'No, no, no, no, no!' said Sam, 'Anna you are doing it all wrong.'

Anna watched her with frustration. Sam really was good with this kind of things. Ask the girl to do multiplication, and expect to find that two by two makes forty three. But ask to her to make something, something that she could feel, something she could see, and it came to life. It was incredible.

'See, like this.' said Sam, holding up her creation. She had just added the final touches, a series of flaps that trailed off the back of a flattened piece of durable thick paper. It was decalled Tiny Fury II, the flaming letters stenciled along the side of a thin midsection. A lightweight, hollow plastic crossbar jutted to either side, suspended slightly from the central panel. Two expansive triangular wings, each in turn stabilized with tapered tips and tilted upwards for additional hang time, comprised the top view. Nothing about it was simple. It was a paper hang-gliding-plane, and it looked awesome.

Anna held her hands aside, watching Sam delicately fold the tiny edges, test the crossbar for security, and nodding in satisfaction. She held it between two fingers, careful not to crush the individual components as she thrust it back and forth in large swoops, the plane rushing about her head in theatric arcs.

'It's perfect Anna. So where is our pilot?'

'He's just getting dressed, he'll knock when he's ready.'

'Well he needs to hurry up, I don't got all day to play with tiny dandies like you do. Oy Kal! Look alive Charlie, we got bogies on our six, come in wing commander, wing commander do you read me?'

The top drawer of Anna's nightstand housed Charlie, umm, Kal, their intended pilot slash test dummy. Sam had already come prepared, having designed an intricate outfit for him to test her new creation. Anna had already seen it, but she knew it would be twice as spectacular on Kal. When she had asked Sam for her help in designing a new toy, she had been ecstatic. The girl had a knack, and loved to show it off, and once they had decided together on making a paper airplane, Sam had perhaps gone a touch overboard. After demanding Kal's exact measurements for a pilot's suit, it had only been five minutes before Sam had texted Anna with a hand-drawn picture of her proposed blueprint. Tiny Fury I had been a fighter jet, military camoflauged, with functional cockpit, elastic band weaponry and propellers. Anna had already vetoed the idea of putting Kal in a motorized vehicle, the idea of a high speed crash was not something she hoped for. Still, the original designs would have likely taken a week to prepare, and she felt impatient. So Sam had compromised, settling on the new model with a bit less flash, easily constructed in an hour.

'Charlie, bogeys comin' in fast. Ammo is running low and Davie's already gone down. You've got about sixteen seconds before we abort mission. I repeat, aborting mission in fifteen seconds, you read me Charlie?'

Anna knew Sam was trying to get Kal to hurry, but she was also dancing and spinning around the room, plane in tow, flaps holding firm. A soft knocking followed, emerging from the paneled front side of her drawer. Guess he was ready after all. Anna locked her fingers around the metallic handle and pulled it open, revealing Kal in all his glory. He was looking straight ahead, tiny eyes dead set. Adorning his forehead was a stern salute, held rigid and unyielding. He had a leather bound cap that was topped with goggles, drawn back to the crown of his head. Dull brown flak jacket and leather gloves held his puffed out torso, with matching brown pants trailing below. Anna scoffed and grabbed him by the waist. He held his position firm.

'Ahh there you are commander, please tell me your are locked and loaded, we're under heavy fire from multiple bogeys. They're directly in your path, take em down cap, drop the hammer!'

Anna held Kal out to Sam, and she snapped him up in a tight grip. She held him close the crossbar, keeping him steady as he grabbed on, dangling there. Sam brought up leg supports that would keep him gliding and added some horizontal torque for turning. The double bar system would allow him to dive and climb and make some basic turns. Gravity would win eventually, and while the plane might sustain a minor dint, Kal was unlikely to be harmed in a low speed crash.

'This is Wing Commander Kal, I have you in my sights Reg, bogeys on your six confirmed, get ready for an updraft 'cuz were about to have some flaming reds take a nose dive.'

Sam held her teeth together, making a loud whirring sound, and blowing through closed lips. The ensuing wind blew Kal's hat flaps and jacket in a billowy gale, likely laced with Sam's classic garlic deli sandwich. Poor guy, his eyes were probably watering, the price one paid to fly with the best.

'Just launch already Sam! Good luck Kal!' Anna cried.

Sam drew her arm back, held far above her head. Kal still held that determined look, taking a second to throw a winking salute back at Anna as he recoiled. She pretended to catch it, feigning a dramatic sigh and waving. Kal shot forward, hat instantly stripped from his head and plummeting to the floor below. Yet after the initial dash, he was flying. Kal was flying. The Tiny Fury II lived up to its name, coasting forwards on a gentle decline. Kal turned left, turned right, dove and nearly hit the bed post. Inching around, he swooped back upwards with a kick of miniature feet. He returned to a safe trajectory, flashing past her desk, soaring past her closed textbook from the nights before, skimming over the lamp and papers piled high, and directly towards the window. The open window! Kal was trying to turn the plane, but the anterior cross bar was stuck down. He had been gliding straight, and continued on a linear trajectory, arms furiously slamming on the bar to try realigning it. Anna watched as the Tiny Fury II left its enclosure, rushing off into the afternoon sun.

Anna dashed after him, hoping to block his exit or close the window. She failed. It wasn't that he was outdoors that scared her. Sam had begun laughing again.

'Well that was unexpected, guess I should have recalibrated before primary launch.'

'Sam, come, now! We've gotta find Kal!' said Anna.

'What's the rush?' asked Sam, 'He'll land just fine.'

Anna had already grabbed her arm, dragging her towards the bedroom door.

'Wes is out there. I let him out while we were upstairs. He's never met mini Kal!'