As Jacob finished up his speech laying out his vision for a new Astral nation that was at peace with Earth, it felt surreal knowing that he was at his last campaign event. It was the night before the election, and he had come so far. He’d been gone for two Earth weeks, and the next day he would either be voted president of the universe or… nothing.

Leader in charge of everything that exists, the first president in Astral history… or just another seventh grader at Magellan Middle School.

He tried picturing the future, and it was like there were two screens, one where the Astrals voted him president and he lived on Planet Royale and passed laws and was the most important and powerful person alive. And then on the other screen was homework and school and substitute teachers and chores and other drudgery, but also more time with his mom and Sarah Daisy and Dexter Goldstein, and shooting hoops until it got dark and laughing at the movies and summer vacations doing whatever he wanted.

Jacob stared out at the crowd that had gathered on Planet Royale to hear him speak, and he just felt so tired. He found Sarah in the crowd, and when they locked eyes he remembered their conversation before they blasted off.

“What if you win?” she had asked.

What if you win?

What if you are in charge of every planet and every person everywhere? What if you can’t sleep at night because you’re thinking about the hungry people out there and the sad people and the hurt people and the ones who want to blow up planets because they’re crazy and they’re all your responsibility? What if you never have time for fun and your friends and relaxing and everyone is constantly criticizing you because they think they could do your job better?

What if you win?

Jacob did his final waves to the crowd and ducked backstage. He stood in a corner and put his face in his hands and tried to make sense of what he was feeling. The room was a tangled mess of activity, but Jacob just wanted to disappear. Boris was scurrying around pushing people and checking badges to make sure everyone was authorized to be in the room, Dexter was teaching Rufus how to do a cartwheel, and Catalina swooped over to give Jacob a hug.

“Darling, that was amazing! I think it was your best speech yet! I agree that Astrals shouldn’t be scared of Earth! I did some research, and you even have some passable fashion designers.”

“Thanks,” Jacob mumbled.

Over Catalina’s shoulder, Jacob saw Sarah Daisy enter the room and stop, her face slowly turning red as she saw Jacob hugging Catalina.

Jacob broke the hug and cleared his voice. “Hey, everyone?” he said. The room immediately silenced, which Jacob found incredibly strange. Who was he to make everyone quiet at the merest sound of his voice? He was just a seventh grader from Magellan Middle School who liked corndogs and happened to have a father from outer space.

“Hey, everyone, I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for this campaign. I just really, really appreciate it. You didn’t have to do it, and you did it, and that means so much to me.”

And as he looked out at everyone, he realized how far everyone had come for him and how much they had given up. How much time and energy Catalina had put into the campaign, how Dexter had found his own way back and taken care of the monkeys as best he could, and how even Sarah Daisy returned to help him out for the final days of the campaign.

They did it all for him. And if he somehow came up short when the votes came in, all of their work would be for nothing. He would fail them and everyone on Earth. He wasn’t sure how he would be able to face it.

“Hey, so…” Jacob said. “Could I speak to Sarah alone?”

Catalina whipped her head around and stared at Sarah for a moment, before she laughed and said, “Of course, darling. Whatever you need.”

Dexter led the monkeys out, Catalina followed the monkeys, and some of the Planet Royale servants who had been making sure Jacob had everything he needed quietly slipped away as well.

Jacob was alone with Sarah, and he tried to get the courage to say what he needed to say.

“Jake,” Sarah said. “Whatever you want to say… If this is about your dad—”

“I don’t know if I want to win,” Jacob blurted out.

He couldn’t look her in the eye. The entire Planet Earth needed him to win. There were crazy SEERs out there who wanted nothing more than to blow up his planet, and Mick Cracken cared too much about being president to stop them. His friends were counting on him, and the fate of the entire planet was resting on his shoulders. And instead he was thinking about playing sports and hanging out with his friends and… being a kid.

“I got so wrapped up in it,” Jacob said quickly. “I mean, the king wanted me to run. The king. How could I say no to that? And Earth… I know I have to win, but I just can’t shake the feeling that I don’t know if I want to. It’s just too much. Maybe Dexter was right. Maybe I’m not presidential material.”

Sarah reached out and grabbed his hand. And unlike their conversation over the Telly a week ago, this time their hands really touched. He felt the warmth of her palm and knew she was really, truly there.

“Jake, whatever happens, we’ll support you. We’ll still be your friends. Me and Dexter. You know that, right? Even… Miss Twinkle Toes,” she said with great effort. “We’re here for you. And you know, the king sort of said you’re not even supposed to want to win.”

Jacob was so glad she was back with him. And as he saw how fragile Sarah looked, her eyes worried and her lips pressed, it occurred to him how hard the last few days had to have been for her too, with the entire universe suddenly deciding they didn’t like her just because she said something she didn’t even mean. And yet even with all that going on, Sarah was still trying to make him feel better.

“Sarah, I’m sorry about everything. That whole ‘A’ thing was so stupid. You didn’t deserve that.”

Sarah shrugged. “Yeah. It was stupid. But sometimes bad things happen, Jake, and you can spend your time worrying about them or you can just try and make sure the next day is better than the last one.”

Jacob nodded. Whatever happened in the election, he knew he could handle it. Whether he was in charge of the universe or just another kid living on a boring street, deep down he knew he would still be the same person, only better off for having tried for this one big thing.

He wished they could go home, so he could be with his mom while everyone voted and so he could sleep in his own bed, but he knew it wouldn’t be practical to get all the way back through the space kapow detour, and who knows what the Valkyrians still had planned for him. He had to spend at least one more day in outer space, and then if he won, he had to get ready for the entire universe to be his responsibility. He couldn’t go home to Earth.

But he suddenly thought of the next best thing.