"So how did it go?" Valerie asked Sam the second he walked out of the classroom. He had been fretting about a giant presentation for weeks and had been super chatty in the car on the way to school (a sign that he was nervous) because he was presenting. Valerie was glad that she was in the Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school; the presentation had sounded like a bore.

He shrugged and showed her a paper, looking upset. She didn't even have to look at it to tell that he was faking. "Congrats!" Valerie squealed, jumping up and down and clapping. "You got the car!" She knew of the deal with his dad saying that if he paid for half the car and got three A's in a row, Sam would get a car. Sam had the money (a lot of it was a super-early birthday present from Valerie) and two A's. This last presentation was his third.

For a second, he looked surprised that she had known that he was acting, then he remembered. She was the super-intelligent kick-ass Valerie Hudson (descendant of Henry Hudson). Even though Sam's great-grandfather had been a significantly less important explorer than her ancestor, they were both proud of their families. That was how they became friends when Valerie had first moved to town when they were both in sixth grade. They had stuck together ever since, even though her circle of friends was clearly bigger. As far as she knew, he was friends with an annoying kid named Miles and that was it.

"Hey, how about you come with us to buy the car?" Sam suggested as they started walking out of the building. "Or do you have stuff to do?" Valerie saw his dad's car out of one of the windows, and she assumed that he and his dad were going right after school, or else Sam would have walked home.

Valerie shook her head. "Sorry, I can't," she said. "I promised Mikaela that I'd go to that party by the lake after school. Trent's driving both of us." She started walking backwards, pointing behind her to Mikaela and her jerk of a boyfriend named Trent by a black truck. "See ya back at your house, I guess..."

Sam nodded, a little disappointed (Valerie was his best friend, after all), and walked towards Mr. Witwicky's car alone. Valerie turned around and headed over towards Trent and Mikaela. Once again, Mikaela was trying to convince Trent to let her drive.

"See, I don't want you messing up the wheels," she heard Trent saying.

Valerie rolled her eyes as she walked up to them, jumping in the truck bed. "Shut up, Trent," she snapped. "If you want a good driver, you're looking right at her."

Trent narrowed his eyes. "I don't seem to remember agreeing to carpool with you," he told her.

Again, she rolled her eyes as she got comfy in her seat. "It's a surprise you remember your own name," Valerie said earnestly, her eyes wide with innocence. Mikaela smiled.

"I'm trying to tell you to get out of my car," he snarled. "Bitch."

Raising her eyebrows, Valerie sat up. "Did you seriously just call me a bitch?" she demanded. She didn't let her anger show, but she was ready to beat Trent to a pulp right then. Jumping out of the truck, she stood in front of him. "You're so going to regret that." Valerie was glad that she was only a few inches shorter than Trent's height- it was hard to intimidate someone if you were the size of a pixie. Standing at 5'8", Valerie was probably one of the tallest girls in the school. For a second, it looked like Trent was scared.

Then he shook it off. "I'm not going to fight with some girl," he said. "I wouldn't want to mess up that pretty face."

Valerie sneered. "Two things, Trent," she snapped. She swung out with her fist and hit him in the eye. "One; never ever go from being a jerk to trying to flirt with a girl. It never works." Trent was just recovering when she kicked him in his jewels. He groaned as he fell to the ground, and she smirked. "Two; loose the sexism. 'Cause- reality check! You just got beaten up by a girl!

"Ms. Hudson!" someone shouted. Valerie turned to see the principal storming up, looking extremely angry. The few spectators that her fight had earned backed off, not wanting to get in trouble. "How many times do I have to talk to you about not fighting?"

Shrugging, Valerie answered, "I don't know. Apparently you haven't talked to me enough, because I'm fighting again. But really, it's not my fault. You should talk to him." Valerie pointed at Trent. "He started it."

The principal was not amused.

"Office," he ordered. "Now."

She obeyed. "You know, I don't see why I'm getting in trouble. A girl has to protect herself," she told him as she walked to the school. "Sorry, Mikaela! Apparently I can't go to the party today!"

Once Valerie entered the office, the principal shut the door behind her. "You're not in trouble, Ms. Hudson," he told her the second he was sure that they were alone.

Her jaw dropped. "Well, that's a first," Valerie observed.

"Don't push it," he said. "I'm not punishing you because..." He trailed off and looked out the window. Valerie bit her tongue to stop any impatient questions. "Your father is missing."

Valerie nodded; honestly, she had been expecting it. She hadn't had word from him in months- he was in the army, posted in Qatar. Her tears had already come. It was just a finalization of what she had already accepted.

"The rest of the base was destroyed, but the government couldn't find his remains," the principal continued. "Or any others, for that matter. Has your dad possibly told you about Captain William Lennox?" Valerie nodded. "He's missing, too."

Disbelief hit her. "Uncle Will..." Valerie whispered. She hadn't been expecting that. Uncle Will was the best of the best- if he had gone missing, Valerie knew that something bad had happened. "Why are you telling me this?"

"The school was called by General Morshower, the Joint Chief of Staffs," he answered. "I decided to tell you, as I'm the principal... This must be a big shock for you. Do you want anything to drink? I have Earl Grey tea..."

Valerie snorted, reminded of Captain Picard from Star Trek, one of the many sci-fi series that her dad had gotten her interested in. Then the humor was lost to her. Her dad... She might never see him again. He could be dead, for all she knew. Uncle Will, too.

Her mind was thrown back to the day- about half a year ago- that her dad had left. They had been sitting with Uncle Will and his pregnant wife, Aunt Sarah, in the Hudson's house, which was right across from Sam's. Dad and Uncle Will had broken the news to the girls after dinner. Valerie had asked if she would see them again.

"Definitely," Dad had said automatically.

"You bet, kiddo," Uncle Will agreed, ruffling the red, blue, and pink streaks in her black hair. "It'll only be for a few months- then we'll be back for a good long while."

Valerie frowned. "Do you promise?" she pressed.

They shared a glance with each other then turned back to her, nodding. "We promise," they said together. The next day, they were gone. Valerie started living with Sam's family in the guest room that was across from Sam's. Mr. and Mrs. Witwicky had reassured her that they didn't mind her living with them while her dad was in Qatar, for however long that was going to be...

"They promised," Valerie whispered. "They promised..." And she started sobbing. She couldn't lose her dad like she had lost her mom. Her mom had been killed in a shooting when they were on a vacation. Valerie had watched the whole thing, watched how a spot of blood grew on her white shirt and grew larger as she grew paler... then her dad had yanked her away, running away, running away from the danger...

The principal put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm sure they'll come back." That just made her cry harder, and soon Valerie Hudson, badass of the school, was having a breakdown in the principal's office. The next thing Valerie was aware of, Mrs. Witwicky soothing her as she guided her into the car. They then drove home, and Valerie retreated to her room, where she stayed, not letting anyone in.