The First Solar Surfer
"So you just plug this in here and…" with a loud cough the solar surfer's engine came to life, and only Jim's quick reflexes prevented it from taking off and smashing into the living room wall. Carina let out a soft whistle and looked at her friend with wide gray eyes. "How do you even know all this stuff? I mean, that mini-solar ship you helped me build last year was pretty great, but this…" she tilted her head, trying to take in the complexity of the machine, but her vision was obscured by the cloud of dark curly brown hair that fell into her eyes. Carina pushed it back absently.
Jim shrugged. "I read the books Dad sometimes brings home from his trips." His eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "He promised me that next time, he's going to get me a real working model spaceship. One that flies and everything, so I can understand how they work." Carina didn't comment, even at the age of 7 she knew that the chances of Jim's father actually fulfilling a promise were slim to none.
"Can you even ride that thing?" she asked after another moment of machine-inspection, with a laugh that she hoped sounded more genuine than it felt. He flushed slightly. "Well…I know the theory, I was going to try it out today. Want to come with me?" Grinning, Carina nodded and the two quickly took hold of the solar surfer, preparing to take it through the kitchen and out the back door.
"James Pleiades Hawkins!"
"Uh oh." Jim and Carina turned towards the front door, each smiling and trying their best to look innocent despite the solar surfer in their hands and the engine grease covering their clothes. Sarah Hawkins put her grocery bags on the counter by the kitchen and stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the two children. "Where in the Etherium did you get that?" she demanded of her son. "Um…" Jim looked at the floor, and Carina replied, "Jim built it Mrs. Hawkins". Sarah's glare faltered. "He…what?" She looked at her son with a mixed expression of pride and disbelief. "You built this Jim? By yourself? Out of what?" Flushing, Jim shifted his gaze sideways and glared at Carina, speaking carefully. "Well… I mean, I know that I'm not supposed to go to the scrap yard without you, but I thought that…well, Mr. Darly said I could use some of the old engine parts for free. So I thought it would be okay…" he trailed off with a hopeful look.
Sarah just continued staring at her son. She knew he was smart, but he only just turned 8! "Wait, you built a solar surfer out of broken parts?" Seeing that he was probably going to get out of this without punishment, Jim started to smile at his mother. Unfortunately, Carina chose that moment to say something else. "Sorry about the carpet Mrs. Hawkins." There was a pause as Sarah turned to look at the oil-covered carpet beneath the children's feet. Jim barely had time to wince before Sarah exploded.
"JAMES!"
With a scream of terror, the two inventors fled the living room, solar surfer in hand. It was almost 15 minutes before they had managed to carry the large vehicle all the way to the start of the canyons, even with imminent death at the hands of Sarah to motivate them. By the time they arrived they had added a fair amount of sweat to the grime and oil on their clothes, skin, and hair. Wheezing, they dropped their solar surfer and collapsed to the ground.
"You had to mention the carpet!" Jim scolded once he had gotten his breath back. "Well it was your idea to build it in the living room in the first place!" Jim laughed, "Okay, yeah that was a bad idea. Anyway." He stood up and grinned at Carina. "Shall we ride it?" Carina surveyed the vehicle a little apprehensively. "I dunno…neither of us knows how, and my Ma says these things are dangerous."
"Well, I'll try first then, and check that it's safe for girls." Flushing angrily, Carina opened her mouth to retort, but Jim was already moving. With a slight stumble and a few hiccoughs, he was on the surfer with the engine roaring. Less than a minute later he had taken off down the canyon. Carina watched in awe as Jim vanished from her sight before reappearing from behind a large boulder, but she paled when she saw him speed towards the cliff's edge. Turn, she thought, biting her lip. "Jim, TURN!" she screamed as he shot back up the other side of the canyon and turned back towards her. Three seconds later he had the solar surfer parked safely next to Carina, half jumping half falling onto the solid ground. Carina punched him. "Don't. Ever. Do that again—" But Jim was grinning, and his eyes sparkled. "Are you kidding?" he demanded, "that was the best thing ever!"
"—without me!"