Moon Landing
by Joseph DeRepentigny
"I so did
not land on your moon." Elbert said in a
loud voice.
"Yes you
did!" Officer Shin said back in an equally
loud voice.
"Na ah,"
Elbert said taking a step forward. His long hair
got in his way and he brushed it aside to give
the officer a tough stare. Under most
circumstances, he'd appear intimidating;
unfortunately, he was wearing a multicolored
space suit that made him look more like a clown.
"Yeah ha,"
Officer Shin said matching Elbert's step. She was
about half of Elbert's size with orange skin in a
green uniform that made her look like a lawn
ornament.
"Prove it!"
Officer Shin
nodded her small orange head. "Alright let's
take a look at the landing site." She pulled
up a display on a nearby wall showing an egg
shaped spaceship landing on a grey surface. A
hatch popped open and a person in a multicolored
space suit jumped out onto the surface.
"That
could be anybody!" Elbert said quickly.
"You're
wearing the same suit now!"
"That's a
coincidence," Elbert said quickly, "anyone
could buy the same kind of suit as mine."
Officer Shin
made a face and said, "You also wrote your
name in the moon dust."
"Another
coincidence," Elbert added.
Officer Shin
sighed. She was getting tired of this tirade.
Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a small
black box. "The person in the video dropped
this game console?"
Elbert felt in
his pockets and found his console was missing. He
eyed the box in Officer Shin's hand. It was his
with his name and all his saved games on it.
Months of playing were in that little box.
"Someone
dropped it on the moon's surface." she said
with a smile. “If it isn’t yours then I
guess it belongs to the finders.”
"It’s
mine!” Elbert shouted. “Give it back?"
"Only if
you admit your guilt," she said with a grin.
"Okay, I
landed on the dumb old moon." Elbert said
looking down at the floor.
"Fine,
you're assessed a fine of one hundred credits and
are barred from the moon for a year."
Officer Shin said handing the console to Elbert.
"Because you are only ten years old, your
parents will get the ticket and will have thirty
days to pay the Park Service. Young man it takes
millennia for the dust to fill in the foot prints
and graffiti. We need to preserve the moon for
future generations."
"Whatever."
Elbert said turning his game console on.
|
