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scott_sanfordFriday fiction again!
Jenny Everywhere in
Morning After
by Scott Sanford; May 2022
Part Three:
Professor Awesome
My head still felt too full, clogged with extra universes, but I headed down the stairs. I glanced out the window to see –
– nothing much out there. Not in this universe. Not today, anyway.
Sure enough, Eric was below, sitting on the stairs and scribbling in a notebook. Once I got down to the same level I could see he had a big mad science grin on his face; yeah, he was inventing again. And I recognized the gadget he was drawing, too, though it was different from the first one. I didn’t like that.
“Professor Awesome, hi…”
“Mm? Oh, hi, Jenny.” He didn’t look up, not that I blamed him; I’d seen him doing mad science before.
“Inventing again, I see.”
He grunted and shrugged, busy sketching. I sat down beside him on the stairs. He didn’t seem to mind me looking over his shoulder.
“You know how much trouble you got into with the last one,” I remarked casually.
“It worked but it was so crude!”, he protested. That got his attention. “I know I could make a better one! Just look!”
He showed me the pad he’d been scribbling on, not that it told me much.
“You know what your mom said about the first de-pants-icator.”
“It’s totally harmless!”, he whined. “And I don’t need to use it, I just want to know that I could make a better one!”
“I think you’ve proved that already,” I told him, tapping the paper. Mad scientists, what are you going to do?
“Mm, I guess...”
I sighed and looked over at –
– the most frustrating and endearing tween supergenius in town. Are all adolescents like this?
“You know…”, I offered diplomatically, “If you tore out that page I could forget to tell your mom I ever saw anything. Besides, if you used it there’s no way to hide that you made another one.”
“Yeah, you’re right…” he said, ripping out the offending sketch and crumpling it.
I patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it; we all think up crazy plans we decide not to use. Come around later and maybe we can talk Kim into helping you with your homework or something.”
“Don’t need it.”
“Good. Then you can help her with her homework. Or me.”
He laughed at that. I grinned.
“Hey, Jenny… What crazy plan did you think of?”
“Me?” Even as I protested I remembered another me’s scheme. Maybe I could deflect him with things he wouldn’t do anyway. “Um, showing up at the Battle of Camlann with a Panzer III, that wasn’t a good idea…”
It hadn’t worked, either. Came in handy during the evac to Avalon, though.
I wasn't going to tell a kid his age about skinny dipping in Shangri-La, especially since that was this me.
“I think one of me got in trouble for trying to steal a diamond from the Louvre. Don’t do that. Oh, and if the locals call a place ‘The Devil’s Arse,’ that’s fair warning...”
“Where’d you get the Panzer?”, he asked, saving me from having to remember other fiascoes.
“The tank?” Of course the mad scientist would ask about the machine. I couldn’t remember any more so I dodged the question. “As a rule, Nazis have more weapons than they should, so if you steal weapons from Nazis it’s a public service or something, right? Don’t tell your mom I said that.”
That sounded like bad advice, or at least advice I shouldn’t be giving to a kid.
We chatted for a while longer and I left him on the steps, doodling what I hoped where harmless inventions.
Climbing back up the color of sunlight through the skylight caught my attention and I froze in place on the steps briefly, thinking. I wasn’t drifting across dimensions, not at the moment, I could feel that. Moving slowly I looked left and right at the walls, the walls of the interior stairwell that hadn’t had any windows yesterday. They didn’t have any windows now either.
Was I remembering another Jenny’s trip down her own stairs or was the building changing around me? We had a house like that once, I realized, as memories passed through my mind of a vast and ever-changing palace, strange and wonderful and alive. And an apartment full of universes? Was that the same place?
I sighed. It might be a long day. It wasn’t fair to get stressed out about the neighbors, either; I was just on edge because –
– I wanted to get into bed and have some rest.
I could use a nap.
<- Back to Part One or Part Two, or forward to the optional epilogue (added on Jenny Everywhere Day); there is also commentary ->
See Scott Sanford’s Jenny Everywhere stories
The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.
Morning After
by Scott Sanford; May 2022
Professor Awesome
My head still felt too full, clogged with extra universes, but I headed down the stairs. I glanced out the window to see –
– a dinosaur trying to daintily pick its way through modern artifacts and failing. Riding bareback is a blonde woman wearing a red star on her forehead and not enough clothing for the weather. She sees me looking and breaks into a wild grin.
“JENNY!”, she shouts boisterously. “I go now! Must time travel to 1971!”
I wave and call down, “Have fun!”
“When I return I bring back head of Robo-Stalin!”, she promises, and flicks the reins of her mount. There’s always –
“JENNY!”, she shouts boisterously. “I go now! Must time travel to 1971!”
I wave and call down, “Have fun!”
“When I return I bring back head of Robo-Stalin!”, she promises, and flicks the reins of her mount. There’s always –
– nothing much out there. Not in this universe. Not today, anyway.
Sure enough, Eric was below, sitting on the stairs and scribbling in a notebook. Once I got down to the same level I could see he had a big mad science grin on his face; yeah, he was inventing again. And I recognized the gadget he was drawing, too, though it was different from the first one. I didn’t like that.
“Professor Awesome, hi…”
“Mm? Oh, hi, Jenny.” He didn’t look up, not that I blamed him; I’d seen him doing mad science before.
“Inventing again, I see.”
He grunted and shrugged, busy sketching. I sat down beside him on the stairs. He didn’t seem to mind me looking over his shoulder.
“You know how much trouble you got into with the last one,” I remarked casually.
“It worked but it was so crude!”, he protested. That got his attention. “I know I could make a better one! Just look!”
He showed me the pad he’d been scribbling on, not that it told me much.
“You know what your mom said about the first de-pants-icator.”
“It’s totally harmless!”, he whined. “And I don’t need to use it, I just want to know that I could make a better one!”
“I think you’ve proved that already,” I told him, tapping the paper. Mad scientists, what are you going to do?
“Mm, I guess...”
I sighed and looked over at –
– the city on fire, Awesome standing on the roof of his Omnibus next to the turret, his lab coat waving in the wind.
“You’ve never been able to stop me, Jenny!”, he gloated. I saw his white teeth flashing through his full beard, and inanely thought how it had finally grown in from the scraggly goatee of his early twenties. He laughed like there was no tomorrow.
If he’d really built another Time Pestle maybe there wouldn’t be.
I stood my ground, hands on my hips, hoping I looked confident. My hands were sweaty and I could feel the heavy lump of the pistol at the small of my back. It had to stay there until the end. I knew I’d need a distraction before I could risk drawing to get a shot off at –
“You’ve never been able to stop me, Jenny!”, he gloated. I saw his white teeth flashing through his full beard, and inanely thought how it had finally grown in from the scraggly goatee of his early twenties. He laughed like there was no tomorrow.
If he’d really built another Time Pestle maybe there wouldn’t be.
I stood my ground, hands on my hips, hoping I looked confident. My hands were sweaty and I could feel the heavy lump of the pistol at the small of my back. It had to stay there until the end. I knew I’d need a distraction before I could risk drawing to get a shot off at –
– the most frustrating and endearing tween supergenius in town. Are all adolescents like this?
“You know…”, I offered diplomatically, “If you tore out that page I could forget to tell your mom I ever saw anything. Besides, if you used it there’s no way to hide that you made another one.”
“Yeah, you’re right…” he said, ripping out the offending sketch and crumpling it.
I patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it; we all think up crazy plans we decide not to use. Come around later and maybe we can talk Kim into helping you with your homework or something.”
“Don’t need it.”
“Good. Then you can help her with her homework. Or me.”
He laughed at that. I grinned.
“Hey, Jenny… What crazy plan did you think of?”
“Me?” Even as I protested I remembered another me’s scheme. Maybe I could deflect him with things he wouldn’t do anyway. “Um, showing up at the Battle of Camlann with a Panzer III, that wasn’t a good idea…”
It hadn’t worked, either. Came in handy during the evac to Avalon, though.
I wasn't going to tell a kid his age about skinny dipping in Shangri-La, especially since that was this me.
“I think one of me got in trouble for trying to steal a diamond from the Louvre. Don’t do that. Oh, and if the locals call a place ‘The Devil’s Arse,’ that’s fair warning...”
“Where’d you get the Panzer?”, he asked, saving me from having to remember other fiascoes.
“The tank?” Of course the mad scientist would ask about the machine. I couldn’t remember any more so I dodged the question. “As a rule, Nazis have more weapons than they should, so if you steal weapons from Nazis it’s a public service or something, right? Don’t tell your mom I said that.”
That sounded like bad advice, or at least advice I shouldn’t be giving to a kid.
We chatted for a while longer and I left him on the steps, doodling what I hoped where harmless inventions.
Climbing back up the color of sunlight through the skylight caught my attention and I froze in place on the steps briefly, thinking. I wasn’t drifting across dimensions, not at the moment, I could feel that. Moving slowly I looked left and right at the walls, the walls of the interior stairwell that hadn’t had any windows yesterday. They didn’t have any windows now either.
Was I remembering another Jenny’s trip down her own stairs or was the building changing around me? We had a house like that once, I realized, as memories passed through my mind of a vast and ever-changing palace, strange and wonderful and alive. And an apartment full of universes? Was that the same place?
I sighed. It might be a long day. It wasn’t fair to get stressed out about the neighbors, either; I was just on edge because –
– th’ Prince of th’ Fair Folk stole me cow! Again!
Like as not she’ll burn somethin’ important, and don’t they deserve it, stealin’ an honest-ish woman’s fire breathin’ cow, but ye canne let ‘em get away with it, the Gentry’ll be around at all hours borrowin’ things.
Much less ‘is majesty, what knows better.
If th’ daft ponce don’t shape up Ima stick a cold iron poker up ‘is –
Like as not she’ll burn somethin’ important, and don’t they deserve it, stealin’ an honest-ish woman’s fire breathin’ cow, but ye canne let ‘em get away with it, the Gentry’ll be around at all hours borrowin’ things.
Much less ‘is majesty, what knows better.
If th’ daft ponce don’t shape up Ima stick a cold iron poker up ‘is –
– I wanted to get into bed and have some rest.
I could use a nap.
The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.
no subject
Date: 2024-08-30 07:40 am (UTC)Aquanafrahudy's drabble:
’is majesty couldnae see th’ woods for th’ trees, that’s what I always said. When th’ Lords an’ th’ Ladies come knocking ye know ye ha’ to do summat about it, else ye’ll be up and down th’ stairs half th’ night wi’ their follies and their play-actin’ and I don’t know what else. I spake to meself, I said, they’ll be wantin’ summat, or me name’s not Jenefer Everywhere, and, sure as rain, there were th’ prince an’ he spake to me to come wi’ him to th’ Other Place, and there t’face me trial, and so I went.
The character of Jenny Everywhere is available for use by anyone, with only one condition. This paragraph must be included in any publication involving Jenny Everywhere, in order that others may use this property as they wish. All rights reversed.