“YOU GOTTA SEE THIS GUYS!” Dustin Henderson was all excited as he rode over toward MIke’s house one his bike to meet the others. He practically hopped off his bike while it was still rolling as he pulled his backpack off his shoulder. He laid the bag on the ground and unzipped it. “It’s a perfect model of the Imperial Shuttle Tydirium!” He was beaming with all sorts of glee because he’d gotten every last detail correct. For such a devotee of all things Star Wars, he had not forgotten a thing.

Mike was impressed when he saw the model in Dustin’s hand as he held it closer. Dustin was really good with technical things like that and building the best models. “That’s really cool! It looks like the one in Return of the Jedi! Does it fly?” He asked in a remotest hint of a dare and a defiant stare.

“HA! Does it fly? OF COURSE IT FLIES!” Dustin sat the model on the ground soon reaching into his bag to pull out the controls. He ignited the engine. He felt like a proud papa when his baby bird started to rise from the ground. The model took a perfect flight all around the neighborhood. Dustin didn’t care who saw it. He kept flying. He knew from the responses of his friends that they were sufficiently impressed at what he’d done. He was starting to get a little too arrogant himself. That’s when the bottom all fell out.

The model ended up getting a little too close to the trellis with what Mike’s mom called morning glories when Dustin tried to make a sharp left turn. The left wing got caught in the flowers and tangled really badly. Dustin kept trying to use his controls to maneuver out of the mess when all he did was tear the petals of the flowers even more, making a huge mess. Dustin’s string of expletives would have made a sailor blush. Later on when he tried to recall what had happened, Dustin remembered cursing far too many times than he cared to admit. . In the middle of his histrionics, Mike kept trying to calm him down. Dustin couldn’t calm down. He couldn’t even speak coherent sentences. It wasn’t until Mike volunteered to climb the trellis to get his model did Dustin finally start to settle down.

It was like watching a horror movie in slow motion. Mike reached that last little way to get Dustin’s model when he missed. His fall left all of them in shock. Dustin barely remembered the sound of the scream leaving his own mouth when Mike was Earthbound. The sound of his friend landing on the ground kept him awake all night long. There was nothing that could ever compare to hearing the sound of a human bone breaking. Mike was hurt and he was badly hurt. They had to get Nancy.

Nancy had every right to be p!ssed off and who could blame her. Dustin had seen the color completely leave Nancy’s face when she came out to see what shape Mike was in as a result of the fall. Dustin had to admit to himself that he didn’t like to see the sight of MIke’s bone sticking out from his leg, especially when this was all HIS fault. If he had been a lot less like a baby then Mike wouldn’t have felt the need to climb up and get his model. Dustin couldn’t even look at the damned thing when it lay there on the ground after Mike fell.

Then came the hospital. Nancy looked so upset. Mike blamed her for not watching him, but it wasn’t really Nancy’s fault. Yeah, Dustin had his crush on Mike’s big sister, but the whole thing was really HIS fault. Mike was still protecting him even when he was in absolute agony. Silently he moved over to sit beside Nancy and hold her hand. She needed a friend and he did his best to be that for her. He knew she loved Mike like a good sister did. He loved Mike like a brother. He just sat there not saying a word because no words needed to be said. He felt guilty as hell.

He had kept tossing and turning the entire night. He couldn't rest in good conscience knowing what he’d done. He went to school the next day looking like death warmed over. His guilt was eating at him. He rode to the school the next morning thinking about what had happened. He didn’t even know for sure what happened to his model. Right now, he didn’t really even care. He had just chained his bike to the bike rack when he pulled up his backpack over his right shoulder. He was about to head into the school when he heard a familiar voice.

Dustin looked over to see Nancy standing there next to the station wagon. He narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his nose. “Something happened to Mike?” He stopped his forward progression toward the school when Nancy spoke to him. Mike’s broken leg was his fault, so the guilt made him incline toward walking toward Nancy right about now. “He’s not in the hospital?” Dustin asked curiously. His mind was already computing a few places where Mike might have gone, if he wasn’t in the hospital. He was already starting to take a few steps toward Nancy despite the fact that school was going to start in about 15 minutes.


 

"I Am On A Curiosity Voyage, And I Need My Paddles To Travel."