The camera drones were coming back online, the crowd at the beach cheered as the images came back on the screen. June jumped excitedly screaming "Rufus! Rufus look Sammy has the flag!" 

But Rufus was skeptical and looked down at his computer screen.

He then turned to a larger screen positioned over the beach that was showing Kenneth's score and progress. Kenneth's friends were cheering and giving high fives all around. 

They could see that Kenneth also had a flag.

"How come they both have a flag?" June asked but Rufus grinned and replied.

"There is only one flag in a one versus one game," He replied as he reached into his bag and pulled out his rule book for Droneflag knowing that he may soon be needing it.

Everybody at the beach turned to the finish line. It was made up of a group of drones with lights on top. There were four of these placed in a rectangular formation to make a finish line that the players had to pass through with the flag in order to win the game.

There was also a fifth drone that hovered over the goal that usually contained a trophy or a medal for the winner.

Sam was in the lead. He passed through the drones with great speed and halted his hover bike immediately. He jumped off and waved the flag yelling "Whoo hoo I did it!"

But something was wrong.

Sam noticed that everyone was silent and some of the other kids where giving him strange looks. Sam realized the sirens which were supposed to sound when he passed them with the winning flag had not gone off. He stopped to investigate why the drones did not detect he had passed through them with the flag.

"I believe this could be an elaborate deception," Rufus stated.

He walked towards Sam with his rule book in his hand which he started waving. Rufus was slightly overweight and would not run very often but suddenly Rufus started running towards Sam followed closely by June. They had both noticed that Kenneth was barrelling towards the finish line while Sam was still in the way.

"Duck Sammy!" June stopped to yell with worry in her voice. Rufus jumped on Sam and pushed him out of the way. They both quickly hit the ground as Kenneth sped through the finish line. The drone's lights and sirens went off "Winner,Winner!" A recorded voice said on the speakers as Sam was down in the dirt with his flag in his hand looking very confused. 

Rufus helped Sam up and as he was brushing the dirt off of his baggy sweat shirt and jeans Rufus had taken the flag from Sam's hand for a closer look.

"Just as I have speculated. There's no pass chip on this flag it's a decoy!" Rufus said confidently.

"I will consult my rule book," Rufus said with book in hand. 

The other children cheered Kenneth lifting him in the air as the drones repeated the words "Winner!" continuously.

Kenneth spotted Rufus with his rule book and jumped away from the crowd and walked towards him. With his hands grasping the rule book Rufus was determined to find something to help his friend. Rufus did not notice Kenneth approaching him until he felt a yank from his hands as the book was pried from them and thrown into a nearby bush.

"Well I won Sam! Looks like I will be this year's minor league Droneflag team leader over this entire region," Kenneth said to Sam who was both unhappy and confused with how he had lost the game.

"Don't look so glum! I'm not letting you on my team but you and your friends can try out next year!" Kenneth said and laughed.

"You mean we can't play for a whole nother year?" June contested.

"Yes!" Kenneth replied. 

"You guys are rejects!" he laughed. 

"What's reject mean?" June asked Rufus. 

"I uhh It means that we are disqualified Juniper," Rufus explained before jumping into the bush to search for where Kenneth had thrown his rule book.

"But we didn't even get to try out?!" June yelled in reply to Rufus.

"What did you do to the cameras Ken? What was that flashing thing that you used?" Sam yelled.

As he confronted Kenneth the other children began to crowd around them.

"I have no idea what you are talking about?" Kenneth replied innocently.

"I think you took a hard hit to your head," Gesturing at the paint on Sam's Toque.

Kenneth's facial expression changed to an expression of malice. 

"Lets have a look!" Kenneth said reaching towards and pulling off Sam's toque.

Everyone in the group of children that had circled around Sam and Kenneth was shocked at what they had seen. Some of the girls in the group that were moments before cheering Kenneth's win were now screaming.  

 "Freaky!" One of Kenneth's friends exclaimed.

All eyes were on Sam Gusterson's ears. They appeared to be deformed and were slightly pointy with wrinkled grey skin.

"Oh. . . I think I just saw them move. . . . Ewww!" One of the girls said.

When the children looked closer it caused Sam to feel nervous and insecure about his appearance. He took a step back and looked around at all the eyes upon him. He was shocked that Kenneth would have the nerve to remove his toque.

"What is wrong with you?" Kenneth said. The other children joined in calling Sam a freak or alien. Sam regained his composure and replied "There's nothing wrong with me!" Sam grabbed his toque back and placed it on his head.

"Why were there two flags Ken?" Sam yelled.

"Are you calling me a cheater?" Kenneth said with a look of astonishment.

Kenneth looked around for the other children's approval and they all seemed to be siding with him. The other boys looked angry and the girls were still giving Sam a look of disgust.

"Let's get this party started!" Kenneth shouted as he turned to walk away.

Sam was upset over how the other children had just treated him but he did not want to show any sign of fear or shame. He maintained his calm attitude until he stepped on his hover bike and flew away.

Kenneth and his friends started their victory celebration on the beach and left June by herself scowling and shaking her fist at Kenneth's back while it was turned.

"I have consulted with the rule book everyone!" Rufus jumped out of the bush and yelled. He had important information to share but was stunned to see only June was standing there.

 "Where did Samuel go?" Rufus asked June. 

She finished shaking her fist at Kenneth and pointed towards Sam who was flying off towards the distance.

"I know where he's going, we should give him some time," Rufus said.

Sam was alone for an hour, he was among nature surrounded by trees and a little pond. This was his special place on his grandfather's property.

It was situated along Lake Huron, adjacent to a beach and dunes. Sam's grandfather allowed him to take care of the pond and the dunes using special kits that were provided to young volunteers by the Ecosystem Restoration Foundation.

For Sam this place often brought him joy but this time he was sulking. 

He waved a device in the water that was used for cleaning contaminants. It had the words Proboflotter written on it which was a popular brand of advanced environmental cleaning devices.

Rufus and June landed nearby on the beach and walked through a path that they had made through the dune's beach grass. "Rufus! Rufus! Look someone made a big mess!" June said pointing at the dunes. "Shhhh Juniper I will notify Samuel but let us first ascertain his mood. . . Er his emotional well being or feelings if I must say," Rufus replied.

"He looks Sad! You talk to him first," June said.

"I must compliment you for what you've done with this place," Rufus shouted and laughed. Sam looked around and then back to Rufus. 

 "Hey Rufus," Sam said in a low voice but then he went back to sulking.

Rufus quickly realized he was not helping and he thought that maybe mentioning some chores that needed to be done would help get Sam's mind off what Kenneth had done.

"Samuel I have spotted an invasive species! Yes! Phragmites australis! It is creeping onto the property and I will have you know it is a threat to the flora and fauna present within this ecosystem. . . . Perhaps I can aid you in cutting it down and placing tarps over it this weekend?" Rufus said pointing to a small group of reeds that were creeping onto the land.

But Sam just shrugged his shoulders.

"Ya I guess," he replied and continued sulking.

"Did you tell him? Did you tell him Rufus?" June asked.

"Tell me what?" Sam asked.

"Look what happened at your beach it's a big mess!" June exclaimed.

Sam stood up and walked over to the dunes to see that much of the beach grass was pulled up and trampled on. It was obvious that whoever was there did not use the path that he and Rufus laid out for beach access. There was also paint and broken paint balls all over the grass and sand. 

When Sam got to the beach he could see that the sand fencing had been used for paint ball target practice.

"Ken and his friends did this!" Sam yelled and then sighed.

"Cheer up Samuel it's just another project for the weekend," Rufus said.

They walked back to the pond where June had just finished talking to someone on her phone.

"My Mom called! She told me your Dad said we can eat over for dinner," June shouted.

Rufus heard this and his ears perked up.

"I am famished! Did Samuel's father happen to mention what type of cuisine he would be preparing for our meal?" Rufus asked June. 

"You've been eating from that food machine all day!" Sam said with a laugh. 

"Where do you put all that food?" He added.

Sam sat back down by the pond and June sat next to him. She became interested in what she was seeing in the water. The water was very clear and there were many fish and turtles that were swimming nearby. But when June got close they were startled and swam away.

"Stay still June!" Sam said.

He began to hum a tune that was something he would often hum when he was alone. When the creatures heard it they all swam back to him.

"What's that song?" June asked.

"I dunno, not sure where I heard it before," Sam replied.

June turned to Sam and smiled "Hey can I see your funny ears?" She asked. 

Sam rolled his eyes.

"I happen to have some books here that may offer some answers," Rufus said. As he was searching for his encyclopedia a different book fell out of his bag. 

The book was titled "The Races of People from the Star Nations Volume One."

"Lemme see that!" June shouted as she grabbed the book from Rufus.

Rufus tried to stop her "No you are too young!" but she had already grabbed the book and Sam was looking over her shoulder as she read it.

"Oh boy," Rufus said to himself.

They gathered around the book as June flipped through the pages. This book was an introduction for the inhabitants of Earth, it included knowledge of only the extraterrestrial races that were similar to the inhabitants of Earth and located in nearby star systems. 

This book was not made on Earth but much effort was placed into it so that it looked as though it had been. It was very colorful with illustrations of each extraterrestrial race of people done by the best artists the book makers could find. Plenty of careful research went in to preparing each page for the eyes of the inhabitants of Earth.

While they were reading, a bright light came upon them followed by a quick honk of a horn. They looked up to see where it came from above the trees.

"Found ya! It's time for dinner kids!" a voice came from the object hovering overhead. It was Sam's father Bradley Gusterson. He had come in his flying car to pick them up.

There was no place for him to land as his car was rather bulky. It had a basic design with an exterior reminiscent of an old station wagon.

"Hurry up and get in the Wagon!" Bradley shouted.

They each hopped on their hover bikes and flew into the car through a large back door that had opened. 

Bradley Gusterson was a very muscular man, he was tough and serious looking. 

He turned around to check if the kids were seated properly before grasping the controls and taking the car up into the sky above the trees.

It was quiet in the Wagon.

Sam was looking out the window sulking again and June wasn't liking the silence. The book was still in her hands. Rufus flipped it to the page which contained a drawing of what appeared to be a humanoid figure with blue skin but upon closer inspection had ears that were rectangular and a nose that was rounder than most of the inhabitants of Earth. The page was titled Yulan from Yula.

"That's Reegan! He sure is funny! I watch his tv show!" June exclaimed excitedly.

"Sam? You know about Reegan? Right?" June asked Sam who seemed distracted and was looking outside through the window at something far away that had captured his attention.

Sam was watching a family as they flew past the park. A Mother and Father pushing their two children on a swing set. His gaze was upon them for a moment of time and he did not hear June.

"Sam? Yoohooo! Helllooooo!? You know bout Reegan?!" June yelled.

"Uh. . . . No! Who is Reegan?" Sam asked.

"Who is Reegan? The first Benevolent extraterrestrial to make public contact with the people of Earth! Reegan is an intergalactic archaeologist and explorer! He is the host of the television program Galaxy of the Unknown. . . . You have never viewed his program Samuel?" Rufus said.

"No I only watch Droneflag and sports on tv," Sam said.

"Ahh well very recently he was given ambassador status with each of the Earth's Foundations. . . . . . He has been making visits to several communities.

He happens to be visiting our small community here in Southern Ontario tonight. . . . it will be the first time that extraterrestrials have visited this location. . . . Er well . . . . . in an official manor. . . ."

"We get to see Reegan tonight!" June said excitedly "You wanna come too Sammy?"

"I don't want Sam going out tonight," Bradley said.

"But Mister Gusterson maybe Reegan knows why Sam got those funny ears?" June replied. Bradley looked at them through the rear view mirror he appeared nervous, but then calmed down so as not to frighten the children.

"There is nothing wrong with Sam," Bradley said.

But it was obvious to the children that Sam's father did not like the idea of Sam meeting the extraterrestrial ambassador Reegan and even after further questioning he refused to give the children his reason.