How Jenny First Met… (short story)
How Jenny First Met… was a collection of four short tales about first meetings, written by Scott Sanford. It was also the second appearance of Sophie Everytime, in terms of release date.
Contents
Plot
Sophie, having been told by her father that she was going to go talk to people about her mother, proceeds to drop in on various people across the multiverse.
How Jenny First Met Laura Drake
Laura Drake is at work when a mysterious girl shows up wanting to talk to her. She protests she doesn’t have time but the girl tells Laura that she can have all the time she needs. When Laura finishes her paperwork she discovers that she has more time than she thought.
The girl introduces herself as Sophie and asks about Jenny Cornelius. Laura is momentarily evasive but Sophie is surprisingly persuasive.
Once prompted Laura tells of a road trip they took years earlier. After Jenny spun out several other travel schemes, she had an idea for a surprise. She and Laura got in her car and drove from London all the way to Liverpool, where they saw “some silly teenage boys who had a band,” the Quarrymen.
How Jenny First Met Lord Grallyx
In another universe, Sophie Everytime journeys to where Lord Grallyx is imprisoned on a remote asteroid, surrounded by enthusiastic visitor deterrence systems. Sophie is not deterred.
At first he is reluctant to talk to her but Sophie is willing to be superhumanly persuasive.
He quickly warms to the subject of his defeat and imprisonment at the hands of the Band of the Scarlet Scarf and “the Everywhere” who led them. He rants at length about this and about his frustration at being trapped alone in an asteroid jail maintained on robots; this gets him no sympathy from Sophie, who says, “Do not get me started on being surrounded by robots. I know all about weird annoying robots”.
Satisfied with his responses, Sophie slows time for him, allowing him to experience a century less captivity, and departs.
How Sophie First Met Professor Awesome
In yet another universe, Eric, sometimes known as Professor Awesome, has been dragged off to an event at temple by his neighbor David Lowe and is feeling bored when he encounters a kid called Herbie. Eric isn’t really sure what to make of him but is quickly distracted when Sophie appears. She joins them and mentions in passing that she thinks her mom is in the city somewhere.
After they exchange some light banter, David appears and announces he’s done for the evening. Eric says his goodbyes and the two of them head off, but as they go Sophie tells him, “If you can figure out how, it’s okay to call me sometime.”
In the car Eric tries to get useful information out of David but he knows nothing useful, and Eric resolves to somehow find the mysterious girl with blue dreadlocks.
How Cha Ni First Met Sophie Everytime
Cha Ni is home at the Temple of the Oracle when Sophie arrives; naturally, she was expected. They introduce themselves to each other, and lampshade that it’s a little silly since they both already remember that they’re going to know each other.
They chat for a while and Cha Ni tells her about an incident from one of Sophie’s mother’s adventures. Soon they are interrupted by the sudden appearance of two small dogs who pop into the universe, run around in circles yipping with excitement, and run off again.
Sophie remarks that it’s nice to talk with someone who “feels like my mum but talks like my dad”.
Worldbuilding
Sophie Everytime
- The story features a future, teenaged version of the same Sophie Everytime who had recently been introduced in PROSE: Family Business.
Jenny Everywhere
- The stories feature multiple incarnations of Jenny Everywhere. Jenny Cornelius is discussed at length, Lord Grallyx was imprisoned by an unspecified Jenny, Sophie talks to people who know the Parallax Universe Jenny, and she visits Cha Ni. Cha Ni also receives the visit of the shih tzu Jenny alongside another dog Jenny, a corgi Jenny wearing a tartan scarf.
Universes
- Over the course of the story Sophie visits the universe of Jenny Cornelius, an unnamed universe where Lord Grallyx is imprisoned, the world where Eric and David live, and the place where Cha Ni has her temple. It’s mentioned that the last location is out of the ordinary in its spacetime structure.
Other
- Jenny Cornelius suggests driving Laura to “far-away, fantastical lands, wondrous imaginary places only found in the wildest fantasies? Neverland! Tir na Nog! Oz! France!”.
- Eric describes Sophie Everytime as having “a skin tone much like his own”, confirming him to be black.
- The Mod Rod is described as an “E-Type”. Before acquiring it, circa 1958 when she and Laura first got to know each other, Jenny Cornelius drove a Mini.
- Protections placed on the Wrong Rock include “magical wards to stop actual ghosts”.
Continuity
- Laura Drake's job with the Intelligence Taskforce, as introduced in PROSE: The Folly of Men and also featured in PROSE: Birds and Snakes, is seen again.
- Sophie Everytime knowing Eric would come up later, relative to her personal timeline, when she borrowed his de-pants-icator in PROSE: New Beginnings, or: Miscalculations at the Multi-Dimensional Maternity Ward.
- Cha Ni and her Temple of the Oracle previously played a pivotal role in PROSE: Paying It Forward after Cha Ni made a quieter debut in PROSE: Second Date.
- Sophie recalls growing up “surrounded by weird annoying robots”, matching Jenny Everywhere and Lord Thymon's intention in PROSE: Family Business and PROSE: New Beginnings, or: Miscalculations at the Multi-Dimensional Maternity Ward.
Read online
The story is available on the author's Dreamwidth website.
