The Surly Bonds

Chapter 4

November 28, 1983. Rockets fire and engines ignite on the latest televised launch of the space shuttle Columbia. White smoke envelops the launching pad, and the orbiter slowly ascends, breaking free of gravity's grasp. Flocks of seabirds coast away from the intense noise and vibration of the launch. Annie exuberantly jumps up in the air as mission control announces, "Liftoff!"

Annie kneels before the TV, following the path and trajectory of the space shuttle on the television screen. Phoebe lays on the couch behind Annie, holding a large textbook: OCEAN EXPLORATION. She casually looks on as the shuttle launches, leafing through her book and studying imagery of deep-sea marine life and massive underwater volcanoes. In the corner of her eye she catches Richard pacing back and forth. He sharply raises his arm and stares at his silver wristwatch. Phoebe returns her attention to the book as Richard continuously sighs.

The doorbell chimes. Richard rushes to the door and swiftly opens it. Elliott smiles as he barges into the house, smugly looking around. "Thanks again for coming on such short notice," Richard continues, interrupting Elliott, "there's some money for you to order a pizza if you want, and I should be back in a few hours. Oh, and great job on the midterm. Highest grade in the class."

Elliott smiles and nods his head. "Awesome!"

The door slams shut. Elliott turns around abruptly and arrogantly stretches. Annie and Phoebe stare maliciously at him. Elliott drops his weight onto the sofa, and Phoebe quickly moves her legs out of the way of his falling body. He snatches the remote from the coffee table and kicks up his dirty blue sneakers. Elliott changes the channel in the blink of an eye. Annie cries out, "Hey, I was watching that. Put it back!"

"How can you watch those boring space launches? So lame," Elliott belittles.

"They are not, you're lame!"

"Good one," Elliott casually replies. He shifts his focus to Phoebe and points out, "I see you moved on from dogs."

"Don't talk to me," Phoebe responds, coldly.

Richard pulls into the parking lot of John F. Kennedy Elementary School. He quickly turns off the lights and jumps out of the car, jamming his keys into his pocket. He slams the car door and quickly walks through the building, passing lackadaisical parents meandering about the school grounds. Richard locates Annie's classroom. He stops and his shoes squeak on the slick tiled floor. He takes a deep breath and opens the door. Mrs. Fielding, a sweet older lady with long white and gray hair, sits patiently at her desk, perpetually smiling with her hands folded. Richard returns the smile, briefly, and sits at a small chair. Mrs. Fielding greets, "How are you this evening, Mr. Cardona?"

"I'm well, thank you," Richard responds, catching his breath.

Mrs. Fielding opens a manila folder with ANNETTE CARDONA neatly handwritten on the tab. Richard eagerly catches a glimpse of the papers inside, filled with red marks. Mrs. Fielding closes the folder and removes her glasses. They hang on by a silver chain. "Annie is an exceptional student."

"Exceptional, how?" Richard quickly asks.

"She can be extremely focused, but only regarding certain subjects. Unfortunately, math is not among them."

"I had a feeling it was heading in that direction."

"She's average in the rest of her subjects, and really only excels whenever the topic is geared towards science, particularly space."

"She's very keen on becoming an astronaut, but you know how kids are. One day they want to be an astronaut, or a firefighter, or an Olympic athlete, and the next day they want to be a police officer, or an architect, or God knows what else."