Post by rocketmanedh on Aug 15, 2021 18:04:17 GMT -5
“Remember this is for the kids.”
“Of course who else would it be for.”
“I’m just saying you did seem pretty excited to do this. You’ve sunk a lot into it.”
“Only because it is such a good learning opportunity.”
“For the kids? Right.”
“Yes of course. For the kids.”
“Okay. Good. You can be excited.”
“Oh I’m very excited.”
“Just let them explore on their own.”
“I get it. Now let’s get going.”
Bob Black and Ed Houston are standing at the front of a small bus that is parked in the NASA parking lot. There are four middle school kids in the back. They look ecstatic to be there. They all have various space-related t-shirts on them. One has the typical NASA shirt on, one has a very complicated shirt pattern on. Ed and Bob have opted for regular shirts. This is a minor surprise based on the small argument they are having at the front of the bus. Ed is clearly excited to be there too. Bob is more measured. He has been bothering Ed for the entire trip but wanted to make sure that Ed understood that this is a trip for the kids. It is the first time Ed has been inside of the headquarters since he was unceremoniously thrown out of the space program after ruining multiple planes a week before graduation.
Ed turns to the kids with a wide smile on his face. “Are you all excited!?”
“Yes!” The kids yell in unison.
Houston: “Awesome! Let’s get going, kids. They have a busy day set up for us but it’s going to be very exciting and hopefully, it will give you a first-hand look at what a cool career in science looks like! I can tell you first hand just how exciting NASA can be!”
Bob: “We know you can, Ed. But this is about them exploring for themselves.”
Ed rolls his eyes. “I know that, Bob. Come on, let’s get off this bus.”
Ed flies off the bus as soon as he is finished speaking. The kids follow, excited but not quite with the same fervor as Ed. Bob sighs and follows behind them.
Ed turns to Bob as they walk through the parking lot. “You know, this kind of feels like I’m stuck in a loop too.”
Bob: “What are you talking about?”
Houston: “Didn’t you see Mike’s promo this week. He talked about being stuck in a loop. Like a groundhog day type scenario.”
Bob: “How do you feel stuck in a loop?”
Houston: “You know, I used to work for NASA, now I’m going back into the beast.” Ed shrugs. “It was just a joke. You have to approach some of what Mike says with a smile. That guy has such a distorted view of reality. Like I get it. We’ve faced each other a lot and I still like the guy but some of what he says makes my eyes roll.”
Bob: “Like what?”
Houston: “He claims that I’m the one that killed Meteor 2. He also somehow produced footage of it somehow. What he conveniently left out was that he was supposed to be the funding person but as soon as we lost our tag team championships in GCWA, he never spoke to me again. He moved on to another tag team partner. I didn’t speak to the guy until he wanted my help last month. A great way to tell an investee you’re no longer interested in them is to not return their calls and that’s what he did. He decided to throw that money into another garden of betrayal or Outsiders or whatever idea of the month he had. He might’ve just forgotten. I know his attention span is pretty limited. But this idea that I’m the one that dropped the ball is ridiculous. He’s the one that stopped talking to me the second the gold left his waist. But I get it. He has to be dramatic. That is who Mike is. He’s not stuck in any sort of loop. If anything he’s probably on a weed trip so strong that all he needs to do is stand up and walk out of the theater but he forgot how his legs work. Drugs are the only way to describe that first promo he put out and the stark difference between that and this one. I don’t know. I hope Mike is okay. We might need to send an ambulance over to his place. But then again, that place is probably booby-trapped so it might not matter. I don’t know, Bob. Maybe the idea of being under the lights or the two losses so far are getting to Mike. Next month might be even rougher once I’ve given him that third loss.”
Bob: “Aren’t you worried about your third loss?”
Ed shrugs. “Of course I’m a little worried but I’m channeling that to come out with a good performance. Mike looks like he’s floating around instead. Besides, after this NASA trip. I might have another fallback.”
Bob: “For the kids, Ed.”
Houston: “I know. I know. For the kids.”
They enter the headquarters. Immediately, they see a bunch of large clocks and some planetary models. There are also a bunch of replica rocket ships. The kids immediately look dumbfounded. Ed does as well. A few minutes later the lawyer, Keith and five other kids walk in.
Keith: “I told you Ed would be here!”
Ed gives Keith a high-five. “What’s up, little man?”
Keith: “This is going to be so cool.”
Houston: “Yes it will be.”
Ed looks back at the lawyer.
Houston: “Lawyer.” He says with a nod.
Lawyer: “Ed.” He nods back, his eyes roll a little out of habit.
The kids mingle together and after a couple of minutes, Dan Masters walks up.
Dan: “Oh cool. You ended up working something out, Ed.”
Houston: “Yeah. This guy turned out to be a good buddy of mine.” Ed points to the lawyer who shakes his head no quickly.
Dan: “Cool.” He turns to the kids behind Ed. “I hope he’s not driving you too crazy. The kids laugh. Ed laughs too. “Is everybody ready?”
The kids and Ed applause loudly.
Dan: “Okay great. We’re going to start the tour now. We’re going to show all-around what we do here, today. Let’s get started.”
The kids and adults follow behind. They go past ticking clocks and large planets and the old rockets. They ew and aw as they see everything. Ed touches a couple of the models whenever Dan isn’t looking.
They go over to the control center. There are a bunch of people working on the computers that fill the floor of the room. Televisions flash excitedly.
Dan: “This is where it all takes place.”
Ed beams as he takes it all in again.
Dan: “Every rocket that we launch we launch from here. Who knows the last launch we had here?”
Ed: “Pick me! Pick me!” He jumps up and down. A few of the other kids are also excited to answer. Dan does not pick Ed who promptly walks away. He starts to explore the control center. He gets about fifteen feet away when Dan calls him back.
Houston: “Should’ve picked me.” Ed mumbles under his breath. They move to the other side of the hall.
Bob: “What was that?”
Houston: “I was just excited because I knew the answer. I want these kids to think I know something too.”
Bob: “It’s important for the kids to learn something. That’s all that matters.”
Houston: “I know. I know. I also want NASA to think I still know something.”
Bob: “I hate to tell you this, Ed. But I don’t think NASA is going to change the way they think about you unless you win a Nobel Prize or something.”
Houston: “Or become the OCW Champion.”
Bob: “No, I think the level you have to overcome is the Nobel Prize.”
Dan’s voice overtakes their conversation: “Okay. Now it’s time to check out the training facilities. I know Ed remembers that section well.”
Ed smiles and nods.
Dan: “Okay everyone follow me.”
The line starts to move out of the center and back to the hallway. Ed starts to make his way to the back of the line as everyone exits and moves down the hallway. Somehow both the lawyer and Bob seem to lose track of him as they enter the training wing. Ed follows inside at first but as the last one in line, he quickly swings back out of the door.
Ed starts to look around. “I’m not going into that training center. Not for anything. Too many bad memories. Like getting fired in there.” He is mumbling to himself as he walks back into the main hall. He picks a direction at random and starts to walk.
All of the sudden, Ed finds himself in a part of the building he doesn’t recognize. He looks confused. He knows it has been quite a while since he has been inside but this looks like a completely different or a completely hidden part of the building entirely. Ed finds himself looking at a door slightly ajar. He looks at it for a minute. It is unmarked. There is darkness inside.
He decides to go inside. He pushes the door and turns on the light. His mouth drops as he takes in the contents of the large room. The camera stays focused on his face before fading to black.
“Of course who else would it be for.”
“I’m just saying you did seem pretty excited to do this. You’ve sunk a lot into it.”
“Only because it is such a good learning opportunity.”
“For the kids? Right.”
“Yes of course. For the kids.”
“Okay. Good. You can be excited.”
“Oh I’m very excited.”
“Just let them explore on their own.”
“I get it. Now let’s get going.”
Bob Black and Ed Houston are standing at the front of a small bus that is parked in the NASA parking lot. There are four middle school kids in the back. They look ecstatic to be there. They all have various space-related t-shirts on them. One has the typical NASA shirt on, one has a very complicated shirt pattern on. Ed and Bob have opted for regular shirts. This is a minor surprise based on the small argument they are having at the front of the bus. Ed is clearly excited to be there too. Bob is more measured. He has been bothering Ed for the entire trip but wanted to make sure that Ed understood that this is a trip for the kids. It is the first time Ed has been inside of the headquarters since he was unceremoniously thrown out of the space program after ruining multiple planes a week before graduation.
Ed turns to the kids with a wide smile on his face. “Are you all excited!?”
“Yes!” The kids yell in unison.
Houston: “Awesome! Let’s get going, kids. They have a busy day set up for us but it’s going to be very exciting and hopefully, it will give you a first-hand look at what a cool career in science looks like! I can tell you first hand just how exciting NASA can be!”
Bob: “We know you can, Ed. But this is about them exploring for themselves.”
Ed rolls his eyes. “I know that, Bob. Come on, let’s get off this bus.”
Ed flies off the bus as soon as he is finished speaking. The kids follow, excited but not quite with the same fervor as Ed. Bob sighs and follows behind them.
Ed turns to Bob as they walk through the parking lot. “You know, this kind of feels like I’m stuck in a loop too.”
Bob: “What are you talking about?”
Houston: “Didn’t you see Mike’s promo this week. He talked about being stuck in a loop. Like a groundhog day type scenario.”
Bob: “How do you feel stuck in a loop?”
Houston: “You know, I used to work for NASA, now I’m going back into the beast.” Ed shrugs. “It was just a joke. You have to approach some of what Mike says with a smile. That guy has such a distorted view of reality. Like I get it. We’ve faced each other a lot and I still like the guy but some of what he says makes my eyes roll.”
Bob: “Like what?”
Houston: “He claims that I’m the one that killed Meteor 2. He also somehow produced footage of it somehow. What he conveniently left out was that he was supposed to be the funding person but as soon as we lost our tag team championships in GCWA, he never spoke to me again. He moved on to another tag team partner. I didn’t speak to the guy until he wanted my help last month. A great way to tell an investee you’re no longer interested in them is to not return their calls and that’s what he did. He decided to throw that money into another garden of betrayal or Outsiders or whatever idea of the month he had. He might’ve just forgotten. I know his attention span is pretty limited. But this idea that I’m the one that dropped the ball is ridiculous. He’s the one that stopped talking to me the second the gold left his waist. But I get it. He has to be dramatic. That is who Mike is. He’s not stuck in any sort of loop. If anything he’s probably on a weed trip so strong that all he needs to do is stand up and walk out of the theater but he forgot how his legs work. Drugs are the only way to describe that first promo he put out and the stark difference between that and this one. I don’t know. I hope Mike is okay. We might need to send an ambulance over to his place. But then again, that place is probably booby-trapped so it might not matter. I don’t know, Bob. Maybe the idea of being under the lights or the two losses so far are getting to Mike. Next month might be even rougher once I’ve given him that third loss.”
Bob: “Aren’t you worried about your third loss?”
Ed shrugs. “Of course I’m a little worried but I’m channeling that to come out with a good performance. Mike looks like he’s floating around instead. Besides, after this NASA trip. I might have another fallback.”
Bob: “For the kids, Ed.”
Houston: “I know. I know. For the kids.”
They enter the headquarters. Immediately, they see a bunch of large clocks and some planetary models. There are also a bunch of replica rocket ships. The kids immediately look dumbfounded. Ed does as well. A few minutes later the lawyer, Keith and five other kids walk in.
Keith: “I told you Ed would be here!”
Ed gives Keith a high-five. “What’s up, little man?”
Keith: “This is going to be so cool.”
Houston: “Yes it will be.”
Ed looks back at the lawyer.
Houston: “Lawyer.” He says with a nod.
Lawyer: “Ed.” He nods back, his eyes roll a little out of habit.
The kids mingle together and after a couple of minutes, Dan Masters walks up.
Dan: “Oh cool. You ended up working something out, Ed.”
Houston: “Yeah. This guy turned out to be a good buddy of mine.” Ed points to the lawyer who shakes his head no quickly.
Dan: “Cool.” He turns to the kids behind Ed. “I hope he’s not driving you too crazy. The kids laugh. Ed laughs too. “Is everybody ready?”
The kids and Ed applause loudly.
Dan: “Okay great. We’re going to start the tour now. We’re going to show all-around what we do here, today. Let’s get started.”
The kids and adults follow behind. They go past ticking clocks and large planets and the old rockets. They ew and aw as they see everything. Ed touches a couple of the models whenever Dan isn’t looking.
They go over to the control center. There are a bunch of people working on the computers that fill the floor of the room. Televisions flash excitedly.
Dan: “This is where it all takes place.”
Ed beams as he takes it all in again.
Dan: “Every rocket that we launch we launch from here. Who knows the last launch we had here?”
Ed: “Pick me! Pick me!” He jumps up and down. A few of the other kids are also excited to answer. Dan does not pick Ed who promptly walks away. He starts to explore the control center. He gets about fifteen feet away when Dan calls him back.
Houston: “Should’ve picked me.” Ed mumbles under his breath. They move to the other side of the hall.
Bob: “What was that?”
Houston: “I was just excited because I knew the answer. I want these kids to think I know something too.”
Bob: “It’s important for the kids to learn something. That’s all that matters.”
Houston: “I know. I know. I also want NASA to think I still know something.”
Bob: “I hate to tell you this, Ed. But I don’t think NASA is going to change the way they think about you unless you win a Nobel Prize or something.”
Houston: “Or become the OCW Champion.”
Bob: “No, I think the level you have to overcome is the Nobel Prize.”
Dan’s voice overtakes their conversation: “Okay. Now it’s time to check out the training facilities. I know Ed remembers that section well.”
Ed smiles and nods.
Dan: “Okay everyone follow me.”
The line starts to move out of the center and back to the hallway. Ed starts to make his way to the back of the line as everyone exits and moves down the hallway. Somehow both the lawyer and Bob seem to lose track of him as they enter the training wing. Ed follows inside at first but as the last one in line, he quickly swings back out of the door.
Ed starts to look around. “I’m not going into that training center. Not for anything. Too many bad memories. Like getting fired in there.” He is mumbling to himself as he walks back into the main hall. He picks a direction at random and starts to walk.
All of the sudden, Ed finds himself in a part of the building he doesn’t recognize. He looks confused. He knows it has been quite a while since he has been inside but this looks like a completely different or a completely hidden part of the building entirely. Ed finds himself looking at a door slightly ajar. He looks at it for a minute. It is unmarked. There is darkness inside.
He decides to go inside. He pushes the door and turns on the light. His mouth drops as he takes in the contents of the large room. The camera stays focused on his face before fading to black.
