Self-Review – The New Kid

Let’s Look at The New Kid

It’s no wonder why a lot of pilot episodes of series will have someone meeting everyone. It’s a natural way to get in exposition. Writing about a new kid is nothing new. And so, I figured I would give it a whirl.

I wrote this story during the first quarter of 2024.

Background for The New Kid

To introduce, perhaps, a whole new universe, what better way to do so than with a student exchange program?

Plot for The New Kid

Class stoner Charline (Charlie) Mahoney is chosen to represent all of Earth’s students in a cultural exchange program with an alien species, the Alphans.

As the only human on their planet, she has to navigate a world where she’s an ambassador with neither portfolio nor training.

Complicating matters are the facts that the Alphans have three genders, and bullies target Charlie at school.

But Charlie’s resilient, and just might come out of the experience better than anyone would have a right to expect.

Characters

Human characters are Charline Mahoney and Karen Perfetti (she’s the chaperone for Charline’s counterpart, Moonshine). I mention her parents, but I don’t think I ever name them.

The translating program gives the Alphans random nouns, as their names are unpronounceable. Sometimes, the names are pretty amusing, and sometimes they seem to be conferring value judgments.

Alphan characters include Moonshine, Lantern, Generation, Alewife, Schooner, Digger, Toad, and Smoke.

Memorable Quotes

Moonshine asked me the weirdest question the other day in their letter: what’s a country?

And so, I could have been really flip about it, but I wanted to do the work (God, what the hell happened to the old stoner me?), so I pulled the definition out of an old encyclopedia. It basically just means a politically drawn area where people live.

But I also asked them: why do you want to know?

Their answer kind of freaked me out: we don’t have them.

Rating for The New Kid

The story has a K+ rating. Charline gets into a fight and some of her language isn’t the kind of stuff you hear at tea parties.

Takeaways for The New Kid

So, I like Charline (Charlie), and I think she’s got some potential. But I’m not so sure where and when I can add to her overall story. So, I am hoping I can find a way to bring this somewhat reformed stoner back.

Oh and note: this isn’t the only story where I use a translator program that ascribes weird words when an alien one can’t be pronounced or readily understood. Another such story is Alien Allies.

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