Brilliant: Book One of the StarCruiser Brilliant Series

by Rick Lakin

  “What time?” Jennifer asked.

  “Eleven a.m. at the Calabasas Tennis Club.”

  “That works. Can you pick me up?”

  “Sixteen, no license and no car,” Tayla said.

  “Monday. I'll have a license, but I'll still have to bum rides.”

  “And, as your best friend and tennis partner, I shall provide them.”

  “You’re the best, Tay. My new life starts Tuesday.”

  “Don’t fall on your butt when you see David.”

  “You won’t let me forget.”

  “Not in this lifetime.”

  “Close the holo.”

  Jennifer thought back to the first time that she and Tayla met….

  Nine Years Earlier

  Jennifer’s mom was not a tennis mom so Jennifer entered the Ten-and-Under Girls Tennis Camp at the Calabasas Tennis Center alone. The camp was for beginners through advanced junior players. Jennifer avoided the girls who looked like they were in a group. She knew that girls at this age formed cliques. She wanted to find someone who knew what she was doing, and with whom she could become friends.

  Jennifer was assigned to the beginner group, and the girls were practicing forehands. Jennifer concentrated on her shots until she heard a distinct pop from the advanced court. The beginner girls turned to look. On the next court over, she saw a tall Latina girl hit the ball again. POP. Her coach was almost unable to return it.

  On Jennifer’s court, the coach was ready to change the routine. “Okay, girls, you’ve got the basic form of a forehand. Remember racket preparation. You’re going to have to chase these next balls.” Jennifer was the youngest girl in the group but also the tallest. From experience, Jennifer knew that this was a recipe for disaster or, at least, a lot of laughing and teasing.

  The first girl got a wide ball. She chased but gave up. So did the second girl. The third girl was able to pursue the ball and get a racket on it, but the return went wide. Jennifer was fourth, and she was determined to get the ball back. The coach delivered a soft volley just inside the doubles line. Jennifer cross-stepped to get the fastest start. She opened up and prepared her racket as she took two more steps. Her swing was textbook, and the ball went straight down the line and deep. Then Jennifer lost her footing. It was only because she turned her head to follow the ball that she didn't do a classic face plant. She was spread eagle, and her court mates were laughing hilariously.

  It had been a week since Tayla Mendoza moved from the Valley of the Sun to the valley of tennis divas. In Phoenix, she was the top nine-year-old on the courts. She knew she would have to prove herself again to get to the top against much stiffer competition.

  Earlier that morning, Tayla was assigned to a beginner group. Starting with the forehand, the instructor taught the girls how to grip the racket, prepare the swing, swing from low to high, and how to follow through to be ready for the next shot.

  The instructor asked the girls to practice together without a ball. He said, “Good form, Tayla.”

  “Line up on the back line.” He hit soft volleys from the net. One girl missed altogether, one hit the ball, but it went wild. The third girl thought she was lucky when she hit the ball across the net.

  Tayla went last. Her form was graceful, but powerful. But the sound when she struck the ball. POP. In an instant, the shot was low across the net, and the surprised young instructor was unprepared when it struck the direct center of his belt buckle.

  The instructor recovered and said, “Tayla, I don’t think you belong here.” He then took her to join the advanced group.

  Tayla was getting into the pace of the clinic. Between balls, she glanced at the beginner group on the next court over. As expected, the play on that court was not serious and not competent, except for one tall girl with crimson hair whose attention was riveted on the instructor and the ball. Still, Tayla could see that she was the youngest member of the group.

  Tayla attacked the next forehand with a satisfying pop. The instructor said, “Good shot, Pop Girl.”

  On the beginner court, Tayla noticed the tall girl chasing a wide ball into the alley. Good first step. Good racket preparation. Good swing. Perfect placement. OUCH!

  Tayla ran over to help Jennifer and saw her court mates making fun and pointing. “Why are you laughing? She’s the youngest girl out here. She went after that ball harder than any of you, and she made a perfect shot. In a couple of weeks, this girl is going to be on the advanced court. Who’re you going to laugh at then?” Pop Girl reached a hand out and helped Jennifer up. “I’m Tayla.”

  “I’m Jennifer.”

  “Wanna hit some balls after clinic?”

  “Sure.”

  “Later.”

  Tayla went back to the advanced court, and Jennifer continued on her own court, but she stood taller and played with much more confidence. The eight-year-old mean girls ignored her for the rest of the day.

  Jennifer finished a few minutes early and watched the tall, experienced tennis player who helped her up. Tayla had a nice racket, but unlike the valley girls, it was well-worn. She wasn't dressed tennis cute but more like someone going to work. After Tayla finished, Jennifer approached the Latina who looked to be about a year older but only a little bit taller. “Thanks for helping me. It's my first day, and I'm new to tennis.”

  “I'm new to the valley, but I'm not new to tennis. I'd love to hit with you after clinic; I'll probably be in the advanced group during instruction.”

  “That works. Maybe you can show me a few things,” Jennifer said.

  “Sure, if you will admit to being the first person in the valley that I know,” Tayla said.

  The camp ended at three p.m. Jennifer’s mother came to pick her up and found the two new friends sitting together.

  Jennifer said, “Hi, Mom, this is Tayla Mendoza. She's excellent at tennis.”

  Sheila said, “It's nice to see that Jennifer has found a friend. I'm Sheila Gallagher. Is your mom coming soon?”

  Tayla said, “She’ll be here at five.

  “Her job?” Sheila asked.

  “My mom is looking for a job. We just moved here from Arizona. Jennifer is my first friend in the valley,” Tayla said. “My dad's an airplane designer. He works at some company in the valley that has a strange name like some smelly animal.”

  “SkunkWorks?” Sheila asked.

  “That’s it.”

  “Two hours is too long for a nine-year-old to wait alone,” Sheila said. “Why don’t you call her and let me talk to her. If she says yes, you can come and spend the time at our house.”

  “That would be cool.” Tayla grabbed her phone out of her bag and called her mom. “Mom, tennis camp is over, and my new friend’s mom wants me to come to their house for a couple of hours. She wants to talk to you.” She handed the phone to Sheila.

  “Hello, this is Sheila Gallagher. Apparently, our daughters have become good friends. Tayla was waiting alone so I figured she might want to spend the rest of the afternoon at our house.”

  “I’m Ana Mendoza. That's very generous of you Sheila. If you text me your address, I'll be there as soon as I finish my job interview.”

  “I'll have coffee on, and we can chat,” Sheila said and then finished the call.

  Ana arrived later, and the two moms discussed the challenges of being working mothers.

  Sheila asked, “I heard that you are job-hunting. What are your skills?”

  Ana said, “I worked my way through Arizona State working as a legal secretary with an aerospace firm while my husband worked as an aerospace engineer. I have now graduated as a paralegal, but there aren’t that many jobs here in the valley for new graduates.”

  “Are you willing to work in the entertainment industry? I'm the general counsel at GGG Production Services, and we are expanding to provide legal services to more of our clients.”

  Sheila explained the kind of work that her firm did, and Ana talked about her qualifications.

  “Let me send you my résum
é and references. Could I come in for an interview?” Ana asked.

  Sheila replied, “Yes and no. Yes on the résumé and references and no on the interview because we just did it. And, if your references check out, you can start on Monday after you've had time to settle in to the valley.”

  “It would be an honor and thank you so much,” Ana said.

  “Ana, it’ll be great to have you at GGG. You’ll find that our company is very friendly to work, family, and school.”

  “Tayla, it’s time to go. And good news, Ms. Gallagher has offered me a job!” They said their goodbyes and the Mendozas headed for home.

  From there, the friendship between Jennifer and Tayla grew, and they shared their obsessions. Jennifer learned about tennis, acting, and dancing and Tayla learned about StarCruiser Brilliant.

  The Tennis camp lasted five weeks from nine to three. Jennifer and Tayla spent all their free time together from the moment they first met at tennis camp. One day they were hitting after the lessons ended. Tayla said, “You are getting pretty good and I need a partner for doubles. They are having a camp tournament the last two days, and I'm entering singles. If you come with me, I'll also enter doubles.”

  “That sounds fun. Are you sure that I won’t hold you back?” Jennifer asked.

  “Singles for me is serious. Doubles with you should be fun.”

  Over the last few sessions, they worked with a coach who taught them doubles technique, and they played some sets against other campers. Tayla was junior championship quality, but Jennifer struggled to hit the ball accurately. She was starting to learn the importance of being in the right place at the right time, though. The tournament started on the next to the last session day. “Remember to watch me when you're in the back and listen when you're at the net. Keep your racket up for volleys and let’s kick some valley butt,” Tayla said.

  “If we win, it's all you. I'll do the best I can to help.”

  Tayla and Jennifer were seeded second because of Tayla, so their first opponents were weaker and still learning doubles in the one-set match. Jennifer couldn't hold serve on two games but Tayla and Jennifer worked well for the other six, and they won their first match, 6-2.

  Tayla said, “One down, two to go. Our next match is after lunch at one. My first singles match is at eleven.”

  “You'll be busy today. Can you win four matches today?” Jennifer asked.

  “I'm seeded three in singles, so it's easy pickin’s today. Tomorrow, I'll have the single semis and two finals. Let’s steal a court and hit some balls. I want to show you how to do a kick serve,” Tayla said.

  Throughout the summer, Tayla had been helping not only Jennifer but some of the other beginners during their free time.

  “As bad as my serve is, it might make sense for me to kick the ball over the net,” Jennifer confessed.

  Tayla laughed, “No, Jen, the kick means that the ball kicks up in front of the returner because you put the right topspin on it.”

  “That sounds difficult,” Jennifer said.

  “It's one of the hardest shots in tennis, but I haven’t seen anyone at this camp that can handle a decent kick serve.”

  “Besides you.”

  “Besides me. And even if I get a return, it gives me a nice put-away at the net.”

  “Tell me what do,” Jennifer said.

  Tayla explained to Jennifer how to set her feet, how to rotate her hips and then, “The key is in your wrist. When you bring the racket up over your head, you bend your wrist and point the racket toward the ground. If you do it right, the racket brushes upward on the ball and gives it a lot of topspin. When it lands in front of the returner, the ball kicks up high. The returner either hits it long, soft, or misses it altogether. Either way, we win the point.”

  Tayla demonstrated several times slowly, then at full speed. “You try it.”

  Jennifer tried three times and missed the ball altogether. “Ouch, this is hard.”

  “It’s all about timing and building muscle memory.”

  "I have lots of memory in my brain," Jennifer touched her head. "But muscle memory, not so much."

  Tayla smiled, “We have another twenty minutes. That’s sixty serves. Keep at it.” Hard work and Tayla’s good coaching started to pay off. By the time they finished, Jennifer was able to hit one successful serve out of three.

  Disappointed, Jennifer said, “That’s not going to win any games today.”

  Tayla encouraged, “Probably not, but we'll win all my service games, and the girls we are playing next don’t serve well either. I have to go. My first singles match is on Court 5.”

  Jennifer watched her friend dominate the weaker opponent. Tayla put up a bagel, winning 6-0. The girls in the camp began talking about the sound made when Tayla’s racket met the ball. Sitting in the stands, Jennifer joined the other girls as they called “Pop!” when Tayla connected. The sound of her shots drew so many spectators that by the end of her match, Tayla had the loudest gallery.

  Jennifer and Tayla’s lunch table got busy as even the ten-year-olds stopped by to talk to nine-year-old Tayla.

  Their opponents in the semifinal were stronger than their first opponents.

  “Jen, don’t worry about your serve, just practice the kick. We can beat these two on their serves. Your kick will be there tomorrow when we need it,” Tayla said. Again, Tayla dominated on her serve, and again Jennifer lost two service games. As predicted, their opponents weren't strong servers. They only held one game; Jennifer and Tayla advanced, winning 6-3.

  “Congrats, Pardner, we're in the finals,” Tayla said, as they hugged before they walked to the net for the handshakes. “I'm up again on Court 7 in a few minutes.”

  Jennifer watched the singles round of eight, Tayla again faced a weak opponent. She struggled with one service game, but with her excellent defense, she still advanced to the semis, winning 6-1. Jennifer was amazed that Tayla drew the biggest crowd, all of whom shouted “Pop!” every time Tayla connected. Even after two previous matches, Tayla was gaining strength with her enthusiastic support.

  The girls' mothers had coordinated car-pooling for Jennifer and Tayla, and on the ride home with Sheila, Tayla said, “Tomorrow may be tough for both of us. We face Rena and Chrissie Dale in doubles, and I'll probably face both in singles. They were runner-up and champion in the Under-Ten Valley Juniors tournament this past spring.”

  Sheila said, “Your mom and I are taking the afternoon off. Would you two like to go to the beach? They reconstructed a section of Malibu beach twenty feet higher.”

  Both girls screamed, “Yes!”

  Tayla said, “I have never been to a real ocean beach. In Phoenix, we had the sand but not the sea.”

  Jennifer replied, “You'll love it. I will bring both of my boogie boards.”

  It was a warm and wonderful Malibu beach afternoon after Tennis Camp. Jennifer and Tayla consumed hot dogs and sunscreen in almost equal volume. Jennifer relished the four-foot waves, and the athletic Tayla quickly established mastery as a boogie board surfer.

  Sheila asked Ana, “Have you enrolled Tayla in school for the fall yet?”

  “My husband and I have been looking at reasonable private schools. Tayla is good at math, and I want her to attend a school where there's a quality program for the gifted. Some of the really high-end schools are out of our range.”

  “Have you looked at Warner? Jennifer loves it there,” Sheila said.

  “We looked at Warner, at least the price tag," Ana said. “If it's good as the tuition, it's probably the best in the valley. It's way beyond what we can afford.”

  “Ana, my grandfather was one of the founders of Warner Academy. I went there shortly after it opened. It's the best school in SoCal. GGG has always had a seat on the board, and we provide generous scholarships to GGG employees.”

  Ana Mendoza said, “In that case, let me call Steven and confirm. We share important decisions like this.” Ana got her phone out, walked up the beach and came back a few minute
s later. “Sheila, Steven is very excited and appreciative. We look forward to having Tayla at Warner this fall.”

  Sheila replied, “Then we have some good news for the girls.”

  When the girls came back up the beach for a sugar fix, Ana said, “Girls, Ms. Gallagher has some news.”

  “Jennifer, would you like to have a good friend at school this fall?” Sheila asked.

  Jennifer’s eyes got huge, “Really! Cool!”

  Tayla looked confused, “What’s going on?”

  Ana smiled and said, “Tayla, you are going to join Jennifer at Warner Academy this fall.”

  The girls screamed and hugged.

  Sheila said, “Ladies, there's way too much sun in the sky for my fair Irish skin. Let’s head home and let our future tennis champions relax.”

  On Friday morning at her usual five a.m. wake-up time, Jennifer logged in as Jenna Seldon and checked in with her Math Tutor. “Good Morning, Srinivasa.”

  “Good Morning, Miss Jenna,” Srinivasa Ramanujan was the artificial intelligence avatar modeled after the Indian math whiz. “Last session, you finished up Pre-Algebra. Are you ready to move on to High School Algebra?”

  “Yes, where do we start?” Jennifer asked.

  “We'll start with equations and expressions,” Srini said with the typical head nodding, and mouth closed accent that Jennifer knew to be part of his Indian heritage.

  For the next hour, Srini explained a concept, let Jennifer practice each part, and then gave her problems. Periodically, Srini competed with Jenna in instructive games that built on the current topic and integrated previous learning. Jenna and Srini even manipulated concrete objects in the air.

  “Srini, you always let me win,” Jenna complained.

  Srinivasa replied, “I am a computer, and you are a child.”

  “Don’t let me win.”

  “If I try as hard as I can, I'll always win,” Srinivasa said.