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Frink smiled as he sat in the car with his dad. Usually he always walked or rode his bike to the museum, but this time his father had insisted that he drive him. It was the weekend and the museum always performed Sky Watch. This was when they would roll the big telescopes onto the roof to view the stars. Frink tried to make it out every weekend and this night was a particularly clear one.
"So you think you'll get some good star gazing in tonight, son?" asked Henry.
"Most definitely, blay!" responded Frink enthusiastically. "Venus is out bright and early, we've got a clear view of Orion and I hope to get a few glimpses of Jupiter in."
"Son, I'm very proud of you." Said Henry. Frink started to blush.
"What brought that on?"
"Well I am. You're a chip off the 'ole block. You're very smart and have been excelling so much in school."
"It's nothing really. I just…."
"No. It is something." Said Henry cutting him off. "It seems like just yesterday you were in pre-school, and look at you now. You're in high school and top of your class."
"Aw, dad."
"Not everyone has the talents and skills that you do, boy. And you know what else you have going for you?"
"No what?"
"You like what you do. Some people may be good at something, but not necessarily like it. I'm very glad you take time to expand your mind on your own by participating in these activities instead of getting into trouble like some other boys your age. Bah, listen to me. I'm going on and on, am I not?" Frink just smiled at his dad.
"I want you to be proud, dad." He responded softly.
"Well, looks like we're here. Now go over and have fun with your friends." Said Henry. Frink gave his dad a quick hug, grabbed his guides and ran down the long sidewalk to the entrance of the museum.

Frink walked through the entrance of the museum and was greeted with familiar hand waves from the employees at the information counter. He came so often they'd given him membership and no longer had to buy tickets to get in. There was still daylight outside and he figured he'd make a quick sweep of the exhibits before heading on upstairs. He loved walking through the History of Life Halls from the start of a single celled organism roughly 3.5 billion years ago to the rise of modern mammals today. He paused and looked at fossils of invertebrates kept in glass cases, then moved on the display of stuffed animals representing today's diversity of life on earth. The place was thinning out as the regular exhibits would soon be closing. The young Frink went up to the second floor to explore the Energy in Your World exhibit. Here was explained things like plate tectonics, formation of coal and oil, minerals, electricity, magnetism and physics. He loved the floating magnets in the case, the whole idea of like repelling like. They just hovered before him and a smile grew on his face as they were reflected in his glasses. Here was something that was defying gravity and if one tried to push them closer together they would fly even further apart. At least the one that wasn't fixed to the ground would. He walked over to a small maze filled with metal balls, and covered with plexy glass. He picked up a device that looked like a pen, the tip of which had attached a tiny magnet. The idea was to pick up a ball from the star and roll it with the magnet to the end of the maze. He would spend hours just playing with that, but not tonight. He had to get upstairs.

Third floor of the museum had the sky and space exhibits. Model planes and rockets were suspended from the ceiling by wires. A few were to scale, but most were not. There was a model of the solar system in one corner with a huge sun at its center. There were turn levers and you could spin the planets and make them revolve around the sun. Of course there was always that one kid that made one of them go in the opposite direction. Frink rolled his eyes at the thought. It was bad enough that Uranus spun on its equator instead of its pole without someone suddenly making Mars go in the wrong direction. He laughed to himself. Then there were those kids that would crank the levers so hard that the planets would wiz around the sun like it was some kind of race. Time was wasting and he headed up to the roof.

Frink pushed the heavy door open and was greeted by a warm breeze. It was great to be so high up and the sky was beautiful as the sun set painted it up with a plethora of pink, red and orange shades. As night fell, the star watchers finished up the final touches on their telescopes and aimed them at their patch of sky. Tonight the emphasis would be on the moon because it was full and bright. Frink adjusted his eyepiece and observed the scars and craters on the moon's surface. He looked at the Marea, dark flat areas that were once thought to be seas. As he panned over the moon's face he felt footsteps approaching from behind.
"Good evening, Jonathan. Beautiful clear night tonight."
Frink pulled away from his telescope and turned to see an older gentleman staring down at him.
"Why yes it is, Mr. Smith." He responded. Mr. Smith was the curator of the museum and in charge of the weekly Sky Watch.
"Let's see what you've got there." He said as he bent over to view through the small lens. "Nice focus on the smaller craters, Jonathan."
"Thanks Mr. Smith." Said Frink slightly blushing and he returned to his scope and panned to another area of the lunar surface. Mr. Smith watched him as he did so.
"How long has it been? Eight, ten years or so?" He said out of the blue.
"How long as what been, sir?" Asked Frink confused.
"How long has it been since you've been coming out the museum. I swear you must have been about three years old. I remember you as a child running through the halls of the exhibits. You'd look at a display and your face would light up. Then you'd run off to stare at the next one. Your parents would bring you almost everyday. Once you were a little older and you had learned to read, they would just drop you off and you would spend the whole day reading the displays. Now you're a young man. Aren't you in high school now?"
"Yes sir wuh hey."
"That's wonderful. And you're the senior member of our Sky Watch program. Enjoy these times Jonathan. They are the best years of your life."
Frink had a confused look. He thought how strange it was that he could serve as a reminder of everyone's age this day.
"Uh, why would these be any different than the coming years, um hey din?"
"You only get one childhood and that is when you develop your gifts and talents. Start to use them now. You don't want to end up like me, locked away in some room away from the rest of humanity for years."
"But you like what you do, don't you?" Asked Frink.
"Ok yes I do. You got me there. What I'm saying is enjoy the fun you are having now. It will be comforting to look back on these times when hardship comes. Say, I heard that this is the first year Springfield will be attending the Science Trivia Tournament."
"Science Trivia Tournament?"
"Yes, and I think you should join. You're definitely smart enough, and it would be a wonderful opportunity for you to show others what you've got. You could possibly even be the one to represent the town."
"Zoi! Sounds big." Said Frink excited.
"It is, your school would be going up against others until they find the student who can answer the most questions. Consider it at least."
"Hum. I will, Mr. Smith." He said and then returned to his telescope.

Determination in his eye, Frink walked down the hallway of his school. He had thought about what Mr. Smith had said and he would sign up for the Science Trivia Tournament. It sounded like fun, and he could use some good friendly competition. He looked at the list that was tacked up on the wall and read off the names.
"Jeff, Bob, Sara, Don, Kelly, Ted, Shannon, Barry, Billy, Sean, David, Michel, Fred, Jenny." Well the list wasn't that long and the entries looked good. He signed himself up, and headed off to class.

Not long after that Jason and Owen walked down the same hallway.
"So you gonna join this thing, Owen?" Asked Jason excitedly.
"Of course. I should win this hands down. Look there's the sign up sheet." He said as he made his way over. He picked up a pen and was about to place his signature when a familiar name caught his eye.
"John Frink?!?! That creep signed up for the Science Trivia Tournament?" Yelled Owen.
"Is that bad?" Asked Jason.
"No it's not bad! It's only annoying. Ok, if Frinky's gonna be in this then I'll be sure to make his defeat completely humiliating."
"Perhaps he won't even place." Said Jason trying to calm his friend.
"Oh he'll place alright. But I got to make sure he doesn't make it." He then signed his name in capital letters as a warning to others that might think they'd stand a chance.

Down the hall was Mr. Hoffman's third period English class. He paced through the rows of desks as kids took turns reading.
"Very good, David. Now John, please continue where he left off."
Frink looked down at the massive book nervously. He hated reading out loud.
"…speak, mighty head, um hey din, and tell us the secret thing that is in thee. Of all the divers, blay, thou hast dived the deepest. That head upon which, gwah hey, the upper sun now gleams, has moved amid this world's nuh wah ney, foundations. Where unrecorded names and navies rust, blay, and untold hopes and anchors rot; gah hey din hey, where in her murderous hold this frigate earth is ballasted with bones um hay gah hey of millions of the drowned; glayvin, there…"
"Hold it!" Yelled Mr. Hoffman. "What. Was. That?" He asked obviously annoyed.
"Um, it was Melville, sir."
"No not that. I mean what was, 'with bones um hay gah hey of millions of the drowned; glayvin'. That what was that?"
"Well sir, I was merely reading what you asked." Said Frink confused.
"John, your English is atrocious! You've got to do something about your stuttering problem!"
"Stuttering? Zoi! I don't stutter. Gwah Hay din. And sir, I have passed all your grammar tests with A's, glayvin. And my writing…"
"Yes, but your speaking is lacking. What, did you hit your head as a baby or something? You may not realize it now, but you will find yourself in a situation where you will need good English skills in your job."
"But I'm not going into the field of English."
"Oh the typical student response. 'I'm never going to use this.' You'll remember this conversation when you find yourself in an awkward situation. Just remember that. Ok, Jenny please continue where we left off."
Frink frowned to himself. Let him think what he wanted. He was going into the sciences and perfect grammar wasn't all it's made out to be. He didn't think there was anything wrong with the way he spoke. So far everyone understood him and he had no problems communicating with others. Besides once he got his "job", he'd be using a completely different set of terminologies. He'd pass Mr. Hoffman's little grammar and literature tests quietly and that would be the end of it.

The bell rang and kids rushed out into the hallways scrambling for their books in their lockers. They'd get in some quick conversations with their friends then hurry down the crowded halls to their next class. Frink switched out his English book and notebook for his math ones. This was easily one of his favorite classes and once they were in hand he slammed the metal door, spun the lock and ran down the hall, derivatives flying in his head. As he formed a large equation in his mind, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and slammed right into Jake's belly.
"OW!" Sharky yelled as paper and books flew in all directions. He looked down to see Frink on the ground recovering from the crash. He propped himself up, hands behind him and knees up before him.
"Hey why don't you watch where you're going, geek!" said Sharky as he picked him up the collar of his shirt.
"May-be he needs new glasses." Said Tommy as he approached from behind with four other friends, all of which were laughing at the situation.
"You know, Tommy. I think you're right." Said Sharky as he pulled Frink's glasses off with his free hand. Frink's world suddenly became a big fuzzy blur. Images blended into each other and certain parts seemed to swirl and mix with the light. For all it mattered he might as well have been blind.
"No! Give those back." He said, but Sharky only ended up throwing him against the lockers. He hit with a metallic crash and slid to the floor with his back.
"You want them come get them!" Said Sharky. Holding his shoulder Frink stood up and moved in Sharky's direction.
"Tommy, catch!" He yelled and threw the glasses at Tommy who swiftly caught them. Frink veered in that direction and made his way towards Tommy.
"What the?" He said surprised at Frink's accuracy. "Randy here!" And he threw them at his friend. The same thing happened, as though Frink had been able to see with no problem. The five continued this until Sharky figured it out.
"Hey hey, you dorks shut up when you're passing them. He can hear you, that's how he knows where you are."
The bullies fell into silence, and sure enough Frink stopped where he was. He had been listening to the sound of their voices, but now he had to listen for their footsteps and try to figure out where they were. This would not be easy. By now a crowd had gathered to watch the bullies teasing him. Owen happened to be one of them and he leaned against a wall, laughing quietly to himself as he watched how ridiculous Frink looked with his arms out like a blind man. The chuckle of girls distracted him from the spectacle. He looked around and realized that the crowd which had gathered was entirely female. His eyes went wide. Why? This certainly couldn't be good.

Owen watched the faces of the girls. Some of them smiled while others whispered into their friends' ears and passed notes to each other. A few just watched with mouths slightly agape as others nodded to their pals with approving looks. Owen looked back at the bullies and then at Frink whom had his back turned to him. As one of them tossed the glasses over and the shuffling of their feet was heard, Frink turned in that direction and at last faced Owen. It was then he realized what it was. No one had ever seen Frink without his glasses until now and it was like looking at a whole new person. He was actually fairly good looking. Owen felt his teeth clench in anger. Being categorized as a nerd he at least took pleasure in the fact that he was the best looking one in the school and he actually had a few female admirers. Having Frink as an academic rival was enough, he didn't need him as one for the ladies, but what could he do? He could make everyone quickly forget that's what he could do. Sharky actually owed him a favor and now he would call it in. When the glasses were once again in the air, Owen went into the circle, and caught them in a jump. The crowd gasped. While the bullies recovered from their confusion Owen went up to Frink who was just standing around listening and shoved the glasses back onto his face.
"Owen?" He said completely surprised when the first thing he saw again was him.
"Yes, now that you can see again why don't you get out of here before it gets ugly." Frink looked around and realized how many bullies were actually there.
"Zoi!" he blurted out as he realized how badly he could have been pounded and ducked out into a door way.

Sharky walked up to Owen and got right in his face.
"That's gonna cost you little man. We weren't done with the pip squeak." Owen pushed him away gently.
"Jake, you owe me."
"Owe you? How's that?"
"Well, I have been doing your history homework for you. I could easily stop doing it, and you can kiss the football team good bye." Sharky growled then asked,
"So what do you want."
"Not much. Let Frinky go this time, that and when you beat him up leave his glasses on. That's all." Said Owen. Sharky thought about it a moment. He needed those grades.
"Fine, you have a deal. Let's go boys. We're finished here!" He said and they all left the scene. Owen gave the ladies a big smile since he had been the hero to save the day. A few of them smiled back flirtingly and he walked off smirking. As he rounded a corner he heard his name being whispered.
"Pssst. Owen." He stopped to look. It was Frink, who was hiding behind a locker. "Hey thanks for saving me form those guys, glayven. I could really have ended up as pudding." Owen growled and pushed Frink against the wall.
"Listen you, I didn't save you."
"But you got rid of the bullies."
"I didn't do it to help you! We aren't friends so don't you start getting any ideas. Just forget the whole thing ever happened!" He said as he stomped off, leaving Frink behind confused.

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