SCRIPT:

PANEL 1: INTERIOR of the spaceship, showing THREE OMINOUS FIGURES wearing ominous spacesuits. They're humanoid enough to make us think they might even be human, but their helmets hide their faces.

ALIEN #1: As the WINNER of the so-called "WORLD'S TOUGHEST CONTEST," this "ARNIE" would be the perfect CHAMPION FOR EARTH!
ALIEN #2: That's RIGHT!! And when we have DEFEATED him in fierce BATTLE, NONE on Earth will oppose our DOMINATION of their pitiful planet!
ALIEN #3: And WE are UNDEFEATED! HA HA HA HA!!

PANEL 2: Back on Earth, inside the gym: Comely young women play volleyball in foreground; behind them, an ominously thoughtful Ichi is hatching a plan.

ICHI (t): "TETSUKO", eh? She doesn't LOOK Japanese! I'll have to put her to the TEST!

PANEL 3: Ichi strolls up to Tetsuko, her sweetest smile in place.

ICHI: <Teacher*>?
TETSUKO: <Yes?>
ICHI: <Please forgive me for being so nosy, but I'm curious about your name...>
CAPTION: *(Translated from Japanese)

PANEL 4: Tetsuko smiles.

TETSUKO: <I know, I don't look Japanese. I get that a lot! I was born in Japan, but my Mom and Dad were American. My Dad was sent to Japan to help run a partnership with a Japanese corporation.>

PANEL 5: As Tetsuko continues her story, Ichi's smile becomes a genuine sign of a new-found respect for the new teacher.

TETSUKO: <My parents died in a car wreck when I was 15, and I came to America to live with my grandparents. I still try to get to Japan when I can.>
ICHI: <That explains your excellent fluency in Japanese, sensei!>
TETSUKO: <oh, no, I still have too much of an American accent! And now, isn't it time you rejoined your team?>

PANEL 6: Suddenly, the gym is ROCKED as if by an explosion! Ichi and most of the other students are knocked off their feet, but Tetsuko manages to maintain her balance.

ICHI: <Yes, of course - -> YIKES!!
TETSUKO: WHAT'S GOING ON??

COMMENTS: If I were doing this today, I'd consider the idea of writing Tetsuko's and Ichi's dialogue in Japanese, to better express the fact that they are speaking Japanese to each other; and put the translations in captions at the bottom of the panel. *snerk* As if my pages weren't already text-heavy...

As I stated in the introduction, I hadn't established much about Tetsuko at this time, but I'd already thought out an explanation of why an American-looking girl has a Japanese first name. (There are still details I haven't nailed down yet, such as what age she was when she lost her parents, and who her guardians were when she came to America.)

"Ninja High School", its associated characters, locations, designs, etc. © Antarctic Press

All other material © 2006 David C. Matthews