The Talisman of Dita
Dorothy: Dita! There's a parcel for you.
Dita: For me?
Justin annoyed: I ask you! No it's got " To Brian Belcher " written on it.
Dorothy: Oh, leave the Tornado where he is!
Jennifer: Still, it's a shame he hates us so much!
Alex: Well, that's just the way it is!
Nicolas: So, are you going to open this parcel or not?
Dorothy: What is it?
Dita: Ooh, it's the talisman! It gets passed down from generation to generation.
Dorothy: It's magnificent. Can I try it on?
Dita: This talisman has certain magical properties related to our family.
Justin: So you can't lend it to anybody?
Dita puts the talisman around her neck.
Jennifer: Come on Dita, don't tell me you believe all that nonsense!
Dita: Wait and see! Nothing can stop me if I'm wearing it!
Tomorrow's game is in the bag.
Nicolas: If you say so.
Jennifer: Don't you start, too!
Nicolas: If it makes her happy...
Jennifer: You'd be better off coming to practise with us
instead of admiring yourself in the mirror.
Dorothy laughing: Spoilsport!
Justin: No need to practise. Dita can do anything, now she's got her lucky charm!
Even her famous header somersaults she misses all the time.
Nicolas: Advantage, Justin.
Dita: Just wait and see.
Alex: Come with us anyway!
Nicolas: Having powers like ours is extraordinary in itself.
Jennifer: Agreed, but giving so much importance to a trinket like that.
Justin and Nicolas laughing: A talisman.
Dorothy: Come on Dita, let's go practise.
They make their way to the gym.
Everybody: Good morning Mister Savax
Mr. Savax: Good morning, Team 18. Raring to go?
Everybody: Yes.
Mr. Savax: That's a nice little thing you're wearing, Dita.
Dita: Thanks, coach.
Mr. Savax: You should take it off to play.
Dita: No way!
Justin: Please excuse her, Sir. She's a bit nervous.
Dorothy: Yes. She's a bit worried about the header somersaults, you know.
Mr. Savax: It would be a shame if it got broken.
Alex: It's a present from her family.
Dita: And with it around my neck, nothing bad can happen to me!
Jennifer: She's as stubborn as a mule! She's going to keep it on!
Mr. Savax: As far as this afternoon game is concerned, I'd really like us
to set up the header somersault tactic.
That's a good way to improve your power, Dita. We're all astonished by your fabulous jumps,
but if you could also add some speed to them using your somersaults...
Dorothy: Speed equals Justin.
Dita: Did you hear that, Justin. I'm going to be able to do better than you.
Justin: That has yet to be seen, Frog.
Dita: Any time, Slug.
Nicolas: They're not ever going to change.
Justin: I'll buy you a glass of pop if you make it.
Dita: 2 glasses of pop. Get your money ready.
Mr. Savax: Gearing up your power is going to create a surprise.
I'm certain you can do it. You must have faith in yourself. In position!
Justin serves. Nicolas catches and passes to Dorothy
who makes a sonic pass. Dita springs, starts her somersault
and misses the ball.
Mr. Savax: Doesn't matter. Try again.
Dita tries again and fails.
She starts again and still fails.
Mr. Savax: Justin, no comments please. Dita, I know you can do it.
Dita: Here we go.
Jennifer: I thought the talisman was supposed to help you.
Dita takes the talisman and holds it tight.
Dorothy: Don't squeeze it so hard!
Dita: It's going to work this time, you'll see.
Dorothy serves, Alex catches it, passes to Nicolas who throws the ball.
Dita springs, does her somersault and spikes with all her strength.
Dita: Yes!!!
Nicolas: Fantastic!
Dorothy: What a shot!
Alex: Jump and speed, wow!
Mr. Savax: Bravo.
Dita: I'm trying it again right away. Justin, I'm waiting for your service.
She gets all the other shots right.
Jennifer: That's a stroke of luck, don't you think?
Nicolas: More than you know. She touches the talisman before each jump.
Jennifer: Phut.
Mr. Savax: Keep your strength up for tomorrow's open-air game. I will tidy up.
Alex: Phew, we can get our breath back.
Justin: Well, I'm off.
Dita: Hold it right there, you! What about my 2 glasses of pop?
Dorothy laughing: Unbelievable!
Justin: OK, you win.
The next day, day of the game.
Brian: Well, well. Here are the losers-to-be.
Dorothy: You would just love to see us lose.
Alex: Well, it doesn't take much to please him.
Nicolas: Whether we lose or we win, we're always learning something.
Brian: So the nerd has got his answers off pat!
Jennifer: Why don't you come with us in the picture?
Justin: That way, you'll feel you're alive.
Dita: We've got better things to do than stay here talking to him.
Sabine is waiting for us.
Dita waves everybody towards Sabine leaving the Tornado in the lurch.
Sabine: Strike the pose for the picture.
Justin: No, Jennifer, there's no need to make yourself invisible!
Jennifer laughing: Go on, stupid!
Nicolas: It's cool to be in the school newspaper.
Dita: Dorothy, could you move over please? They'll get a better view of my talisman
if I'm standing up front.
Dorothy: OK!
Sabine: Dita, your necklace is catching the light. Move back a bit or put it away.
Dita: No way.
Alex: It's the influence of the moon. Nothing to worry about.
Sabine: Well, don't come and complain if the picture doesn't come out right
Mister Savax joins them.
Dita: You were the only one missing. I wish you could have seen how we shut the Tornado up.
It was quite something.
Mr. Savax: It's sad to see somebody so bitter for so little.
Nicolas: He has made up his mind not to like us. It's his choice. Too bad for him.
Dorothy: He doesn't know what he's missing.
Dita: Oh yes he does. He's missing all Justin's jokes.
Justin: What? Aren't my jokes funny?
Everybody bursts out laughing.
Justin: Nico, you're a traitor.
Nicolas : Too true.
Sabine: That's perfect for the picture. Stay like that.
Sabine takes the pictures. From a distance Brian's watching the scene.
Mr. Savax: The game is going to start. Go and get ready.
Boys and girls go to their respective changing rooms.
The girls walk pass Brian and ignore him, with their noses in the air.
Dita: You didn't really think I was going to take my talisman off for the picture, did you?
She holds it very tight.
Brian: It's very strange the way she clings to that thing.
The game's about to start. Clouds are threatening.
The commentator: The starting whistles. Lilia Fontenla's serving, the ball is intercepted
by Nicolas who passes to Jennifer who throws it very high.
Dita Gatino is about to make her super jump.
Jennifer: No Dita, not yet!
Dita: Stuff it!
The commentator: She does a somersault and spikes. Jane Brooks can hardly believe it.
Jane: How on earth did she do that?
In the audience.
Sabine: I certainly wasn't expecting that. I hope she'll do it again.
I must take a picture.
Brian: They're all going wild about this little jump.
It was nothing more than a fluke.
The commentator: Mister Savax asks for a time out.
Mr. Savax: Dita, why didn't you listen to Jennifer? That ball was for Alex.
Dita: At least they know what to expect now.
Mr. Savax: That's not the point. I want you to follow the tactics
we decided for the game. Got it?
Dita clenching her teeth: Yes, coach.
The commentator: Team 18 is getting into position.
The sky is getting darker and darker and Dita does everything her way.
Lilia: She's out of control.
Jane: She scored again.
The commentator: This is astonishing. This super jumper is even taking balls
from her team-members to score and it's working.
Dita: Yes! And another!
Every time she scores a point, she clasps her talisman hard. The rain comes on, uninvited.
The commentator: The game is suspended and will resume when it stops raining.
Brian: I have to do something in a hurry.
Brian discreetly follows the girls and hides in the corridor leading to the showers.
In the changing room.
Dorothy: You should take it off. The water could damage it.
Dita: You're right!
She puts it down beside the towels. They take their shower.
Dita: Did you see my somersaults? Brilliant, weren't they?
Jennifer: Talking about that! Don't you think you're going just a bit overboard?
Dita: What do you mean?
Jennifer: I wouldn't mind getting a few passes. Do I need to remind you we're a team?
Dorothy: Jennifer is right. It's great to see you in such great form
but if you play for yourself, you're doing the same thing as the Tornado.
Jennifer mimicking Brian: I'm the tallest, the best looking, the strongest...
Dita: Oh my, that's awful. I didn't mean to do anything wrong.
I'm just so glad the talisman is helping me out with my superjumps.
In the corridor Brian overhears everything and gets an idea.
He turns into a Tornado, and whirls in and out, stealing the talisman.
Dorothy: What was that draught?
Jennifer: Brrr. Who opened the door to the showers?
Dita: I'm clean enough. I'm going to dry out.
She towels herself, puts her clothes on and looks around for her talisman.
Dita: Hey girls, where is it?
Dorothy: Where is what?
Dita: The talisman.
Jennifer: Have you lost it?
Dita: I put it down here next to the towels.
Jennifer and Dorothy finish dressing while Dita looks everywhere.
They come out of the changing rooms and Dita descends on Justin.
Dita: That's not funny.Give it back!
Justin: But what are you talking about?
Dita: Don't play innocent!
Dorothy: Somebody took the talisman in the changing room.
Alex: What?
Dita: Give it back to me.
Justin: But I swear to you I didn't do it!
Alex: You can believe him, it's true.
Nicolas: We just got here.
Dita: Oh no! How am I going to do my jumps without it?
They look everywhere for it. Meanwhile the other team are talking.
Lilia: That girl with the green hair is giving us a lot of trouble.
Jane: I think her friends just gave her a lecture about playing as a team.
Lilia: I have rarely seen anybody with so much energy.
Jane: Do you think it's the thing she's got round her neck that's giving her extra power?
Brian: Is this what you're talking about?
He proudly exhibits the talisman.
Lilia: Where did you get that?
Brian: Top secret, but without it she'll be at your mercy.
Jane: Why are you doing this?
Brian: I can't stand this full-of-sweetness-and-light team who get along so well together.
Lilia: It looks more like you're scared of them.
Their powers will increase and you would be in their shadow.
Brian giving himself airs: You seem to forget that I am the Tornado!
Jane: Take it easy, Lilia, his power is formidable. None of us can compete with him.
So we can't say no if he wants to help us.
The commentator calls the players back onto the court. The rain has stopped.
M Savax: And you're playing as a team. Are you listening, Dita?
Dita: How I will manage? I've lost my talisman.
Mr. Savax: You can do without it, but it's really all up to you.
The game resumes.
The commentator: Jane serves. Dorothy catches and passes to Alex who throws to Dita.
Brian: Let's have some fun.
She starts her jump and misses the ball.
Mr. Savax: Believe in yourself.
But nothing works.
Sabine: She is paying for her wild frenzy at the beginning of the game.
The commentator: Dita is looking desperate. She's not getting a single one of her jumps right.
Team 18 loses.
Brian: Thanks for the show Dita, it was awesome.
Justin: Get lost!
Brian: Oh, really, look what I found!
He pulls the talisman out.
Dita: Give it back to me right this minute!
Dorothy: So, the draught in the lockers was you.
Brian spins it around his finger and throws it up in the air.
Jennifer rushes to catch it but gets there too late.
The talisman falls to the ground and breaks.
Brian: Oops.
Dita: NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Dita is beside herself and is about to slap him when Justin stops her.
Justin: He isn't worth it.
Nicolas: Justin's ri...
But Brian gets slapped anyway. Everybody is amazed.
Lilia: I didn't have any qualms about doing that. He certainly deserved it.
Brian: You'll...
Mr. Savax: Yes?
Everybody surrounds Lilia.
Brian: Err...
Lilia: Brian, open your ears big and wide and I hope this will find its way
to your brain. Dita, I want you to know you were fantastic on the court.
Dita: But we lost.
Lilia: You didn't have enough faith in yourself and that's what Brian used against you.
I'm sure you don't need your Talisman to do your jumps.
Dita: Maybe, but what am I going to tell my mother?
Mr. Savax: This Talisman is a fake. The real one's still on your planet, Nioron.
Dita: What?
Mr. Savax: We had to find something to give you the courage to try this new type of jump.
Your mother and I thought this trick up.
Dita: My mother?
Mr. Savax: Well, yes.
Dorothy: But why didn't you tell her during the game?
Mr. Savax: Dita has to learn to trust herself. She has the power.
If I had let her know she would have clung to it all her life for everything;
math tests without studying, winning games without training;
she would have stopped making any effort for anything.
Nicolas: So we can even learn from a defeat.
Lilia: I went through the same thing Dita, so show us you can do
this super jump without any magic tricks.
Dita: Throw me the ball, Jennifer. Brian, we have a score to settle.
Brian very aggressively: You can count on me.
He turns into the Tornado.
Jennifer: Here it goes!
Brian spins at full speed. She throws him the ball; Dita does her somersault
and gives a stupendous spike. But the Tornado manages to touch the ball
just before it hits the floor.
Brian is overjoyed.
Brian: You still have lots of work ahead of you before you can compete with my power.
Mr. Savax: You just forgot than none of your team members could have got
the ball to spike it. So you scored the point, Dita.
Lilia: Shoo, clear off!
Brian doesn't wait for more and walks away in disgust.
Dita: I understood the lesson.
Nicolas: Pop for everybody?
Justin: Well, no thanks, I'm too broke!
The team bursts out laughing.
Justin: Nico, couldn't you keep your mouth shut?
Nicolas shakes his head and laughs: No, I couldn't.
Dita gives Nicolas a peck on the cheek.
Dita: Nico, you're the best.
Everybody bursts out laughing except Lilia who seems lost.
Mr. Savax laughing: I'll explain.
next episode: A Lesson in Humility
copyright Jean-François Schwaiger
cartoon: Pascale Rodriguez
Translation: Stephanie Louvier and JF Schwaiger
Proofreading-Editing: Eileen Harris
"Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental
and unintentional."
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How did this episode come into being?
The same episode in French