done and then she'd move up from being a secretary and into better paying jobs. Sure, they had money from the settlement, but she wasn't going to count on it to cover everything, especially if he was going to go to college.