Week 9 Storytelling: Thomas and Harold

The annual Science Fair was coming up, and Jefferson Middle School was abuzz with anticipation. Thomas was one of Jefferson's most promising students, and it was rumored that he was working on building a rocket for his science project this year. He was the favorite to win the grand prize, and the teachers had a pool going, giving Thomas 5-to-1 odds to win. Thomas was soft-spoken and a little socially awkward, and this resulted in his regular subjection to bullying from Harold, a brutish numbskull. Swirlies and being stuffed into a locker had become part of Thomas' weekly routine, but he found solace in books and learning as much as he could.
Harold had gotten wind of the rumors surrounding Thomas' rocket science project, and he devised a plan to build a rocket of his own and sabotage Thomas' science experiment. A few days before the Science Fair, Harold was approaching Thomas in the hallway, and Thomas froze, expecting the worst. "Please be gentle," pleaded Thomas.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you today, " scoffed Harold. "I need you to help me with something."
"Help you?" said Thomas. "Why would I help you?"
"Listen my dad said I can't go anywhere for spring break unless I pass my next math test. I know you're good with numbers and stuff, so if you tutor me and I pass, I'll lay off the bullying, and maybe we can be friends."
Thomas sensed something was amiss. "How do I know you'll really stop pushing me around?"
Harold smiled and politely said, "I really don't mean all the mean things I say and do. I'm sorry I was so rude before. If you help me out, I think we could really get along!"
Thomas was still a little puzzled. "O-o-okay, whatever you want," he stammered.
"Good," said Harold. I'll come to your house tonight to get started." Harold proceeded to walk off down the hallway.
Thomas still had a confused look on his face. "Something's up," he said. "I don't trust that Harold."
That night Harold showed up at Thomas' house for tutoring. Before long, Harold was asking questions about Thomas' science project, and Thomas showed him where he worked on his rocket. Harold knew what he would have to do. So the following night, when he returned to Thomas' for tutoring, he asked Thomas to fetch him a glass of water. While Thomas was in the kitchen, Harold escaped to Thomas' workroom, and stole the rocket. Thomas was none the wiser, and Harold successfully pretended that nothing happened, and made his way home with his prize.
The Science Fair was held the following day, and Harold set up his exhibit with pride, ready to accept the grand prize. Thomas walked by, and Harold smirked. "Good luck today," said Thomas calmly. "I hope your rocket does well!"
Harold was utterly confused. "Why are you so happy?" said Harold. "You don't even have a rocket now! There's no way you could have made another one overnight!"
Thomas flashed a sly smile and said, "we'll see about that."
Now Harold was a bit panicky, but still certain that he would win the grand prize, and Thomas would look foolish.
Now it came time for the demonstration of the rockets. Harold All the judges gathered round as Harold set off to launch his rocket into the sky. Harold began the countdown, "Ten... nine... eight..."
He pulled out the ignition switch and hit the shiny red button as he counted "one." The crowd held their breath, but nothing happened. Harold looked at the ignition switch puzzled. He smashed the button repeatedly until, all of a sudden, the rocket let out a rising whizzing noise that climaxed with the rocket exploding into flames.
"NO!" cried Harold as the judges and onlookers all laughed.
Thomas walked up and pulled another rocket out of his backpack. "Let me show you how it's done," he said, hitting the ignition switch. In a bright flash, the rocket sped through the sky high into the clouds. The judges cheered and applauded, and Thomas was announced the winner of the Science Fair grand prize.
"How did you do it?!" Harold screamed at Thomas.
Thomas replied, "I knew something was amiss when you started asking questions about my rocket. You have never shown an interest in science before, and so I figured you were planning on sabotaging my science project. I replaced the rocket I showed you with a dummy, and I armed it to explode when you tried to launch it."
Now the judges heard what had happened, and Harold was disqualified, and made to repeat the eighth grade as his punishment. Thomas went on to become the head scientist at NASA. The End.


Photo Proton Zvezda from NASA, found on Wikimedia, here. I chose this photo because the rocket launch is the point in the story where our protagonist prevails victorious against the evil antagonist.

Author's Note: Thomas and Harold is based on the Cherokee Myths about the clever trickster rabbit and the cunning terrapin. In the stories How the Rabbit Stole the Otter's Coat and Why the Possum's Tail is Bare the rabbit is depicted as a thief who tricks other animals with his cunning and wit. In the story of How the Terrapin Beat the Rabbit, however, the terrapin (tortoise) uses his wit to trick the rabbit into thinking he'd lost a race. In a true underdog tail, the tortoise outwits the clever hare. I modeled my modern-day take of a science fair conspiracy after these characters and events. I got the idea for the Science Fair as a way to publicly humiliate the antagonist, just as the rabbit publicly humiliates the Possum in Why the Possum's Tail is Bare. I wanted to write a story in which the rabbit gets what's coming to him, and to demonstrate karma.

Bibliography: Story based on stories from Cherokee Myths Unit, Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney, found here.