The Sky is the Limit: Part Five

A loud, incessant knocking on the front door woke Harry the next morning. He covered his head with his pillow and groaned. "Go away! You know I don't like skydiving this early, Tila. And don't even think of dragging me out of my bed again, because I will personally shut your fingers in my window if you do," he shouted in annoyance.

     However, the pounding at the door continued, growing louder and more obnoxious by the second. "Alright already, I'm coming, I'm coming! You can stop that noise anytime," he said, unlocking his door and opening it.

     Anthony stood on the doorstep.

     Harry wanted to disappear into the floor and never be seen again. "I'm sorry, I thought it was somebody else. Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, slightly unnerved.

     "Actually there is. Would you be willing to teach the last of the six classes next Monday?" the Moach inquired.

     "But I thought--"

     "Yes, I know. I fired you. But I want to hire you again. If you can prove yourself, you may have more teaching jobs from me in the future. What do you say, my boy?" Anthony offered hopefully.

     "Of course! That is, if you really want me. I know I don't deserve this chance at all. In fact, why would you even offer me a second chance?" Harry asked.

     "Because a young Vernax reminded me of how he had been given a second chance as well, although he most certainly did not deserve it." Anthony responded, winking.

     "Darren? Darren asked you to give me another chance?" Harry was shocked. Although he knew Darren had become a responsible young Vernax, he had no idea how much his decision to let him rejoin the class had meant to him.

     "Yes, Darren approached me after class yesterday. I told him I would consider it, and I have, and here I am, offering you your job back. So, it's settled then? I'll see you on Monday?"

     "Definitely!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "Thank you so much, Tony!"

     Harry shut his door, a ridiculously huge grin plastered across his face.

     Grabbing an apple from the basket on the table, he ate it on his way out the door. He had to tell Tila right away!

     ***

     Tila was very happy for Harry when he told her the good news. "So, I guess this means we'd better get back in that plane and let you practice some stunning tricks to teach to your students on the last day of the class!"

     "Yeah! I want to try a few of the tricks from that book you loaned me. Do you still have it, so I can review them a bit before I attempt them?"

     The Cooty nodded, handing him a book from her shelf, and letting him skim through the pages.

     "I want to try this one," he informed her, pointing to one of the hardest tricks in the book. "And this one too," he said. After he had picked out a few various tricks, the two headed out to the plane, the skydiving manual under Harry's arm.

     "Do you think you can master these well enough before Monday?" Tila asked uncertainly.

     "I'm sure I can. After all, I've gotten this far. What are we waiting for? Let's go!" he said.

     ***

     Nearly all day every day that week, Harry and Tila were either up in the air, or on the ground rehearsing different bits and pieces of tricks. Harry would practice stretching before he went up in the air, to make sure he didn't injure anything when he attempted the tricks.

     When in the air, Harry would practice various flips and twists. Each time he tried, he improved, until finally, he could do all the tricks with ease, adding interesting moves of his own to his routine.

     ***

     On Monday, Harry and Tila both went to the skydiving class, arriving extra early. Tila was going to watch Harry from the ground and help the students take notes on the jump.

     "Hello Harry, how have you been?" Anthony greeted warmly when he saw him.

     "Great! I learned quite a few things last week, and I'm sure I can teach a few things to the students. If only this weren't the last class; there's so much to teach!" Harry said joyfully.

     "If you and the students do well today, I'm planning to continue with a more advanced class for them, and you can teach them more then. But for now, I'll see how well you do," Anthony said critically.

     When the students had all arrived, Harry got ready to jump, this time performing all of his fancy new tricks.

     Anthony took the plane up into the air, and when he was high enough, Harry took a deep breathe and exited the plane. Without panic, he succeeded in doing a barrel roll. He did a few more twists, spins, and flips, all without mistake. Finally, he released his parachute and glided to the target, landing right in the middle.

     The class applauded his performance, Tila loudest of all, and Harry smiled, taking a bow.

     "Now, which one of you wants to try first?" he asked.

     Everyone raised their hand, and the Mootix laughed. "Hmmm.... how about you, Darren?"

     After all the students had tried a simple trick, Anthony landed the plane.

     "Harry," Anthony said, in front of all the students. "You did an amazing job up there. I should've given you more credit than you did. You certainly are an aspiring young skydiver. Will you be willing to teach another class starting next month?" he asked.

     Harry nodded. "I'd like that."

     Anthony smiled. "Well then, it's settled. Anyone who wants to sign up for the next six week period, come talk to me."

     With that, a line formed, with all of the fifteen students, eager to learn more about skydiving as soon as they had a chance.

     Tila came up to Harry. "Congratulations Harry," she grinned. "I'm very proud to be your friend, especially now." She handed him a pile of letters.

     "What are they?" he asked.

     "They're letters from your students that they wrote while they were waiting their turn to skydive. Read them," she said.

     He unfolded one of the letters and began to read, his eyes moving back and forth across the paper:

Dear Harry,

     Thank you so much for being our teecher. I enjoyed it verry much, and I hope you can come back and teech us agin. I know we'd al love to have you!

Sinserely, Marawyn

     Harry smiled at the young Zytch's spelling and opened the next note:

Hey Harry,

     I had a totally awesome time in your class. Thanks so much for giving me a second chance! I would've missed out on some great opportunities if you hadn't. I hope you decide to come teach the next six classes! It'd be a blast!

Darren

     "Wow. I guess they really did appreciate me, didn't they?" Harry asked, grinning.

     "Of course they did!" Tila said.

     Anthony came up to Harry. "Here's the rest of your pay. Thank you so much for agreeing to teach the next class. I'll call you when I have everything set up, eh?"

     "That'd be great. Thanks!" Harry said.

     ***

     Since Harry had a few weeks on his hands, he decided to take up a new hobby for a while, and take a short break from skydiving. He was determined to learn to bungee jump, and he convinced Tila to learn with him.

     They hired an instructor for a day to teach them how to properly jump. After they had gone over a few things, Harry was the first one ready to try it out for himself.

     Harry's instructor helped him tie the ropes properly, and finally, Harry edged towards the end of the bridge, slightly nervous, and hoping not to hurt himself.

     As usual, a small crowd began to gather at the site of someone doing something unusual. However, Harry was not a bit nervous because of the audience he had.

     Taking a deep breath, Harry jumped, and felt himself plummeting quickly. The cord caught him, and he was hurled back up towards the bridge, then down again, like a yo-yo on a string. Finally, when he felt quite sick, he was done bouncing.

     When he got to the top of the bridge, he felt extremely dizzy. Bungee jumping was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for him, he was sure of that. After a few minutes, he regained his balance.

     Tila was next in line, and she shook with fear as she was hooked into many ropes by the instructor. She jumped off the bridge, and all the breath in her body left her when she fell. She wanted badly to scream in horror, but the lack of air didn't allow her to do so.

     Finally, she too was safely back on the bridge again, still shaking. When she had finally recovered (which took much longer for her than it did for Harry), she stood up and smiled fretfully, her face very pale.

     After a few minutes, an older Lady Blurg approached her and Harry. "I saw you two perform, and I think you both did a great job. A couple of friends and I want to learn to bungee jump. Do you think it would be possible to give us some lessons?"

     Harry and Tila looked at each other and burst out laughing.

     "I'm sorry Miss--" Harry started, but couldn't say anymore because he was laughing so hard. "Oohoohahahaheee!"

     Tila continued for him. "We can't. I'm sure that--" she said, sides shaking with violent laughter.

     "That instructor over there can help... hahaheeee," Harry cackled, still laughing hard.

     "Well, I never. Young people these days... they're so rude!" the Lady Blurg murmured, walking off to talk to the instructor.

     Harry and Tila glanced at each other, remembering all that had happened, and they just kept laughing.

     And laughing...

     and laughing...

THE END