Chapter 12

Mark had a busy morning, even before meeting at the conference room at 8:30 to get prepped for the school visit. The principal had been contacted by Annie and he was unable to say with certainty when the little girl, Tabitha Swanson, had science class as he would not be at the school to check until it opened, but asked if Mark would talk to a whole school assembly instead. This was set for 10:30 and since it was a larger group in an auditorium Annie would call and have the local news affiliates invited. Because of the gossip angle all were certain to send a crew. The reporter who had given Annie the heads up on Saturday night would actually ride over in the van with Mark and have an interview on the way.

Mark had to go by a Walgreens and get a fabric marker, gift box and gift bag, the NASA tourist gift shop to grab a few Ares III jackets, and then to the photo shop to meet Rogers, where he swapped an autographed jacket, signed with permanent fabric marker, to Steve Jr. for what turned out to be two cameras. a 1990's Nikon 35 mm and a Hasselblad 120 which also had a digital back.

"Wait, if its digital why doesn't NASA use it now?" He asked.

"It shoots at 44 megapixels. The back I mean, the camera doesn't care. Now days anything under 100 they don't bother with. Trust me, no one will miss it. Here, take this data pack, it stores the pictures. You can fill up a five terabyte hard drive pretty quick with these things. Your next gift for your girl better be a bigger hard drive for her computer. Or a storage server."

They talked for several minutes with Rogers assuring Mark that Mindy would be able to figure out how it works and connects, and then Mark drove like a maniac to the other side of the campus to arrive just as the rest of Ares III was. Alex Vogel had arrived in Houston the evening before after a week in Germany which was spent being honored by the German people. As a result he had not been on the China trip and everyone was catching him up on it. Although his return was scheduled, Mark was honestly surprised he had come in for the school trip and he was clearly suffering from jet lag.

Most surprised was Annie, as she was unaware the rest of Ares III would be joining Mark, but ultimately she was elated and thought it would play well for the cameras. She called the techs setting up for the program to advise them of the change, but they were able to download the necessary photos and assured her it would not be a problem.

Mark would ride over with the reporter, a guy named Stan, and they would have a casual interview along the way. Annie was more concerned about Mindy's presence, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Catherine Gregory, an astronaut cadet candidate who was formerly a teacher would be handling the school lesson part of the program. She worked in the education extension office when not training and had brought along NASA and Ares III patches for all the kids, as well as a deck of slides that went over the Ares program in general and the Ares III mission in particular.

Mark had left his luggage and most other things in his car and like his crew mates was wearing the light blue jump suit with the mission patch and his name on it.

The group was broken into two vans to get to the school which was only a half hour from the Johnson Space Center. Mark and Mindy rode with Annie, Stan the reporter and Commander Lewis and along the way Stan got his one on one.

"So uh, Mr, er, astronaut, what should I call you? Stan asked.

"How about Mark? Can I call you Stan?"

"Sure, uh, Mark, our readers are fascinated by you. Let me ask, how are you adapting to life on earth now that you've been back a few weeks?"

"Well, good I think. The first few weeks were a blur of celebrations and press conferences, plus meeting with government leaders and NASA folks. Its been amazing, but somewhat exhausting. We were scheduled to be off this week but when I talked to Tabitha's mother I knew the crew and I would want to visit. I wish we could visit all the schools and students that wrote to us but it is just not possible."

"Now, who is Tabitha?"

"Oh, I don't know if you want to write about her or not. Her mother approached Mindy and I, Mindy is my girlfriend," Mark casually said, "and told us that Tabitha was my biggest fan and had done a project for school about Ares III. She is the little girl we are doing a surprise visit on at school this morning."

"No, for her privacy I will just say she is a student, but you did touch on something everyone in America seems to be talking about."

"Her mother?" Mark grinned.

"Uh, no, your girlfriend. How is it that the most eligible bachelor in the universe has a girlfriend? The tabloids must be eating you two alive, were you a couple before Ares III?"

"No, uh.. well, Mindy has been a big part of my life since Sol 49, I just didn't know it. And after communication was re-established through Pathfinder, well, we talked all the time, but I just called her "Houston." I had no idea who I was typing messages to most of the time. We met face to face at a reception at Kennedy Space Center a few weeks ago, the day Ares III came out of isolation. My parents had left after dinner and the crew was mingling; frankly I was tired and we were flying to New York in an hour, so I found a quiet corner to sit in just to rest up and the prettiest girl in the room sits down and we talk, what, maybe five minutes, before you recognized me Mindy?"

"Yeah, well it was dark. I figured out who he was and used the flashlight on my phone to confirm and I was like 'Geez Mindy, you're babbling to Mark freakin' Watney!" I almost had a heart attack on the spot, but Mark was so down to earth and soft spoken; he didn't put on any airs about how he was big awesome astronaut dude, he was just a regular guy, you know?"

"Yeah, and after that we talked until the plane left and I made her promise we could talk again when I got back. We were in New York traffic that night when Annie here and Teddy Sanders tell me, 'Oh, you met Mindy. She saved your life by the way.' Then it was New York, DC, Chicago, the West Coast and China so two and half weeks later I finally get back and"

"And he shows up at my work with a pizza and a smile and left with my heart. That's the short version." Mindy smiled.

"Back up, Mindy saved your life? How did..."

"Well Stan, you know how they figured out I was alive by the solar panels being cleaned and the rover having been moved in a couple of photos?"

"Yes."

"No, you probably don't really. It wasn't a team of analysts pouring over masses of photos like it sounds, it was one girl who looked at two frames off a satcam and from what she saw knew I was alive. The girl that figured it out never wanted it publicized. She's not really shy, but she doesn't seek attention either. Mindy works in Satcom. She's the one that noticed it. She figured it out and called Venkat. If not for her, I'd be dead."

"Oh Mark someone would have noticed it. Its no big deal that I"

"Yes it is. Oh. Sorry to interrupt, I'm, well I'm still adjusting to conversation I guess, didn't mean to be rude."

"That's okay, I understand." Mindy said, placing her hand on his as she sensed that Mark's blood pressure was rising while he tried to remove their relationship from the tabloid spotlight.

"Stan, its a big deal because of this. Three hours before the Ares IV MAV liftoff I had my last meal on Mars. It wasn't just my last meal because I was leaving, it was my last meal because it literally was all the food I had left. Sure, a few days later someone would have noticed and figured it out, but by the time I left Mars, I probably wouldn't have been coherent enough to climb into the MAV, much less strap myself in and survive the trip. Mindy saved my life, and once Teddy told me that, I had to see her again, if just to say thanks. And, well, since then, I adore her. She's the most important person in my life right now. We've been together a few days as a couple, but we've been together a few years and I didn't know it. She is the angel that looked over me. And she's really cute too!"

"That's a great story, mind if I use it?"

"Stan, tell you what. We won't tell it to anyone else until it runs. Its yours. We will only confirm its accurate when asked. Uh, can I say that Ms Montrose?" Mindy asked.

"Sure. NASA takes no position on employee relationships. That you were the one that noticed the panels and rover is public if anyone bothered to look it up so you can't go exclusive there, but the rest of it is your business, not ours. Stan is there anything else you wanted to ask Mark?"

Stan asked a few softballs about what Mark planned to do with his life and what advice he had for kids who wanted to be astronauts and as Mark finished saying study math and science they pulled into the school parking lot. The television media had already set up in front of the school so the vans were directed around back by a helpful teacher.

"Hey Stan" Mark asked as the vans drove around. "We are going to have a q and a with the kids, but they will probably be shy at first. Would you do me a favor and ask me this to get things started?" Mark asked as Stan looked at the note he was handed.

"Sure, I can do that. Heck, you gave me an exclusive on the story everyone is talking about, its the least I can do." He replied as the departed the van.

"Are you cold Mark?" Beth asked once they were inside.

"What? No, why... oh, thanks for reminding me. I got this for Tabitha, would you guys care to sign it?" Mark asked as he laid the jacket across a table and handed Beth the fabric pen. Each signed in turn with their name, job title and Mars number. As they did Mark whispered to the Commander that he had some others in the van that needed signatures as well, and she agreed to get it done while Mindy was distracted. Soon they had created a unique souvenir for a young girl they had never met.

They waited off stage while the principal tried to calm down a bunch of students who knew something was going on from all the cameras at the back of the room, but didn't know what. Once they were finally quiet, the principal introduced, and asked the students to give "a big Tiger welcome" to Dr. Catherine Gregory, a future astronaut from NASA, who wanted to speak to them today about the opportunities and future of science.

As planned Catherine came out to loud applause and began her canned lecture for middle school kids. She was a pro and was soon into the slides showing the planned Ares program and specifically Ares III, plus a pending project called Artemis Station. About five minutes into it, the kids had lost their excitement as is usual with seventh and eighth graders and were barely above full on boredom.

"Excuse me, Dr Gregory?" a voice called out from the side of the stage.

"Oh yes, hi Mark, how can I help you?" She spoke to the disembodied voice in the darkness.

"Yeah, is there a student here named Tabitha Swanson?"

"Uh, I'll check, is there a Tabitha Swanson here?"

"Here she is!" One of the kids called out and pointed to a slight little girl trying her best to hide by crouching down in her seat.

"Come on up Tabitha there is someone here that wants to meet you."

Tabitha walked to the stage slowly with fear in each footstep. She was small, even for a seventh grader, and her clothes were worn, but clean. Anyone might look and tell her family didn't have a lot of money, which was typical for students in this neighborhood, but likewise you could tell they had a lot of pride. Her mother, alerted earlier by Annie or someone on her staff that she might want to be at school and bring a camera, was snapping away behind her.

Just as Tabitha walked up the steps and onto the stage, with Catherine's constant encouragement, and the constant murmurs of the other children which only rattled the poor girl's nerves even more, the slide changed to a picture of Mark, just in case someone did not know what he looked like, and a beaming Mark Watney almost bounced across the stage from the far side.

A collective gasp rose from the student body as they recognized him, and poor little Tabitha's hands went to cover her mouth as tears began to fill her eyes.

Mark took a spare microphone from Catherine's lectern, who stepped into the background. Mark knelt beside his biggest fan.

"Hi Tabitha, did you get the thing I signed for you the other night? Your mom was telling us what a great student you are and how you're my biggest fan."

"Umbwa... yes!" She cried.

"Hey, don't be upset, I had to come meet my biggest fan. How are you today?"

"Abwa... god.. I mean,,, good"

"Tabitha, I was on Mars a long time, and I got scared a lot too. You know what I did when that happened?"

"Wuuu what?"

"I remembered I had friends that had my back. You want to meet them?

"Ya,, yu,,, yes?"

"Great, I know they want to meet you too. I understand your class is doing a project on Ares III?"

"Yhu uh yes..."

"You must have a lot of questions I bet."

"Yes"

"Well these are the best folks to answer them. Come on out guys."

Catherine then introduced the smiling, waving crew of Ares III as each of their faces were projected on the screen behind the stage until all six were side by side. The techs had been setting this up all morning and one of them had decided that the crew should enter to the tune of Blur's "Song II", which only drove the children wilder. Alex and Rick threw their arms into the air and shouted along with every "Wee-Hoo" and soon had the kids screaming as well.

The crew spread out across the front of the stage, waving and grinning like madmen to the children who were clapping and stomping and screaming. Houston was a NASA town after all, and at the moment these six were the rock stars.

The music faded as the second verse began, but it took several more minutes for the kids to calm down again.

"Guys, I think they like ya." Mark said into the mic, bringing another round of cheers.

"Why don't you introduce yourselves and tell the students what you do? Catherine suggested, and the kids were so hyped up they applauded even this.

Each went in turn, starting with Mark and ending with Commander Lewis, who carried a gift box and took it over to Mark, who was still kneeling beside a still startled Tabitha Swanson.

"Tabitha, when we heard you were our biggest fan we wanted to get you something, so this is an Ares III mission jacket signed by everyone on the crew. You are the first member of our student flight crew. Why don't you try it on?" Melissa Lewis asked as she opened the box. She did and it came to below her knees, almost her ankles, her little arms disappeared in the sleeves. With tears in her eyes she pressed her face into Mark's shoulder and cried her eyes out while he gently hugged her. That was the picture that ran on the news that night. The tabloids would never get to sell their sleaze.

Tabitha was escorted to her mother's loving arms by the principal and Commander Lewis spoke again.

"So we understand you're doing a project on Ares III, do you have any questions?" She smiled.

No one in the room moved as no middle school child wants to be a public speaker, certainly not the first one. Finally a little boy's hand shot up, but he pulled it back down just as fast and when asked denied he had a question at all.

"I have one, if I could?" Stan asked from the side, loud enough that his voice could be heard through out the room.

"You're a little old to be in eighth grade aren't you?" Beth asked with a grin.

"Ha! No, I was wondering Mark, everyone knows you're a hero, I was wondering who your heros are."

"Oh, I'm no hero" Mark began the speech he made up the night before. "No, I'm a survivor. Now to some that might be heroic, but everyone here is a survivor. Each and every child and adult in this room has to face the world every day. Its what we do. When I was on Mars, when I woke up, the first thing I thought was 'I'm going to die.' Then I didn't. After that, everyday I woke up and thought, 'I'm going to die today.' But I still didn't. After a while 'I'm going to die today' became 'Okay maybe Mars is going to kill me, but not today. Not today it isn't' and then I was ready to start solving problems and living. No, if you want heros, look elsewhere. You ask who mine are though and you deserve an honest answer."

"Teddy Sanders and Venkat Kapoor, the guys that made the gutsy call to send Hermes back to rescue me. They could have just sent a probe full of food and hoped for the best with a million things that could go wrong but instead they showed extraordinary leadership by ordering the Hermes back. I can't think Venkat and Teddy enough for making what must have been an incredibly difficult call."

"And the crew of the Hermes, they are heros for making the sacrifice to make that trip. I will never be able to repay the courage and loyalty they showed me. The folks at CNSA are my heros for giving up a big chunk of their space program to rescue me, a guy they didn't even know, and well there are a bunch more, but one I really have to name is Mindy Park at Satcom for figuring out I was alive when all else had given up on me. She is my hero too. She's my hero as much as Teddy and Venkat, and guys, she's a lot prettier. You want to meet her?" He asked the crowd of kids as Mindy stood off to the side shaking her head, crossing her arms in front of her and silently mouthing "NO!"

The kids of course cheered wildly.

Beth finally dragged Mindy on stage and made a show of clasping Mindy's hand into Mark's.

"My hero guys, Mindy. Oh, and I asked her to be my girl friend and she said 'yes', so how 'bout that?"

The kids cheered while Mindy put her arms behind Mark's neck, looked into his eyes and whispered "I am going to kill you!"

"What was that Mindy?" Mark said into the mic.

"I said I love you." Mindy grinned.

"That's what I thought." Mark said as they kissed with all the local network affiliate's cameras rolling.

Mindy waved and smiled to the kids and Catherine took over as emcee again. Mark joined his crew mates at the back of the stage and the kids began to ask questions, which they took turns answering.

While Chris and Beth were bantering a question back and forth Commander Lewis leaned over and asked Mark "Didn't Mindy tell you about the mutiny? Sanders and Kapoor never ordered us back. I thought you knew."

"Yeah, she told me. But they never did and tonight their golden boy is going to appear on all networks saying they made the call and gave the order and how courageous they were for doing so. Between now and then every reporter is going to ambush them and Annie to confirm it. They will. They can't deny it, if they do, America hates them. Instead they get to be heros. And they never get to fuck with my crew again. Plus they can't attack me, because they never told me the truth to begin with." Mark grinned.

"You're the devil. You know that right?" Lewis smiled and whispered just as a question was flung her way.

After a half hour or so the kids ran out of steam and Commander Lewis thanked them for the invitation and said each student was now an honorary member of the Ares III ground crew. As they filed out they were all given patches for both NASA and Ares III, as well as some study guides the education outreach department had made up for school projects. The rest of the school day was wasted no matter how hard their other teachers tried to educate them.

The crew, Catherine and Mindy took time to pose for pictures with Tabitha, her mother and teachers. Tabitha had regained her composure and was now grinning ear to ear, especially when Vogel picked her up in one arm and lifted her up for a group shot with her in the middle. She mentioned that she was starting computers next and Beth had a new best friend. She gave Tabitha her number and offered lessons which she readily accepted, but then lamented that she didn't have a computer to use except for the ones in class. Beth and her swapped numbers though and the next day a bleeding edge Mac laptop was delivered to her home address courtesy of Beth's software company. Her and Beth started working together later that week.

"Mark" Annie began with the crew gathered outside the school by the vans, "At least twice a day I want you to find a news camera and talk to a crying child in front of it. That's your job from now on. Seriously, there wasn't a dry eye in the place. Now, there is a plane waiting for you, we better get going. Great job crew, all of you."

"We should do this again. Surprise a school like that. It was fun." Alex said.

"Oh Alex that reminds me, uh, this effects everyone so listen up. After London you're going to Germany for a few days. Same as usual, meet and greet, shake hands, should be easy."

"German beer? And surprise a school?" Mark asked.

"Of course. Not in that order." Alex replied.

"Well not too much of it. The beer I mean, I don't want to see you guys carrying a drunk Beth out of a biergarten on the news."

"Meh. I could drink them all under the table." Beth smiled.

"Let's not find out." Commander Lewis smiled.

As soon as they got in the van and it started moving Mindy playfully smacked Mark repeatedly on the shoulder and said "I can't believe you got me up in front of all those people! Bad boyfriend! Bad!"

"You did great Mindy, I take it you don't like crowds?" Lewis asked.

"No, and I hate public speaking. Or public anything. Thats why I work in Satcom. In a basement. At night."

"Why? You were great. I know I'm just a local reporter, but seriously, America is going to love you." Stan said.

Mindy just stared at Mark, trying to look angry but failing miserably. "Don't you grin at me buster. You owe me big time." She smiled.

"Hey, can I get a picture of you two?" Stan asked.

"Sure, why not, Mark has already dragged me out in front of a zillion people." Mindy smiled as she lay her head on Mark's shoulder and Stan snapped his cell camera. They looked adorable together, and every media outlet ran the photo the next day, after the Houston paper did.

The Houston paper not only got an exclusive story but also an exclusive picture of the couple, snapped in moving van, taken with a cell phone. Both were picked up by the wire services and were in practically every paper in the country. Not a bad day for a local reporter.