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Chapter 46: It’s Hard to Say Goodbye

Kara waited in the office while her parents spent forty-five minutes in the conference room with her teachers. She tried hard not to listen in, but it was difficult with her name being mentioned so frequently. It drew her attention every time. As did the occasional laughter.

The office was a dull place to wait. She’d looked for something to read but there wasn’t anything to be found. She’d spent twenty minutes bored stiff before it occurred to her that something didn’t have to be in the same room for her to read it.

After that she’d started browsing books and magazines in the school library, and had been surprised to discover an issue of Current Events with herself on the cover. Twice: the cover was split, with the left side showing Supergirl and the right side Kara as herself. The headline read, “Sixth Grade Superhero.”

She was still reading the article — it was a bit tricky figuring out how to read the back sides of pages — when she heard the parent-teacher conference breaking up; she pulled her vision back to the office. A moment later the door to the conference room opened and her parents came out, followed by her teachers. Everyone was smiling; she hoped that was a good sign.

“Am I going to class now?” she asked.

Her parents looked to Mr. Kroum, who shook his head. “No Kara, we have a special assembly this morning.”

Everyone was grinning. That couldn’t be a good sign.



Kara’s suspicions were confirmed when Ms. Frye led her family up onto the stage of the auditorium instead of seating them with her classmates. Kara sat on a folding chair between her parents. The other students filed into the auditorium and took their seats; it seemed to take forever. Kara’s eyes widened when she noticed that many of the kids were wearing Superman T-shirts.

Ms. Frye stepped to the podium. “Students and staff of Milford Middle School, we’re here this morning for two reasons. We have a distinguished guest speaker today, a world leader of the kind who doesn’t often pass through our town. We’re very fortunate that he’s willing to give a talk to all of you, one that I think you’ll find interesting. He’s also agreed to answer questions at the end.

“But before we get to that, we’re also here to say goodbye to someone.”

Oh no, thought Kara, and her heart began to pound. Her father put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it.

“She has a fast arm and an equally quick wit, and has led the eighth grade girls’ fast-pitch team to many a victory. Caitlin Jordan, would you please stand up?”

Kara sighed slightly in relief, as Caitlin stood up in the first row, her face a solemn mask.

“We’re all sorry to see you go, Caitlin, especially since we know it’s under unfortunate circumstances. We’ve had students move away before, but never quite this far. It really is where no one has gone before, at least not from this world. We all wish you and Emily every happiness in your new home. Everyone, please give a big Milford Middle School farewell to Caitlin Jordan. We will miss you.”

The kids all applauded and cheered, and Kara applauded and cheered right along with them. Caitlin’s face screwed up as she tried, unsuccessfully, not to cry.

After a time, the applause died down, and Caitlin took her seat again. Ms. Frye continued, “Oh that’s right, there is another student we have to say goodbye to…”

All the kids laughed, and Kara ducked her head.

“She’s only been a student here for nine weeks, but I trust you’ll agree with me that she’s had an impact on this school. And I’m not talking about the bodyguards and the swarms of reporters.”

The kids laughed again, while Kara’s face reddened.

“Even before we knew that Supergirl was a student here, she was setting an example for all of us. She selflessly gives of her time and abilities to help where she can. I think it’s clear that she’s following in her father’s footsteps in showing how great power can be used to serve humanity rather than oppress it.”

Kara was staring at her shoes.

“We usually wait until the end of the school year for this, but the teachers agree unanimously that this year’s Hugh Everett Award for Student Compassion and Community Service can go to only one student.” Ms. Frye smiled. “Kara Kent, would you please join me at the podium?”

Kara got to her feet as everyone applauded; her parents looked on, beaming. She walked over to join the Principal.

Ms. Frye pulled a plaque out of the lectern, and held it so Kara could see. It was engraved with the school insignia, the title of the award, and her name; beneath, it read “For Service to All Humankind.”

“This award is not just a symbol of the good you’ve done for humanity. We also hope that when you’re far, far away from Milford, it will serve as a reminder of your time here. We hope you will not forget us. We will certainly never forget you.”

Ms. Frye handed her the plaque, and Kara’s eyes started to leak. “Thank you, Ms. Frye,” she said, her voice thick. “I won’t forget.”

Ms. Frye smiled fondly. “You’re very welcome, dear.” She turned to the audience again. “Everyone, please join me in letting Kara know how we feel.”

There was a thunderous cheer, and all the students jumped to their feet, applauding and whistling. Kara wanted to run and hide, and her face was bright red, but she forced herself to look out over the audience as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her hearing led her to three heartbeats in particular, and she saw Bailey, Megan, and Kevin standing and applauding with the rest of them. Their eyes met, and they communicated without words.

Ms. Frye let the applause continue for a minute, then motioned for everyone to be seated. She shook Kara’s hand. “Thank you, Kara. We all wish you the best of luck at your own school.”

Kara nodded uncertainly; she was sure she’d need it.

“Could you please take your seat again?”

Kara nodded again, and went back to sit between her parents. Her mother put an arm around her and hugged her lightly.

“We’re so proud of you,” whispered her mom, so quietly that only she and her father could hear. Kara’s face continued to burn.

“And now, I’d like to introduce our speaker. Through a very strange series of events he’s a Milford Middle School parent, though one we certainly never expected to have in our community. I asked him if he would be willing to speak to you all about some of the things he’s learned in life, and he’s agreed. Please join me in welcoming Kara’s father, Mr. Clark Kent, also known as Superman.”



“Thank you very much for speaking today… umm… Superman? Mr. Kent?”

They were standing in the otherwise empty auditorium, the rest of the students and staff having returned to class. Clark was currently in his Superman uniform, simply because one of the first questions after his talk had come from a skeptical eighth grader: “Are you really Superman?”

After an apologetic glance at Kara, who’d closed her eyes, Clark had answered by demonstration, spinning into his uniform to the enthusiastic cheers and whistles of all the students. He hadn’t changed back.

“Either is fine, Ms. Frye, and you’re very welcome. Your students asked some really good questions.”

“It was fascinating to hear your perspective. From the Superman stories here, I would have thought you spent all your time fighting outlandish villains of one kind or another. I was surprised to hear how much international diplomacy and charitable work you do.”

Clark and Lois looked at each other. Lois answered, “Superman is a symbol who’s come to mean a lot to the people of our world. And the trust he’s built has allowed him to help in ways that don’t involve superpowers.” She smiled.

“I know you inspired some young minds today,” said Ms. Frye. She sighed. “I wish we had a symbol like that here.” She looked to Kara and smiled. “Though your daughter was doing a good job while she was here. Even with all the horrible politics, no one ever dared to attack her personally.”

Kara’s smile turned to a blush, and she looked down.

Lois smiled. “We’re very proud of her and of our other children.” She turned somber. “And we have a friend who likes to help worlds that could use it. We’ll be sure to tell him about this one. Speaking of which…” she looked between Clark and Kara, “I think it’s high time we went home, don’t you?”

Ms. Frye nodded. “Kara, do you want to say goodbye to your friends?”

Kara shook her head. “I already said goodbye to them earlier, Ms. Frye.” She did not mention that she’d see them again when they left in the time machine. “Ms. Frye?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Thank you for letting me come to school here even with all the crazy stuff. I really liked it.” She hesitated, but Ms. Frye held her arms open, and they hugged.

“You’re very welcome, Kara. Good luck to you.”

Clark smiled. “Sweetheart, why don’t you change into your uniform since we’ll be flying back to the house with Caitlin?”

Kara nodded; she blurred backstage and out again dressed as Supergirl. They filed up the aisle and out the doors, intending to head to Caitlin’s classroom, but stopped in the hall.

Every classroom doorway was open, and students crowded the hall. They started cheering, whistling, and clapping again.

Kara blushed profusely, but tried to keep her head high as they resumed walking. Student after student called out goodbyes as they passed. Kara’s eyes grew wet, but she had a smile on her face, and called out her goodbyes in return.

They stopped by Caitlin’s classroom, and she joined them as they walked down the hallway towards the front door, the students still cheering them on. Robin Gilbert walked with Caitlin for the last time.

They emerged on the front steps of the school to a wall of reporters and cameras. The reporters were shouting questions, but they were ignored.

Lois moved into Clark’s embrace. “Are you ready, girls?” she asked.

“Just a second,” replied Caitlin, and she and Kara looked back into the school for a long moment. She turned to Robin. “Thank you, Robin, for watching over me.”

Robin smiled sadly. “You’re welcome, Miss Jordan. Best of luck to you.”

Caitlin and Kara put an arm around each other, and the four of them lifted quietly into the air, leaving Milford Middle School behind.



After saying their goodbyes to Fred Douglas and his staff, they’d moved back to the Tongs’ home in secret.

Clark and Kara had brought Emily and Caitlin to Wilmington for a prearranged meeting with Judge Quinn. Clark and Emily both felt that the judge needed to give approval for what they were planning to do.

After a short, impromptu hearing, Judge Quinn agreed to grant custody of Caitlin to Emily, provided Clark kept an eye on them for the next six months and made sure they were thriving in their new home. He was to bring them back if there was a problem during that time. Clark had readily agreed as he intended to watch over them anyway.

Now they were all back from Wilmington, and all that remained was to load up the time machine and wait for Kara’s friends to arrive home to say goodbye.

Kara’s feelings were an unsettling mixture of anguish at leaving her friends behind and longing to see home again. Her parents were with her now, but she missed her brother and sister and the rest of her extended family terribly. She hoped she could see them all right away. At the same time, she didn’t want to leave her friends here. She felt all jumbled up.

Emily sat with Caitlin and Lois on the Tongs’ sofa. She felt strange, almost like she was adrift between worlds. Now that they were leaving this one she surprised herself by being impatient to go. She was impatient to see what the two of them were getting themselves into. Most of all, she was impatient to get their lives back to a semblance of normality, even though it was ironic that she had to live in Superman’s world to lead a normal life.

Clark had all their belongings collected. He put his hand on Kara’s arm. “Sweetheart, can you give me a hand carrying all this stuff out to the garage? I think we can make it in one trip if you help.”

Lois grinned. “Is it too heavy for Superman?”

Clark laughed. “Even Superman has only two hands, and some of this stuff is loose.”

Kara laughed too. “Sure, Dad.”

They carried the backpacks and other items down the hallway to the Tong’s garage; Caitlin trailed along out of curiosity. “There’s not really enough room to set all this down inside, so let’s put it down in the hallway. Once I have the tarp off you can pass stuff in to me while I load up. OK?”

“OK!”

Kara followed her dad into the garage and watched expectantly as he pulled off the tarp. She hadn’t seen it yet, and thought a real time machine had to be awesome.

What they found was a collection of cardboard boxes.

Kara squinted at her dad. “The time machine… isn’t like the one in Calvin and Hobbes, is it?”

He sighed. “No, it’s not.”