They stood
on top of the Physics building. The six story overlooked much of the campus,
including the gymnasium and the pool.
A hand went
up in the gathered throng, nearly sixty students, and the professors’ wives.
“I’m a
little concerned about the wind from this elevation.” Michael was one of Eric
Stubens’s Advanced Physics students. “Will we be able to correctly fly with so
much weight?”
Alex
stepped aside to let his colleague field the answer. After all, my area of expertise is history.
“We’ve had
our practice runs with an equivalent amount of weight, but the wind is a
factor. We’ll wait until the breeze is at its lowest ebb,” Eric assured him.
“Now, physics
students,” Alex announced, “ready your controls. History students arm the
planes and prepare for launch.
The history
students opened up the ice chests full of ice water and water balloons. The
balloons had chilled nicely. Fully inflated they were about the size of a vine-grown
tomato. They loaded four of the balloons into a specially deisgned bay on the
bottom of the planes. When loaded, the physics students started up the motor on
the plane. The history students hurled them into the air.
“All right
everyone,” Alex said, handling the controls to his own plane next to Eric who
had his specially rigged bomber with a dozen balloons, “aim for the hovering
quadrotor and wait for my mark to begin your bombing run. We are taking out
Pearl Harbor at all costs.”
The planes
began their high-flying run, the sound dropped to a low buzz at that altitude.
When they reached the quadrotor, Alex gave the mark. As one all the planes went
into a steep power dive, just as Japanese Zeroes would do, then they began
emptying their bomb bays onto the swimmers below.
Mass panic
ensued as the balloons delivered their ice water ordnance. Swimmers panicked,
attempting to find cover from the onslaught of nearly one hundred and fifty
water balloons.
The
lifeguards blew their whistles in vain as people ran, the shrieks from the
students at the pool reaching all the way to the top of the science tower while
the quadrotor and three other students at strategic points around the pool
videotaped the chaos.
They
brought all the planes back in, securing them and congratulating one another on
a successful attack.
“I think we
can call this a successful reenactment of Pearl Harbor,” Alex smiled.
“Assignments are due Monday. Class dismissed.”