I thought I'd open this one up to all of my students who have finished reading Mockingjay. Note: If you haven't finished reading the book yet, you may want to stop reading here. I can't guarantee we won't give away any important plot points!
I finished the book this weekend, and I've read a lot of comments online (from authors, literary agents, publishers) about the violence in this series. Some people think the book glorifies violence and desensitizes young people to how bad war really is. Others think that the violence in the book isn't any worse than what you see in movies, TV, and video games nowadays.
Some people say only older teens should be reading the Hunger Games, but I know many of you started reading the series back in fifth grade, maybe even fourth.
What do you think? What age is too young to read the Hunger Games? Does the book glorify war? Is it any worse than what you see in movies, TV shows, or video games? How did you feel at the end of the book--horrified, frightened, grateful you don't live in that society?
If you post a comment, please remember not to include your full name or give away any personal information, including the name of our school or the town. Make sure it is O.K. with your parents if you post online.
As always, I have the comment moderation function on. This means that all comments must be approved by me before they will appear online. If your comment is inappropriate or gives away personal information, it will not appear on this blog.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
TREE HUGGERS by Mrs. Ellis
Congratulations to my co-worker, Mrs. Ellis, who just had her first book published! You can check out her book by clicking here.
In fact, you can even read the first few pages online. Her main character has a really nice "voice" in this book. We'll be studying "voice" as a writing trait later in the year. :)
In fact, you can even read the first few pages online. Her main character has a really nice "voice" in this book. We'll be studying "voice" as a writing trait later in the year. :)
Monday, July 19, 2010
Book Review: WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead
Sixth grader Miranda knows she's supposed to be writing a letter, but she doesn't know what's supposed to go in the letter and where she's supposed to send it.
Miranda believes it all began on the day her best friend Sal was punched in the stomach. From that point on, Sal stops hanging out with Miranda, and she starts receiving mysterious messages telling her that she has to write a letter. If she doesn't, her friend is going to die. But the notes Miranda receives are too vague, and Miranda isn't even sure she should take them seriously. After all, there are other things to worry about--Who stole the spare key to Miranda's apartment? Why is Sal acting so strange? And why does the guy who beat up Sal keep talking about time travel?
Miranda's favorite book is A Wrinkle in Time, and I'd recommend this book to anyone who like L'Engle's book about space and time travel. This book is mostly a mystery with a bit of sci-fi and even a tad of history (It takes place in the late 70s and involves a very popular game show from that time). Not sure what genre to include this in, but I'll definitely recommend it to students next year.
My only complaint is that I listened to the audio version of this book, and the woman who did the voice-over work seemed to use the same husky, I've-been-a-smoker-for-too-long voice for every adult woman in the story. In fact, I think the woman's voice were lower than the men's! Fortunately, the story kept me intrigued enough to keep listening. In fact, I was listening in the car on my way to and from work, and I was disappointed each time I got to my destination and had to turn the CD off!
Miranda believes it all began on the day her best friend Sal was punched in the stomach. From that point on, Sal stops hanging out with Miranda, and she starts receiving mysterious messages telling her that she has to write a letter. If she doesn't, her friend is going to die. But the notes Miranda receives are too vague, and Miranda isn't even sure she should take them seriously. After all, there are other things to worry about--Who stole the spare key to Miranda's apartment? Why is Sal acting so strange? And why does the guy who beat up Sal keep talking about time travel?
Miranda's favorite book is A Wrinkle in Time, and I'd recommend this book to anyone who like L'Engle's book about space and time travel. This book is mostly a mystery with a bit of sci-fi and even a tad of history (It takes place in the late 70s and involves a very popular game show from that time). Not sure what genre to include this in, but I'll definitely recommend it to students next year.
My only complaint is that I listened to the audio version of this book, and the woman who did the voice-over work seemed to use the same husky, I've-been-a-smoker-for-too-long voice for every adult woman in the story. In fact, I think the woman's voice were lower than the men's! Fortunately, the story kept me intrigued enough to keep listening. In fact, I was listening in the car on my way to and from work, and I was disappointed each time I got to my destination and had to turn the CD off!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
BOOK REVIEW: FAITHFUL by Janet Fox
Margaret Bennet is about to turn seventeen. For a girl in 1904, that means getting ready to make her social debut so that men can start courting her. However, Maggie's life suddenly turns upside down when her mother acts strangely and then disappears. A year later, Maggie's father whisks her off to Yellowstone National Park on the pretense that he has a clue about her mother's disappearance.
Although Maggie is eager to follow any clue that might lead to finding her mother, she hates the thought of leaving her home in Rhode Island just as she and her best friend Kitty are about to plan their debut balls. In Yellowstone, Maggie discovers the truth about her mother while being caught between two men--the man her family believes she should marry and a boy unlike any she has ever known.
I bought this book on a Thursday night. I began reading it after summer school on Friday and finished it the next day. The last time I finished a book in about twenty-four hours was the day the final Harry Potter book came out. I guess that tells you something about how much I liked it. :)
Although I had a pretty good idea where this book was going and how things would end up for Maggie, I still felt compelled to keep reading it because I had to make sure my predictions were correct. Janet Fox did such a great job of describing Yellowstone National Park that I've now added it to my travel wish list. The geysers at Yellowstone mirror Maggie's tumultuous emotional state--often her feelings bubble under the service as Maggie struggles to maintain a proper ladylike decorum, but eventually (like the hot springs that she visits) she simply must let her true feelings out.
It's too bad I didn't read this book a bit sooner. I definitely would have recommended it to some of the girls in my eighth grade class last year--they loved romances--and this one places the love story in a unique setting. I'll bring the copy I bought to my classroom in case any of my summer school kids want to read it this week. Otherwise, I'll recommend it any of my students next year who show an interest in romances.
You can check out Janet Fox's website if you want to learn more about her.
Although Maggie is eager to follow any clue that might lead to finding her mother, she hates the thought of leaving her home in Rhode Island just as she and her best friend Kitty are about to plan their debut balls. In Yellowstone, Maggie discovers the truth about her mother while being caught between two men--the man her family believes she should marry and a boy unlike any she has ever known.
I bought this book on a Thursday night. I began reading it after summer school on Friday and finished it the next day. The last time I finished a book in about twenty-four hours was the day the final Harry Potter book came out. I guess that tells you something about how much I liked it. :)
Although I had a pretty good idea where this book was going and how things would end up for Maggie, I still felt compelled to keep reading it because I had to make sure my predictions were correct. Janet Fox did such a great job of describing Yellowstone National Park that I've now added it to my travel wish list. The geysers at Yellowstone mirror Maggie's tumultuous emotional state--often her feelings bubble under the service as Maggie struggles to maintain a proper ladylike decorum, but eventually (like the hot springs that she visits) she simply must let her true feelings out.
It's too bad I didn't read this book a bit sooner. I definitely would have recommended it to some of the girls in my eighth grade class last year--they loved romances--and this one places the love story in a unique setting. I'll bring the copy I bought to my classroom in case any of my summer school kids want to read it this week. Otherwise, I'll recommend it any of my students next year who show an interest in romances.
You can check out Janet Fox's website if you want to learn more about her.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
A New Beginning
For the past few weeks, something about Alex's story has been bugging me. So many literary agents and editors say that they are looking for voices that are "fresh" and "unique," so I've been thinking about redoing the opening of the novel from a first person perspective. My hope is that I can infuse more "voice" into the story. Below I'll paste what I've come up with so far.
I don't know how many of you are checking this blog in the summer, but if you do, please let me know which version of the beginning you like better. The old one or this new one.
Here goes . . .
I’ll never forget the day I left Earth. ‘Cuz if I had known where I’d be going or how long I’d be gone, I would have begged—BEGGED—Grandpa to hide instead of run.
Don’t get me wrong. I was dying to get off that island. During the eleven years I lived there, Grandpa had let me off the island only three times. The first time was a week after Grandma left—that was back when I was eleven—and the two other times were when he needed help bartering with the natives at Tuvalu, an island hundreds of miles away.
Yeah, I was totally desperate to see the rest of the world. I dreamed about it. I wasted away afternoons imagining how different my life would be if I could just get away.
I got away all right. I got away all the way to the moon.
The day my life changed forever started out like any other. Keala, the totally crazy cat who wakes me up each morning, started licking my face before the sun was fully up. I call Keala totally crazy because she’s blind but she acts like she’s not. I’ve seen her smash her face straight into walls and then bounce off like it’s no big deal.
There’s no point ignoring Keala—she’ll just keep licking your face no matter how many times you wave her away—so I got up and headed to the kitchen. By the time I’d put the flour, eggs, milk, butter, and salt into the MealMaker 2200, Grandpa was already shuffling into the kitchen.
“Good morning, Alex.”
I turned to face my grandfather. “Today’s the day, Grandpa.”
“You say that every morning.”
“I know, but today is different. As soon as I swung my legs out of bed, I thought Today my life is going to change, and that can only mean one thing. Grandma’s coming home today.”
Grandpa hit a button on the Beverage Depot Deluxe, and a cup of steaming hot coffee dropped down. “It’s hard to believe it’s getting close to two years now.”
I’d seen Grandpa close to crying a handful of times in the past two years. It always gave me a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. Adults aren’t supposed to cry in front of you, are they? I had to change the subject—fast!
“Well, something’s going to happen today.” I picked up Keala and rubbed my face against her soft fur. “Maybe today will be the first day Keala doesn’t get stuck in a tree.”
Grandpa snorted. “Yeah, right.”
The MealMaker 2200 buzzed, so I put Keala down and pulled out two plates of the most perfect-looking pancakes you’ve ever seen. Grandpa put the syrup on the table as I carried over the plates. Keala rubbed up against my legs, and I gave her a piece of my breakfast. She immediately ran off, chomping on the morsel and smacking her lips.
Grandpa ate in silence while I worked up the courage to get what I was thinking off my chest.
“You know, my birthday’s coming up.”
Grandpa let out a “Hhrrmm” while chewing a mouthful of pancakes.
“I was thinking maybe you could take me in the Rock Jumper to Tuvalu.”
“We don’t need to do any bartering right now.”
“Please, Grandpa. For my birthday. Let me visit the kids at Tuvalu. They’re the closest thing I have to friends.”
Grandpa put down his fork and looked at me with his Sad Eyes. I hate the Sad Eyes. Somehow they make me feel sad and guilty and angry all at the same time.
“Alex, I’m sorry, but you know every time we visit Tuvalu, we put ourselves at risk . . .”
“I know. I know. At risk of the Emperor finding me.” I wasn’t hungry anymore. I picked up my plate and dumped the remains of my pancakes into the Recycler. “Stupid curse,” I muttered. I had been cursed at birth with a unique ability. Something that no other human could do. Something that marked me as Wanted with a capital W by Emperor Devlesh himself.
“I’m going outside.” I picked up my bag and headed out.
There was only one place I wanted to be—my favorite tree. It was an old monkey pod that sat on the edge of a cliff that dropped straight down to the ocean. Like most monkey pod trees, it wasn’t super tall, but its branches spread out pretty wide. In fact, my favorite spot in the tree hung out so far, it felt like you’d fall down the cliff if you made one wrong move. Perhaps I liked the danger of it all. Or maybe I liked the fact that I could see for miles. If Grandma were to come back today, this would be the best spot for seeing her first. Nowhere else on the island offered such a view.
When I got to the tree, I wasn’t alone. Crazy Keala sat on a branch, meowing mournfully. Being a cat, and a blind one on top of that, she had no idea how to get down.
“Come on, Keala,” I called softly. “Time to get down.” I scurried up the tree, scooped up Keala, and set her gently in my bag. With the bag on my back, I made my way down slowly and released Keala. “Now stay down here, will ya? Stupid cat, you’d think you’d learn.”
I headed back up the tree and nestled myself into my favorite reading spot. From my bag, I pulled out one of Grandma’s old novels. It was a silly sci-fi story some woman had written back in the twenty-second century about what life would be like in the twenty-third century. Boy, was she wrong!
But I read it anyway. I read it to pass the time. I read it to keep my mind off of being stuck on the island. I read it because it reminded me of Grandma.
However, the story was so unbelievably awful that my mind kept drifting. I’d look out over the ocean, hoping that my earlier premonition would be right. Today really would be the day Grandma came home, almost two years after going in search of my mother. Mom disappeared when I was two. But even after all those years, my grandma still believed she was alive. A casualty of war, my grandpa would say about my mother. A missing-in-action warrior, my grandma would correct him.
And then it happened.
I saw a dark spot on the horizon. Not a cloud. Not a boat. But a ship. A low-flying rocketship. Could it be? Was Grandma finally coming home?
My heartbeat skyrocketed. I had been right. Today was the day. I stuffed the book back in my bag and edged up higher in the tree to get a better look. The black spot on the horizon was getting bigger.
And then it wasn’t just one black spot, but several. Was Grandma bringing others with her?
Suddenly, I knew. That wasn’t Grandma’s ship. Those were hoverships. Black hoverships. Black hoverships reserved for the Emperor’s henchlings. I had seen them one other time, on one of our bartering trips to Tuvalu. It had been a narrow escape that time. Would we be as lucky this time?
I nearly jumped out of the monkey pod tree. The sun was high above the horizon now, and I knew I’d find Grandpa tending to his garden.
“Grandpa!” I called as soon as I was within hearing distance. “Grandpa!”
The panic in my voice must have been obvious ‘cuz Grandpa came running right away.
“Alex? Alex, what is it? Did you get bit?”
I shook my head wildly. My words came out between panted gasps. “The Emperor . . . black hoverships . . . they’re coming.”
Grandpa didn’t waste any time. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the garageportal.
“Get in the Rock Jumper. We’re leaving immediately.”
“Where are we going?”
Grandpa ignored my question. Instead he muttered, “I never thought I’d live to see the day.” He uncovered a box that was marked “911” and threw it in the Rock Jumper. “Put on your grandmother’s spacesuit and her helmet.”
“Grandma’s spacesuit? Grandpa, where are we going?”
“I don’t have time to argue, young lady. Get the suit on now and buckle up. We can’t waste a second.”
Grandma’s spacesuit hung on the wall of the garageport like a lifeless form. I had never even dared to try it on because I only feared it would make me want to leave the island even more. But now I was being instructed to put it on. I couldn’t believe it.
Grandpa nearly jumped into his own spacesuit. Then he helped me zip up Grandma’s and secure the helmet.
“Let’s go,” he called over the suit’s intercom system.
I threw my bag into one of the Rock Jumper’s storage compartments and buckled myself into the Rock Jumper as Grandpa hit the button to open the hatch above.
“Brace yourself, Alex.”
I had no time to think. The rocket shot up, and all I could see above me was blue sky.
***
O.K. What do you think? Does this voice pull you in more than the old one? I recently read one woman's talk on "Seven Things Writers Can Learn from Harry Potter." It made me think of two things:
First, can I make Alex more likable and easier to relate to if I start her story on Earth? (Like Rowling started Harry's story in the Muggle world)
Two, do we gain more sympathy for Alex if we see how nice she is to the blind cat (Like Harry's nice to the snake at the zoo) and see how lonely she is--her closest "friends" are kids she's only seen twice because she's isolated on an island (Harry has no real friends; he's locked up in a closet)?
I don't know how many of you are checking this blog in the summer, but if you do, please let me know which version of the beginning you like better. The old one or this new one.
Here goes . . .
I’ll never forget the day I left Earth. ‘Cuz if I had known where I’d be going or how long I’d be gone, I would have begged—BEGGED—Grandpa to hide instead of run.
Don’t get me wrong. I was dying to get off that island. During the eleven years I lived there, Grandpa had let me off the island only three times. The first time was a week after Grandma left—that was back when I was eleven—and the two other times were when he needed help bartering with the natives at Tuvalu, an island hundreds of miles away.
Yeah, I was totally desperate to see the rest of the world. I dreamed about it. I wasted away afternoons imagining how different my life would be if I could just get away.
I got away all right. I got away all the way to the moon.
The day my life changed forever started out like any other. Keala, the totally crazy cat who wakes me up each morning, started licking my face before the sun was fully up. I call Keala totally crazy because she’s blind but she acts like she’s not. I’ve seen her smash her face straight into walls and then bounce off like it’s no big deal.
There’s no point ignoring Keala—she’ll just keep licking your face no matter how many times you wave her away—so I got up and headed to the kitchen. By the time I’d put the flour, eggs, milk, butter, and salt into the MealMaker 2200, Grandpa was already shuffling into the kitchen.
“Good morning, Alex.”
I turned to face my grandfather. “Today’s the day, Grandpa.”
“You say that every morning.”
“I know, but today is different. As soon as I swung my legs out of bed, I thought Today my life is going to change, and that can only mean one thing. Grandma’s coming home today.”
Grandpa hit a button on the Beverage Depot Deluxe, and a cup of steaming hot coffee dropped down. “It’s hard to believe it’s getting close to two years now.”
I’d seen Grandpa close to crying a handful of times in the past two years. It always gave me a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. Adults aren’t supposed to cry in front of you, are they? I had to change the subject—fast!
“Well, something’s going to happen today.” I picked up Keala and rubbed my face against her soft fur. “Maybe today will be the first day Keala doesn’t get stuck in a tree.”
Grandpa snorted. “Yeah, right.”
The MealMaker 2200 buzzed, so I put Keala down and pulled out two plates of the most perfect-looking pancakes you’ve ever seen. Grandpa put the syrup on the table as I carried over the plates. Keala rubbed up against my legs, and I gave her a piece of my breakfast. She immediately ran off, chomping on the morsel and smacking her lips.
Grandpa ate in silence while I worked up the courage to get what I was thinking off my chest.
“You know, my birthday’s coming up.”
Grandpa let out a “Hhrrmm” while chewing a mouthful of pancakes.
“I was thinking maybe you could take me in the Rock Jumper to Tuvalu.”
“We don’t need to do any bartering right now.”
“Please, Grandpa. For my birthday. Let me visit the kids at Tuvalu. They’re the closest thing I have to friends.”
Grandpa put down his fork and looked at me with his Sad Eyes. I hate the Sad Eyes. Somehow they make me feel sad and guilty and angry all at the same time.
“Alex, I’m sorry, but you know every time we visit Tuvalu, we put ourselves at risk . . .”
“I know. I know. At risk of the Emperor finding me.” I wasn’t hungry anymore. I picked up my plate and dumped the remains of my pancakes into the Recycler. “Stupid curse,” I muttered. I had been cursed at birth with a unique ability. Something that no other human could do. Something that marked me as Wanted with a capital W by Emperor Devlesh himself.
“I’m going outside.” I picked up my bag and headed out.
There was only one place I wanted to be—my favorite tree. It was an old monkey pod that sat on the edge of a cliff that dropped straight down to the ocean. Like most monkey pod trees, it wasn’t super tall, but its branches spread out pretty wide. In fact, my favorite spot in the tree hung out so far, it felt like you’d fall down the cliff if you made one wrong move. Perhaps I liked the danger of it all. Or maybe I liked the fact that I could see for miles. If Grandma were to come back today, this would be the best spot for seeing her first. Nowhere else on the island offered such a view.
When I got to the tree, I wasn’t alone. Crazy Keala sat on a branch, meowing mournfully. Being a cat, and a blind one on top of that, she had no idea how to get down.
“Come on, Keala,” I called softly. “Time to get down.” I scurried up the tree, scooped up Keala, and set her gently in my bag. With the bag on my back, I made my way down slowly and released Keala. “Now stay down here, will ya? Stupid cat, you’d think you’d learn.”
I headed back up the tree and nestled myself into my favorite reading spot. From my bag, I pulled out one of Grandma’s old novels. It was a silly sci-fi story some woman had written back in the twenty-second century about what life would be like in the twenty-third century. Boy, was she wrong!
But I read it anyway. I read it to pass the time. I read it to keep my mind off of being stuck on the island. I read it because it reminded me of Grandma.
However, the story was so unbelievably awful that my mind kept drifting. I’d look out over the ocean, hoping that my earlier premonition would be right. Today really would be the day Grandma came home, almost two years after going in search of my mother. Mom disappeared when I was two. But even after all those years, my grandma still believed she was alive. A casualty of war, my grandpa would say about my mother. A missing-in-action warrior, my grandma would correct him.
And then it happened.
I saw a dark spot on the horizon. Not a cloud. Not a boat. But a ship. A low-flying rocketship. Could it be? Was Grandma finally coming home?
My heartbeat skyrocketed. I had been right. Today was the day. I stuffed the book back in my bag and edged up higher in the tree to get a better look. The black spot on the horizon was getting bigger.
And then it wasn’t just one black spot, but several. Was Grandma bringing others with her?
Suddenly, I knew. That wasn’t Grandma’s ship. Those were hoverships. Black hoverships. Black hoverships reserved for the Emperor’s henchlings. I had seen them one other time, on one of our bartering trips to Tuvalu. It had been a narrow escape that time. Would we be as lucky this time?
I nearly jumped out of the monkey pod tree. The sun was high above the horizon now, and I knew I’d find Grandpa tending to his garden.
“Grandpa!” I called as soon as I was within hearing distance. “Grandpa!”
The panic in my voice must have been obvious ‘cuz Grandpa came running right away.
“Alex? Alex, what is it? Did you get bit?”
I shook my head wildly. My words came out between panted gasps. “The Emperor . . . black hoverships . . . they’re coming.”
Grandpa didn’t waste any time. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the garageportal.
“Get in the Rock Jumper. We’re leaving immediately.”
“Where are we going?”
Grandpa ignored my question. Instead he muttered, “I never thought I’d live to see the day.” He uncovered a box that was marked “911” and threw it in the Rock Jumper. “Put on your grandmother’s spacesuit and her helmet.”
“Grandma’s spacesuit? Grandpa, where are we going?”
“I don’t have time to argue, young lady. Get the suit on now and buckle up. We can’t waste a second.”
Grandma’s spacesuit hung on the wall of the garageport like a lifeless form. I had never even dared to try it on because I only feared it would make me want to leave the island even more. But now I was being instructed to put it on. I couldn’t believe it.
Grandpa nearly jumped into his own spacesuit. Then he helped me zip up Grandma’s and secure the helmet.
“Let’s go,” he called over the suit’s intercom system.
I threw my bag into one of the Rock Jumper’s storage compartments and buckled myself into the Rock Jumper as Grandpa hit the button to open the hatch above.
“Brace yourself, Alex.”
I had no time to think. The rocket shot up, and all I could see above me was blue sky.
***
O.K. What do you think? Does this voice pull you in more than the old one? I recently read one woman's talk on "Seven Things Writers Can Learn from Harry Potter." It made me think of two things:
First, can I make Alex more likable and easier to relate to if I start her story on Earth? (Like Rowling started Harry's story in the Muggle world)
Two, do we gain more sympathy for Alex if we see how nice she is to the blind cat (Like Harry's nice to the snake at the zoo) and see how lonely she is--her closest "friends" are kids she's only seen twice because she's isolated on an island (Harry has no real friends; he's locked up in a closet)?
Friday, June 18, 2010
Book Review: WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON by Grace Lin
If you like Chinese folktales, you will love this book. I'm not a huge fan of fables and folklore, but this one is so well told, that it will top my recommendation list this year.
Minli, a young girl who lives with her parents in the shadow of Fruitless Mountain, works hard in the rice fields each day. Her parents work even harder, but they barely have enough food to feed themselves. To distract them from their poverty, Minli's father spends much of their spare time in the evenings telling Minli stories about the Old Man of the Moon who holds everyone's destiny, the Jade Dragon that keeps the mountain from growing food, and the mean, greedy Magistrate Tiger.
One day, Minli meets a mysterious goldish salesman who swears his fish will bring people good luck. Hoping to save her parents from hard work and poverty, Minli spends one of her last two coins on a goldfish. What results is a magical journey that takes Minli up to the top of Neverending Mountain, where she hopes to meet the Old Man of the Moon, the only one with the power to change her fortune.
I really liked how the author Grace Lin wove various folk tales into her story, first through the character of Minli's father and then through other wonderful characters that Minli meets along the way. Not only are the individual stories entertaining, but they also directly tie into the way Minli solves her own dilemma. In other words, there's a big payoff at the end.
An entertaining and heartwarming book, I will definitely recommend it to my sixth graders next year, but I think anyone who enjoys a lively folktale will want to pick this one up.
Minli, a young girl who lives with her parents in the shadow of Fruitless Mountain, works hard in the rice fields each day. Her parents work even harder, but they barely have enough food to feed themselves. To distract them from their poverty, Minli's father spends much of their spare time in the evenings telling Minli stories about the Old Man of the Moon who holds everyone's destiny, the Jade Dragon that keeps the mountain from growing food, and the mean, greedy Magistrate Tiger.
One day, Minli meets a mysterious goldish salesman who swears his fish will bring people good luck. Hoping to save her parents from hard work and poverty, Minli spends one of her last two coins on a goldfish. What results is a magical journey that takes Minli up to the top of Neverending Mountain, where she hopes to meet the Old Man of the Moon, the only one with the power to change her fortune.
I really liked how the author Grace Lin wove various folk tales into her story, first through the character of Minli's father and then through other wonderful characters that Minli meets along the way. Not only are the individual stories entertaining, but they also directly tie into the way Minli solves her own dilemma. In other words, there's a big payoff at the end.
An entertaining and heartwarming book, I will definitely recommend it to my sixth graders next year, but I think anyone who enjoys a lively folktale will want to pick this one up.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Calling All Teen Writers!
I wanted to make sure I passed this on before I forgot.
Next month (July) a new website will be launched that will help teen writers connect with each other and professional writers. The website will be figmentfiction.com.
If you're a teen and you like to write, make sure you check it out next month!
Next month (July) a new website will be launched that will help teen writers connect with each other and professional writers. The website will be figmentfiction.com.
If you're a teen and you like to write, make sure you check it out next month!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Book Review: THE COMET'S CURSE by Dom Testa
When a comet streaks past Earth and leaves behind a deadly disease that affects anyone over the age of 18, a group of young teens must board a ship and head to a new planet to save the human race from extinction.
I like the premise by Dom Testa's YA sci-fi novel. His storytelling is pretty straightforward, and the novel builds nicely to a climax.
I first became aware of this book while at the IRA (International Reading Association) Convention last month. Testa was speaking at the convention about sci-fi novels; unfortunately, I missed his presentation since I was attending only on Monday, and his talk was on Wednesday. Now that I've read his book, I'm really sorry I missed his talk.
When I first started writing Alex Jones, I had to do a market analysis for my writing teacher. This means checking out other similar books that are already published to make sure my book idea isn't too similar to other books already out there. At the time I started my novel, I could find only two books that really took place on the moon: M.T. Anderson's Feed and Paula Danziger's This Place Has No Atmosphere. Neither of them are very similar to my story.
Testa's novel, however, does possess some similarities to mine, which is why I really would have liked attending his session at the IRA Convention. Both of our stories involve teens (although his are slightly older than mine), and both of them involve new civilizations outside planet Earth (his on a ship headed for another planet and mine on the moon). Interestingly, his ship and my moon colony have similarities. Both have recreations facilities, dining halls, and computers that control just about everything.
One thing I really liked about Testa's book is that the chapters alternate between what's happening on the ship and what happened back on Earth that led up to sending off a ship with 251 teenagers on it to start a new civilization on a planet five years away. By the end of the book, what was happening on the ship dovetailed nicely with what was happening back on Earth.
The book is part of a series (called the Galahad series), so I'll be interested in seeing what happens next. I'd recommend this book to any student who likes sci-fi stories with strong teenage protagonists.
I like the premise by Dom Testa's YA sci-fi novel. His storytelling is pretty straightforward, and the novel builds nicely to a climax.
I first became aware of this book while at the IRA (International Reading Association) Convention last month. Testa was speaking at the convention about sci-fi novels; unfortunately, I missed his presentation since I was attending only on Monday, and his talk was on Wednesday. Now that I've read his book, I'm really sorry I missed his talk.
When I first started writing Alex Jones, I had to do a market analysis for my writing teacher. This means checking out other similar books that are already published to make sure my book idea isn't too similar to other books already out there. At the time I started my novel, I could find only two books that really took place on the moon: M.T. Anderson's Feed and Paula Danziger's This Place Has No Atmosphere. Neither of them are very similar to my story.
Testa's novel, however, does possess some similarities to mine, which is why I really would have liked attending his session at the IRA Convention. Both of our stories involve teens (although his are slightly older than mine), and both of them involve new civilizations outside planet Earth (his on a ship headed for another planet and mine on the moon). Interestingly, his ship and my moon colony have similarities. Both have recreations facilities, dining halls, and computers that control just about everything.
One thing I really liked about Testa's book is that the chapters alternate between what's happening on the ship and what happened back on Earth that led up to sending off a ship with 251 teenagers on it to start a new civilization on a planet five years away. By the end of the book, what was happening on the ship dovetailed nicely with what was happening back on Earth.
The book is part of a series (called the Galahad series), so I'll be interested in seeing what happens next. I'd recommend this book to any student who likes sci-fi stories with strong teenage protagonists.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Screenwriting Competition Finalist!
My post today is a departure from my typical post since most of that has to do with my novel.
Today I'm thrilled to say that I was just named a finalist in the Creative Screenwriting Cyberspace Open contest!
I'm in total shock. I entered the contest on a lark. It was only $13 to enter, and every entrant would receive feedback on the screenplay. Thirteen bucks is pretty cheap to have a professional give you feedback!
So I entered Round 1 of the contest, which worked like this: on a Friday night (I think it was April 16), every contestant was sent a scene premise. Here's the premise we were given:
"Your protagonist is crushed. His or her plans have been dashed; his objective now appears impossible. And yet if he throws in the towel, bad things will happen. Write a scene in which a mentor, friend, love interest or enemy rallies or provokes your protagonist in an unexpected way. Be sure to give us your best dialogue here as your protagonist comes around and rises – or falls — to the occasion."
We then had until 9:00 a.m. Monday morning to write a 3-5 page scene based on the premise.
Click here if you want to read my scene.
The finalists were posted online here if you want to check out my competition. I think one of my former middle school students (from way back) is actually one of my fellow finalists! How weird is that--student and teacher ending up in the same competition!
(Note to Mike Tyburski--If you stumble upon my blog and you are the Mike Tyburski that I taught in Waukegan 10-12 years ago, please contact me. I'd love to hear from ya!)
For the final round, we will be given a different premise this Saturday at noon, and then have only 24 hours to write a new 3-5 page scene!
You can bet I'll be talking about this when I teach my annual summer school screenwriting class to middle school students. :)
Today I'm thrilled to say that I was just named a finalist in the Creative Screenwriting Cyberspace Open contest!
I'm in total shock. I entered the contest on a lark. It was only $13 to enter, and every entrant would receive feedback on the screenplay. Thirteen bucks is pretty cheap to have a professional give you feedback!
So I entered Round 1 of the contest, which worked like this: on a Friday night (I think it was April 16), every contestant was sent a scene premise. Here's the premise we were given:
"Your protagonist is crushed. His or her plans have been dashed; his objective now appears impossible. And yet if he throws in the towel, bad things will happen. Write a scene in which a mentor, friend, love interest or enemy rallies or provokes your protagonist in an unexpected way. Be sure to give us your best dialogue here as your protagonist comes around and rises – or falls — to the occasion."
We then had until 9:00 a.m. Monday morning to write a 3-5 page scene based on the premise.
Click here if you want to read my scene.
The finalists were posted online here if you want to check out my competition. I think one of my former middle school students (from way back) is actually one of my fellow finalists! How weird is that--student and teacher ending up in the same competition!
(Note to Mike Tyburski--If you stumble upon my blog and you are the Mike Tyburski that I taught in Waukegan 10-12 years ago, please contact me. I'd love to hear from ya!)
For the final round, we will be given a different premise this Saturday at noon, and then have only 24 hours to write a new 3-5 page scene!
You can bet I'll be talking about this when I teach my annual summer school screenwriting class to middle school students. :)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Please vote on which summary you like best!
Once an author has written a book, the easy part is over. That's right--the writing of the novel is the easy part. The hard part is getting it published.
In order to get a book published, authors often send what are called "query letters" to literary agents and/or editors to see if they are interested in reading their manuscripts. These query letters must include a short summary of the book, one that doesn't give away the ending. Ideally, it gives away just enough of the story to whet the reader's appetite and make 'em beg for more!
Literary agent (and fellow blogger) Nathan Bransford suggests writing three different summaries: a one-sentence pitch, a one-paragraph summary, and a two-paragraph summary. Have you ever tried to boil a whole book down to one sentence?
Here's my one-sentence pitch for Alex Jones: When a thirteen-year-old girl seeks refuge from an evil emperor by fleeing to a moon colony, she hopes to make some new friends; instead, she makes trouble.
Now here's where I could use your help. I've written two two-paragraph summaries for the book. Let me know which one you think is better.
Summary A:
When the Alex Jones is chased off planet Earth for having a superpower, she and her grandfather must head to the moon to escape the clutches of the evil Emperor Devlesh. For the first time in her life, Alex hopes to finally make some friends her own age. However, the moon colonists haven’t had a new resident in eleven years, and they’re not so sure they want a girl who lies, cheats, and sneaks around the colony at night.
But Alex doesn’t have much choice. Her grandmother is still back on Earth, and her grandfather’s ship is busted. An old feud keeps Grandpa from asking for help from the colonists, so it’s up to Alex and her superpowers to save the day. Too bad it’s her superpowers that might just get her a return ticket back to the Emperor’s clutches.
Summary B:
In the year 2216, thirteen-year-old Alex Jones just wants to make friends; instead, she makes trouble. The evil Emperor Devlesh wants Alex for her power. All her life she’s had the ability to snatch up any object she wants with just a flick of her wrist. To escape the Emperor’s clutches, she and her grandfather head to the International Moon Colony, where Alex hopes she can finally make some friends. However, nobody new has entered the colony for eleven years, and the colonists are immediately suspicious of their latest resident.
Alex knows she must keep her power a secret, but that's not easy. Grandma's still back on Earth, and Grandpa's ship is broken. Alex could steal the supplies Grandpa needs, but that means using her power--a risk that could expose her to the Emperor's spies and scare away the only friends she's ever known.
You can tell me which one you like better in the comments section, by emailing me, or (if you're one of my students) by telling me at school. :)
In order to get a book published, authors often send what are called "query letters" to literary agents and/or editors to see if they are interested in reading their manuscripts. These query letters must include a short summary of the book, one that doesn't give away the ending. Ideally, it gives away just enough of the story to whet the reader's appetite and make 'em beg for more!
Literary agent (and fellow blogger) Nathan Bransford suggests writing three different summaries: a one-sentence pitch, a one-paragraph summary, and a two-paragraph summary. Have you ever tried to boil a whole book down to one sentence?
Here's my one-sentence pitch for Alex Jones: When a thirteen-year-old girl seeks refuge from an evil emperor by fleeing to a moon colony, she hopes to make some new friends; instead, she makes trouble.
Now here's where I could use your help. I've written two two-paragraph summaries for the book. Let me know which one you think is better.
Summary A:
When the Alex Jones is chased off planet Earth for having a superpower, she and her grandfather must head to the moon to escape the clutches of the evil Emperor Devlesh. For the first time in her life, Alex hopes to finally make some friends her own age. However, the moon colonists haven’t had a new resident in eleven years, and they’re not so sure they want a girl who lies, cheats, and sneaks around the colony at night.
But Alex doesn’t have much choice. Her grandmother is still back on Earth, and her grandfather’s ship is busted. An old feud keeps Grandpa from asking for help from the colonists, so it’s up to Alex and her superpowers to save the day. Too bad it’s her superpowers that might just get her a return ticket back to the Emperor’s clutches.
Summary B:
In the year 2216, thirteen-year-old Alex Jones just wants to make friends; instead, she makes trouble. The evil Emperor Devlesh wants Alex for her power. All her life she’s had the ability to snatch up any object she wants with just a flick of her wrist. To escape the Emperor’s clutches, she and her grandfather head to the International Moon Colony, where Alex hopes she can finally make some friends. However, nobody new has entered the colony for eleven years, and the colonists are immediately suspicious of their latest resident.
Alex knows she must keep her power a secret, but that's not easy. Grandma's still back on Earth, and Grandpa's ship is broken. Alex could steal the supplies Grandpa needs, but that means using her power--a risk that could expose her to the Emperor's spies and scare away the only friends she's ever known.
You can tell me which one you like better in the comments section, by emailing me, or (if you're one of my students) by telling me at school. :)
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Article Published!
I just had an article published in an online newsletter. If you want to find out how I use fantasy books in my classroom, check out the article HERE.
My article is the second one in the newsletter. The main topic of the article, Joseph Campbell's theory of the monomyth, was actually a huge inspiration for Alex's story. Can you already guess what Alex's "call to adventure" was? How about her "supernatural aid"?
My article is the second one in the newsletter. The main topic of the article, Joseph Campbell's theory of the monomyth, was actually a huge inspiration for Alex's story. Can you already guess what Alex's "call to adventure" was? How about her "supernatural aid"?
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Publication Update
I've been reading a lot online lately about the dangers of posting book chapters online. The fear is that someone may steal your fabulous idea and get the book (or one very similar to it) published first. Many literary agents and publishers are strongly recommending NOT posting book chapters for free online.
Furthermore, I've just sent the manuscript out to a publisher. If by some lucky chance, the editor is interested in publishing my humble little book, I'll have to comply with the regulations of whatever contract I sign.
Therefore, I won't be posting any more chapters--at least for the very near future. If you want to know what happens next to Alex, email me and I'll send you some more. I believe those of you who have been following this blog know how to get my school email address (check the school's website if you don't).
Thanks so much for following Alex's story thus far! If I get any more news about getting the book published, I'll post it here. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for me. :)
Furthermore, I've just sent the manuscript out to a publisher. If by some lucky chance, the editor is interested in publishing my humble little book, I'll have to comply with the regulations of whatever contract I sign.
Therefore, I won't be posting any more chapters--at least for the very near future. If you want to know what happens next to Alex, email me and I'll send you some more. I believe those of you who have been following this blog know how to get my school email address (check the school's website if you don't).
Thanks so much for following Alex's story thus far! If I get any more news about getting the book published, I'll post it here. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for me. :)
Monday, April 19, 2010
Chapter 7
Chapter 7:
A RESCUE MISSION
Alex’s head shot up. Turning left and then right, she scanned the moonscape as if expecting her grandfather to pop out from behind one of the boulders or a crater ridge. Was he still nearby? How long ago had he been there? And why hadn’t he returned to Earth?
Scattered across the crater, Alex’s classmates were busy choosing their rock samples. Periodically, excited shouts crackled over the headsets.
“This one’s orange!”
“I found one with a light purple streak.”
Alex watched as Sam struggled to lift a giant rock that was much too big to be carried back. Professor Callahan motioned that it needed to stay put.
Peeking down at the paper hidden in her gloved hands, Alex studied the handwriting on the note again. It had to be Grandpa’s. Did she dare open the note with others around?
The speaker in Alex’s headset crackled, and Professor Callahan’s voice came across the intercom. “O.K., everyone, let’s wrap it up. Take your samples and head back to the moon buggy.”
Alex shoved the note into her bag. Her curiosity would have to wait.
On the ride back to the colony, Alex gripped her bag tightly to her chest. She felt like she had stolen a secret treasure. She was eager to find out what Grandpa had to say, but she couldn’t share her emotions with anyone. As she contemplated what Grandpa might have written, she began to worry. If the note truly was from Grandpa, why was he still here on the moon? When she’d left him on Friday, he had been confident he could repair the Rock Jumper.
And what if it wasn’t really from Grandpa? Perhaps someone was trying to trick her into thinking her grandfather had left her a note. Could Emperor Devlesh’s spies have followed her and be using this as a trap?
Alex’s anxiety over the note increased as the day progressed. Whenever she thought she had a moment alone, she would reach for her bag to pull out the note, but as soon as she did so, someone would appear and she’d shove the note back into the depths of the bag. She would only read that note when she was sure no one was watching.
The opportunity finally came that evening. The girls had spent the early part of the evening cleaning their room for Madame Oberin’s Monday night inspection. Now Alex sat at the desk in her nearly spotless room, struggling to concentrate on a math problem involving complementary angles. Her mind continually wandered to the note that was burning a hole in her bag. On the other side of the room, Carrie sat on her bed with a portable console on her lap. She was reading through a portion of the history textbook.
“Ugh!” Carrie tapped the screen to close the history book. “I’m sick of ancient civilizations.” She tossed the portable console onto her desk. Then she let out a big yawn. “I’m getting ready for bed.” Carrie grabbed her pink-and-white pajamas (despite her curly, red hair, she insisted pink was her color) and headed toward the washroom.
Alex’s heart raced. This was it. She finally had a moment alone.
As soon as the door slid shut behind Carrie, Alex snatched up her bag. Her hands trembled as she pulled the note from the depths of the bag. It had been crushed and wrinkled over the course of the day from the shoving in and yanking out of books. She read the inscription on the outside fold one more time to convince herself it was real. Then she carefully unfolded the page and flattened it on the desk before her.
Alex took a deep breath and read:
Alex,
Repairs not going as planned. Need new oxygen tank and supplies. Meet me tonight outside the exit you used this afternoon. I’ll be waiting behind the large boulder that is shaped like a giant tortoise.
Grandpa
Leaning back in her chair, Alex let out a soft, “Wow.” Grandpa hadn’t made it off the moon after all. And he needed her help. Alex wondered how much oxygen he had left. She knew he had at least one spare tank in the Rock Jumper, but how much more? And what type of supplies would he need?
Alex checked her watch. It was nearly curfew time. Carrie would be back soon from the bathroom and would want to go to bed. Quickly, Alex shoved the note back into her bag along with her space helmet. She clipped her PTD onto her bag and practiced taking her spacesuit out of her closet without making too much noise.
The door to the room slid open.
“You’d better hurry if you want to use the washroom,” Carrie warned. “Madame Oberin is already making the rounds.”
“Thanks,” muttered Alex. She grabbed her pajamas and dashed out of the room. She’d have to make a good show of it and pretend she was going to sleep.
Fifteen minutes later, Alex was snug in her bed, but sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. She listened carefully to Carrie’s breathing. When it started to become slow and regular, Alex pushed back her sheets and slowly eased her head up off the pillow. The room was still. Alex swung a leg over the side of her bed and leaned up onto her elbow.
A snort erupted from Carrie’s side of the room, and there was a rustling movement in her bed. Alex threw herself back under the covers. She wasn’t going to take any chances. As she lay there, Alex wondered what would happen if she got caught sneaking around the colony at night. Would the General kick her out of the colony? What would happen to Grandpa then? She supposed that, if she got caught, she could confess that she was going to help her grandfather, but then what? Would the General kick her and Grandpa off the moon?
After twenty minutes of complete silence from Carrie’s bed, Alex decided it was now or never. Once again, she eased herself up on an elbow. The shades were pulled over the window that faced the playdium. Glimpses of fake moonlight peeked from around the shades. In the darkness, Alex peered toward Carrie, who remained motionless. Alex sat up on the edge of the bed. The mattress creaked a bit; Alex paused but Carrie continued to sleep. In one smooth movement, Alex stood up and held her breath. No sound came from the other bed.
Moving as swiftly and as quietly as she could, Alex picked up her bag and grabbed her spacesuit from her closet. When the door slid open, Alex peered out into the hallway. No sign of Madame Oberin. Alex tiptoed across the hallway and down to the girls’ washroom. As expected, it was empty. Alex made quick work of getting into her spacegear. Then she moved her PTD from her bag to a small pocket on her suit. For the time being, she would keep her helmet in her bag.
Back out in the hallway, Alex was relieved to see that no one was around. She hoped the rest of the colony was as quiet as the student dormitory. She hurried down the corridor, around the corner, and to the nearest elevator. The door slid open. Alex had yet to try out the voice commands on the elevator. She was so nervous that she worried it wouldn’t obey her. With a tremulous voice, Alex called out, “First floor.” The elevator door closed and began to move down.
When the door slid open on the first floor, Alex stepped out cautiously. Still no signs of life. The quiet corridor was completely empty. The bright daytime lights had been turned off, and a cool blue glow kept the hallway dimly lit. Alex hoped the General was as strict about curfew with the rest of the colony as Madame Oberin was with the orphans.
Alex debated whether to go left or right. The left would get her to the main hangar faster, but she didn’t know that hallway as well. The right would take a bit longer but was less likely to be occupied. This direction would take her through the school zone; surely no one would be there at this time. Deciding privacy was more important than speed, Alex turned toward the right.
Rounding the corner, Alex discovered that the hallway wasn’t as abandoned as she had expected. Light emanated from the open doorway to Ms. Pullman’s classroom. Alex drew closer. She couldn’t hear any voices from the room, only the faint whirring of a machine sweeping and buffing the floors. Should she try to sneak past the room or head in the other direction?
As she stood in the hallway debating, the whirring grew louder. Whoever was cleaning the floor was about to head out into the hallway. Alex looked around. There was nothing in the hallway to hide behind. She stepped in front of the door to Professor Callahan’s classroom, which slid open, and she ducked inside. She could hear the door to Ms. Pullman’s room closing moments before Professor Callahan’s door closed behind her.
The whirring sound kept growing louder. Clearly, the cleaning person was headed her way. Alex looked around for a place to hide. She opened the door to one of the cabinets that held Professor Callahan’s equipment. Too small for her to squeeze into with her space suit on, she decided. The room had many lab tables, each with a smooth black top and a built-in sink. Underneath the countertop was a set of drawers and cabinets for holding beakers, Bunsen burners, vials, and test tubes.
When she heard the door to Professor Callahan’s room slide open, Alex ducked behind Adam and Sam’s lab table. The whirring of the cleaning machine grew louder. Had she been purposely followed, or was this simply the next room to be cleaned? With her heart beating rapidly in her chest, Alex listened for the methodical noises of the cleaning machine as it swept back and forth across the front of the room.
Trying to figure out how she could make her escape, Alex crawled to the end of the row. She didn’t hear any footsteps over the whirring of the machine, the noise increasing until she felt like she would be swept up into its spinning brushes. Peering around the corner of a lab table, Alex watched a shadow form on the floor three rows ahead of her. The shadow was short and wide, with beveled edges at the top. Within moments, Alex saw a fat tub of a droid emerge from the row of lab tables, hit the wall, and then turn to come back down the next row. Beneath its stout body, a spinning set of brushes was going to town on the classroom floor. Alex ducked her head back. It was only an automated cleaning droid. Alex didn’t know much about these droids. Could it see her? If it could, would it care?
Alex decided not to take any chances. She waited until the cleaning droid was at the far end of the next row. Then before it could turn around and head back in her direction, she scooted along the aisle and out the open doorway.
In the hallway, Alex didn’t waste any time. She wanted to be out of the classroom area before that cleaning droid moved to the next room. She sped past Ms. Pullman’s classroom, then Mr. Trang’s room, and then through the primary grade area. At the end of the school zone, Alex peered around the next corner. No one was in sight. She passed by the dining hall and several businesses including the delivery services and Carol’s Colony Clothing. Then Alex stepped through one of the narrow hallways that led to the outer loop. From here, she didn’t have far to go to reach the hangar.
At this time of night, the hangar was nearly pitch black. A few emergency lights cast long, dark shadows around the rocket ships. Alex felt her way over to the storage area. Here she unhooked two OPA tanks and headed to the dustroom. This small space, Alex had learned that afternoon, served as an equalizer between the colony’s atmosphere and the lack of atmosphere outside. When Alex first met Marta, she had been in the American wing’s dustroom.
In the dustroom off the main hangar, Alex adjusted her tank and attached her space helmet. Leaving her bag in the dustroom and carrying the spare OPA tank, Alex swiped her PTD at the doorway and watched as the door to the moon’s surface slid open.
Nighttime made no difference in this part of the moon. The sun shone as always, yet the sky remained pitch black. Not even stars could be seen. Alex made a mental note to ask Professor Callahan why this was so.
Off to the right, Alex could see the large boulder shaped like a giant tortoise. It was big enough to hide Moon Buggy #3 behind it. Alex’s heart rate quickened again. What if this was a trap? Alex imagined Emperor Devlesh’s spies capturing her grandfather upon re-entry to Earth and torturing him into giving them Alex’s location. If they were able to get her grandfather to admit he had brought her to the moon, would they then try to lure her out of the colony, away from the General’s protection? Cautiously, Alex made a wide circle as she came around the edge of the boulder. She was prepared at any moment to drop the spare OPA tank and run for the entry portal if necessary.
A set of space boots stuck out from the edge of the boulder. The toes were pointed upward. Whoever was wearing them was either lying down or seated with his legs out flat in front of them. Alex crept closer. They looked like her grandfather’s boots. As she drew nearer, she could see a body seated on the lunar surface, its head and torso slumped against the side of the boulder.
Alex tapped the comm link button on her helmet. “Grandpa?” she inquired tentatively.
There was no response. Was she too close to the IMC for her comm link to work?
Creeping up to the body, Alex recognized her grandfather’s space suit. His head was drooping over his chest.
“Grandpa!” Alex hurried over as fast as she could, the moon’s low gravity causing her to bounce along. When she reached her grandfather, Alex dropped the OPA tank and pulled the old man’s helmet up. Through the face shield, Alex could see her grandfather’s eyes were closed, his face pale. “Grandpa, are you alright?” His head bobbed, but he didn’t respond. Alex leaned over his body and examined the gauge on his air tank. He was literally running on fumes. “Oh, my god, Grandpa!”
Alex swung the spare OPA tank over to the other side and pulled out the connection
hose. After disconnecting Grandpa’s old tank, she attached the hose to the OPA tank and switched it on. Within seconds, she heard her grandfather gasp. His eyes flew open and he looked around startled. He was taking in massive gulps of oxygen.
“It’s O.K., Grandpa, it’s O.K.,” Alex grabbed his arms. “You’re alright now. I hooked up a new oxygen tank.”
“Alex?”
“Yeah, Grandpa. It’s me. You’re fine. You were running low on air. I got you a new tank. It’s O.K. now.”
Grandpa’s strained muscles relaxed. “Alex,” he sighed. “I tried to stay awake, but . . .”
“Relax. You’ve got plenty of air now, and I’m here.” Alex settled into a sitting position beside Grandpa. She waited while he took a few calming breaths. “Can you tell me what happened? Why aren’t you back on Earth yet?”
Grandpa shook his head despondently. “It should have been an easy fix. Just straighten out the landing gear and repair the brake rocket that wouldn’t fire.”
“So what went wrong?”
Grandpa took a few more deep breaths. “Well, some of the joints I need to loosen are welded into place. Then I broke the one power wrench I had with me. When I got to the brake rocket, I tinkered around with it for hours. Then I realized the part I thought was broken wasn’t broken at all, and I needed a different part.” Grandpa shook his head slowly. He reached into a pocket in his spacesuit. “Do you think you could get your hands on these things for me?” He pulled out a small slip of paper.
“I tried to draw a picture of the last one for you.”
Alex glanced at the scribbled list. Where would she get things like a power wrench?
“I can try, but, Grandpa, what if I can’t?”
“You must. The more I think about it, the more I worry about your grandmother. Those hoverships were a bad omen. I need to get back to Earth as soon as possible.”
“Why don’t you come back to the colony with me? Then you could ask the General for these parts.”
Grandpa shook his head as Alex stood up. Over one edge of the boulder, she could see the entrance to the IMC. Alex froze. Standing in the open portal, Marta was scanning the moonscape. Alex ducked back behind the boulder before Marta looked in her direction.
“What is it?”
“I think I was followed when I left the colony.”
“By whom?”
“Marta, one of the droids.”
Grandpa thought for a moment. “Is there any way you can sneak back in?”
“I’ll have to wait until she goes back inside. Then I’ll enter through another portal.” Alex sat back against the boulder. She read through her grandfather’s supply list again. Some of the items sounded familiar, like the power wrench and various sizes of nuts and bolts. However, a couple items were not ones Alex had much experience with. “How soon do you need this stuff?”
“The sooner the better. Do you think you could meet me out here again two nights from now?”
Inside her space helmet, Alex bit her lip. She was sure she could look up these items on any of the colony’s computer consoles, but getting her hands on them would be another matter. “Where am I gonna find this stuff?”
“Search for a tool and supply room near the hangar. You’ll have to sneak in after work hours.”
“And if I can’t find all of it?”
“Bring me what you can on Wednesday night. Can you get me food, too? I don’t have much left.”
Alex nodded. “Food should be pretty easy. Do you need water, too? You’ll need it to keep the OPA tank running.”
“The water recycling system on the ship is still working. I should be fine.”
Alex took a deep breath and asked the question she had tried to get answered many times before. Perhaps the gravity of their current situation would change Grandpa’s mind and get him to talk. “Grandpa, what happened between you and the General?”
Grandpa sighed. When he spoke, his voice was weary. “Alex, I’ve told you before. We had a disagreement—the kind you never recover from. I can’t ask him to help me.”
“But you could have died out here!”
“That probably would have made the General happy,” replied Grandpa drily.
“Grandpa!”
“Oh, now, take it easy. The important thing is I’m still alive. You brought me the one thing I really needed.” Grandpa patted the OPA tank beside him. “So I’m doing just fine without the General’s help.”
“I don’t understand what the two of you could have fought about that was so awful.”
“Alex. We’ve been through this a hundred times. I’m not going to talk about the war with you. War is not a topic for children.”
“I’m not exactly a child anymore. I’m a teenager.”
“Oh, Alex.” Grandpa dropped his head into his hands. “I forgot how many days have passed since we left Earth.” He looked up at her. “I can’t believe your birthday’s passed already. Before the hoverships arrived, I had thought about how we were going to celebrate your thirteenth birthday. I was going to cook your favorite meal and take you for your first flying lesson. I guess my plans got sidetracked.”
Alex looked down at her hands. She hadn’t meant to make her grandpa feel guilty.
“That’s O.K., Grandpa.”
“No, it’s not. A girl should have a thirteenth birthday party. When this whole mess is over, I promise we’ll celebrate, and I’ll get you the best birthday present you’ve ever had. What do you want?”
“All I want is for you to find Grandma and to get me away from this place.” She jerked her head in the direction of the IMC.
“You got it.” He gestured behind the boulder. “Is your droid still out there?”
Alex eased herself up and peered over the edge of the boulder. The doorway to the dustroom near the hangar was closed. There was no sign of Marta. “The coast is clear. I’m going to enter through the next wing of the colony in case Marta is waiting around for me.”
Grandpa stood up beside her and peered over the boulder as well. The area appeared completely desolate.
After a quick good-bye and promises to return in two nights, Alex left her grandfather and headed across the fine-grained surface of the crater. She kept her eyes peeled for Marta. With the low gravity, Alex was able to bounce along easily, prepared to hop behind a boulder if anyone should appear.
However, no one did appear. When Alex reached the next portal, she pulled her PTD from her pocket and held it before the panel. The door slid open, and Alex stepped inside. Once the door had sealed behind her, Alex waited while the moon dust was pulled off her suit and the gravity power increased sixfold. Then she removed her helmet slowly, making sure the atmosphere in the dustroom was properly adjusted for oxygen before shutting off her OPA tank.
Just when Alex thought she was in the clear, she heard a voice come over a speaker.
“Alex Jones. I know you’ve been outside.”
Alex held her breath.
The voice continued, “And I have your bag.”
A RESCUE MISSION
Alex’s head shot up. Turning left and then right, she scanned the moonscape as if expecting her grandfather to pop out from behind one of the boulders or a crater ridge. Was he still nearby? How long ago had he been there? And why hadn’t he returned to Earth?
Scattered across the crater, Alex’s classmates were busy choosing their rock samples. Periodically, excited shouts crackled over the headsets.
“This one’s orange!”
“I found one with a light purple streak.”
Alex watched as Sam struggled to lift a giant rock that was much too big to be carried back. Professor Callahan motioned that it needed to stay put.
Peeking down at the paper hidden in her gloved hands, Alex studied the handwriting on the note again. It had to be Grandpa’s. Did she dare open the note with others around?
The speaker in Alex’s headset crackled, and Professor Callahan’s voice came across the intercom. “O.K., everyone, let’s wrap it up. Take your samples and head back to the moon buggy.”
Alex shoved the note into her bag. Her curiosity would have to wait.
On the ride back to the colony, Alex gripped her bag tightly to her chest. She felt like she had stolen a secret treasure. She was eager to find out what Grandpa had to say, but she couldn’t share her emotions with anyone. As she contemplated what Grandpa might have written, she began to worry. If the note truly was from Grandpa, why was he still here on the moon? When she’d left him on Friday, he had been confident he could repair the Rock Jumper.
And what if it wasn’t really from Grandpa? Perhaps someone was trying to trick her into thinking her grandfather had left her a note. Could Emperor Devlesh’s spies have followed her and be using this as a trap?
Alex’s anxiety over the note increased as the day progressed. Whenever she thought she had a moment alone, she would reach for her bag to pull out the note, but as soon as she did so, someone would appear and she’d shove the note back into the depths of the bag. She would only read that note when she was sure no one was watching.
The opportunity finally came that evening. The girls had spent the early part of the evening cleaning their room for Madame Oberin’s Monday night inspection. Now Alex sat at the desk in her nearly spotless room, struggling to concentrate on a math problem involving complementary angles. Her mind continually wandered to the note that was burning a hole in her bag. On the other side of the room, Carrie sat on her bed with a portable console on her lap. She was reading through a portion of the history textbook.
“Ugh!” Carrie tapped the screen to close the history book. “I’m sick of ancient civilizations.” She tossed the portable console onto her desk. Then she let out a big yawn. “I’m getting ready for bed.” Carrie grabbed her pink-and-white pajamas (despite her curly, red hair, she insisted pink was her color) and headed toward the washroom.
Alex’s heart raced. This was it. She finally had a moment alone.
As soon as the door slid shut behind Carrie, Alex snatched up her bag. Her hands trembled as she pulled the note from the depths of the bag. It had been crushed and wrinkled over the course of the day from the shoving in and yanking out of books. She read the inscription on the outside fold one more time to convince herself it was real. Then she carefully unfolded the page and flattened it on the desk before her.
Alex took a deep breath and read:
Alex,
Repairs not going as planned. Need new oxygen tank and supplies. Meet me tonight outside the exit you used this afternoon. I’ll be waiting behind the large boulder that is shaped like a giant tortoise.
Grandpa
Leaning back in her chair, Alex let out a soft, “Wow.” Grandpa hadn’t made it off the moon after all. And he needed her help. Alex wondered how much oxygen he had left. She knew he had at least one spare tank in the Rock Jumper, but how much more? And what type of supplies would he need?
Alex checked her watch. It was nearly curfew time. Carrie would be back soon from the bathroom and would want to go to bed. Quickly, Alex shoved the note back into her bag along with her space helmet. She clipped her PTD onto her bag and practiced taking her spacesuit out of her closet without making too much noise.
The door to the room slid open.
“You’d better hurry if you want to use the washroom,” Carrie warned. “Madame Oberin is already making the rounds.”
“Thanks,” muttered Alex. She grabbed her pajamas and dashed out of the room. She’d have to make a good show of it and pretend she was going to sleep.
Fifteen minutes later, Alex was snug in her bed, but sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. She listened carefully to Carrie’s breathing. When it started to become slow and regular, Alex pushed back her sheets and slowly eased her head up off the pillow. The room was still. Alex swung a leg over the side of her bed and leaned up onto her elbow.
A snort erupted from Carrie’s side of the room, and there was a rustling movement in her bed. Alex threw herself back under the covers. She wasn’t going to take any chances. As she lay there, Alex wondered what would happen if she got caught sneaking around the colony at night. Would the General kick her out of the colony? What would happen to Grandpa then? She supposed that, if she got caught, she could confess that she was going to help her grandfather, but then what? Would the General kick her and Grandpa off the moon?
After twenty minutes of complete silence from Carrie’s bed, Alex decided it was now or never. Once again, she eased herself up on an elbow. The shades were pulled over the window that faced the playdium. Glimpses of fake moonlight peeked from around the shades. In the darkness, Alex peered toward Carrie, who remained motionless. Alex sat up on the edge of the bed. The mattress creaked a bit; Alex paused but Carrie continued to sleep. In one smooth movement, Alex stood up and held her breath. No sound came from the other bed.
Moving as swiftly and as quietly as she could, Alex picked up her bag and grabbed her spacesuit from her closet. When the door slid open, Alex peered out into the hallway. No sign of Madame Oberin. Alex tiptoed across the hallway and down to the girls’ washroom. As expected, it was empty. Alex made quick work of getting into her spacegear. Then she moved her PTD from her bag to a small pocket on her suit. For the time being, she would keep her helmet in her bag.
Back out in the hallway, Alex was relieved to see that no one was around. She hoped the rest of the colony was as quiet as the student dormitory. She hurried down the corridor, around the corner, and to the nearest elevator. The door slid open. Alex had yet to try out the voice commands on the elevator. She was so nervous that she worried it wouldn’t obey her. With a tremulous voice, Alex called out, “First floor.” The elevator door closed and began to move down.
When the door slid open on the first floor, Alex stepped out cautiously. Still no signs of life. The quiet corridor was completely empty. The bright daytime lights had been turned off, and a cool blue glow kept the hallway dimly lit. Alex hoped the General was as strict about curfew with the rest of the colony as Madame Oberin was with the orphans.
Alex debated whether to go left or right. The left would get her to the main hangar faster, but she didn’t know that hallway as well. The right would take a bit longer but was less likely to be occupied. This direction would take her through the school zone; surely no one would be there at this time. Deciding privacy was more important than speed, Alex turned toward the right.
Rounding the corner, Alex discovered that the hallway wasn’t as abandoned as she had expected. Light emanated from the open doorway to Ms. Pullman’s classroom. Alex drew closer. She couldn’t hear any voices from the room, only the faint whirring of a machine sweeping and buffing the floors. Should she try to sneak past the room or head in the other direction?
As she stood in the hallway debating, the whirring grew louder. Whoever was cleaning the floor was about to head out into the hallway. Alex looked around. There was nothing in the hallway to hide behind. She stepped in front of the door to Professor Callahan’s classroom, which slid open, and she ducked inside. She could hear the door to Ms. Pullman’s room closing moments before Professor Callahan’s door closed behind her.
The whirring sound kept growing louder. Clearly, the cleaning person was headed her way. Alex looked around for a place to hide. She opened the door to one of the cabinets that held Professor Callahan’s equipment. Too small for her to squeeze into with her space suit on, she decided. The room had many lab tables, each with a smooth black top and a built-in sink. Underneath the countertop was a set of drawers and cabinets for holding beakers, Bunsen burners, vials, and test tubes.
When she heard the door to Professor Callahan’s room slide open, Alex ducked behind Adam and Sam’s lab table. The whirring of the cleaning machine grew louder. Had she been purposely followed, or was this simply the next room to be cleaned? With her heart beating rapidly in her chest, Alex listened for the methodical noises of the cleaning machine as it swept back and forth across the front of the room.
Trying to figure out how she could make her escape, Alex crawled to the end of the row. She didn’t hear any footsteps over the whirring of the machine, the noise increasing until she felt like she would be swept up into its spinning brushes. Peering around the corner of a lab table, Alex watched a shadow form on the floor three rows ahead of her. The shadow was short and wide, with beveled edges at the top. Within moments, Alex saw a fat tub of a droid emerge from the row of lab tables, hit the wall, and then turn to come back down the next row. Beneath its stout body, a spinning set of brushes was going to town on the classroom floor. Alex ducked her head back. It was only an automated cleaning droid. Alex didn’t know much about these droids. Could it see her? If it could, would it care?
Alex decided not to take any chances. She waited until the cleaning droid was at the far end of the next row. Then before it could turn around and head back in her direction, she scooted along the aisle and out the open doorway.
In the hallway, Alex didn’t waste any time. She wanted to be out of the classroom area before that cleaning droid moved to the next room. She sped past Ms. Pullman’s classroom, then Mr. Trang’s room, and then through the primary grade area. At the end of the school zone, Alex peered around the next corner. No one was in sight. She passed by the dining hall and several businesses including the delivery services and Carol’s Colony Clothing. Then Alex stepped through one of the narrow hallways that led to the outer loop. From here, she didn’t have far to go to reach the hangar.
At this time of night, the hangar was nearly pitch black. A few emergency lights cast long, dark shadows around the rocket ships. Alex felt her way over to the storage area. Here she unhooked two OPA tanks and headed to the dustroom. This small space, Alex had learned that afternoon, served as an equalizer between the colony’s atmosphere and the lack of atmosphere outside. When Alex first met Marta, she had been in the American wing’s dustroom.
In the dustroom off the main hangar, Alex adjusted her tank and attached her space helmet. Leaving her bag in the dustroom and carrying the spare OPA tank, Alex swiped her PTD at the doorway and watched as the door to the moon’s surface slid open.
Nighttime made no difference in this part of the moon. The sun shone as always, yet the sky remained pitch black. Not even stars could be seen. Alex made a mental note to ask Professor Callahan why this was so.
Off to the right, Alex could see the large boulder shaped like a giant tortoise. It was big enough to hide Moon Buggy #3 behind it. Alex’s heart rate quickened again. What if this was a trap? Alex imagined Emperor Devlesh’s spies capturing her grandfather upon re-entry to Earth and torturing him into giving them Alex’s location. If they were able to get her grandfather to admit he had brought her to the moon, would they then try to lure her out of the colony, away from the General’s protection? Cautiously, Alex made a wide circle as she came around the edge of the boulder. She was prepared at any moment to drop the spare OPA tank and run for the entry portal if necessary.
A set of space boots stuck out from the edge of the boulder. The toes were pointed upward. Whoever was wearing them was either lying down or seated with his legs out flat in front of them. Alex crept closer. They looked like her grandfather’s boots. As she drew nearer, she could see a body seated on the lunar surface, its head and torso slumped against the side of the boulder.
Alex tapped the comm link button on her helmet. “Grandpa?” she inquired tentatively.
There was no response. Was she too close to the IMC for her comm link to work?
Creeping up to the body, Alex recognized her grandfather’s space suit. His head was drooping over his chest.
“Grandpa!” Alex hurried over as fast as she could, the moon’s low gravity causing her to bounce along. When she reached her grandfather, Alex dropped the OPA tank and pulled the old man’s helmet up. Through the face shield, Alex could see her grandfather’s eyes were closed, his face pale. “Grandpa, are you alright?” His head bobbed, but he didn’t respond. Alex leaned over his body and examined the gauge on his air tank. He was literally running on fumes. “Oh, my god, Grandpa!”
Alex swung the spare OPA tank over to the other side and pulled out the connection
hose. After disconnecting Grandpa’s old tank, she attached the hose to the OPA tank and switched it on. Within seconds, she heard her grandfather gasp. His eyes flew open and he looked around startled. He was taking in massive gulps of oxygen.
“It’s O.K., Grandpa, it’s O.K.,” Alex grabbed his arms. “You’re alright now. I hooked up a new oxygen tank.”
“Alex?”
“Yeah, Grandpa. It’s me. You’re fine. You were running low on air. I got you a new tank. It’s O.K. now.”
Grandpa’s strained muscles relaxed. “Alex,” he sighed. “I tried to stay awake, but . . .”
“Relax. You’ve got plenty of air now, and I’m here.” Alex settled into a sitting position beside Grandpa. She waited while he took a few calming breaths. “Can you tell me what happened? Why aren’t you back on Earth yet?”
Grandpa shook his head despondently. “It should have been an easy fix. Just straighten out the landing gear and repair the brake rocket that wouldn’t fire.”
“So what went wrong?”
Grandpa took a few more deep breaths. “Well, some of the joints I need to loosen are welded into place. Then I broke the one power wrench I had with me. When I got to the brake rocket, I tinkered around with it for hours. Then I realized the part I thought was broken wasn’t broken at all, and I needed a different part.” Grandpa shook his head slowly. He reached into a pocket in his spacesuit. “Do you think you could get your hands on these things for me?” He pulled out a small slip of paper.
“I tried to draw a picture of the last one for you.”
Alex glanced at the scribbled list. Where would she get things like a power wrench?
“I can try, but, Grandpa, what if I can’t?”
“You must. The more I think about it, the more I worry about your grandmother. Those hoverships were a bad omen. I need to get back to Earth as soon as possible.”
“Why don’t you come back to the colony with me? Then you could ask the General for these parts.”
Grandpa shook his head as Alex stood up. Over one edge of the boulder, she could see the entrance to the IMC. Alex froze. Standing in the open portal, Marta was scanning the moonscape. Alex ducked back behind the boulder before Marta looked in her direction.
“What is it?”
“I think I was followed when I left the colony.”
“By whom?”
“Marta, one of the droids.”
Grandpa thought for a moment. “Is there any way you can sneak back in?”
“I’ll have to wait until she goes back inside. Then I’ll enter through another portal.” Alex sat back against the boulder. She read through her grandfather’s supply list again. Some of the items sounded familiar, like the power wrench and various sizes of nuts and bolts. However, a couple items were not ones Alex had much experience with. “How soon do you need this stuff?”
“The sooner the better. Do you think you could meet me out here again two nights from now?”
Inside her space helmet, Alex bit her lip. She was sure she could look up these items on any of the colony’s computer consoles, but getting her hands on them would be another matter. “Where am I gonna find this stuff?”
“Search for a tool and supply room near the hangar. You’ll have to sneak in after work hours.”
“And if I can’t find all of it?”
“Bring me what you can on Wednesday night. Can you get me food, too? I don’t have much left.”
Alex nodded. “Food should be pretty easy. Do you need water, too? You’ll need it to keep the OPA tank running.”
“The water recycling system on the ship is still working. I should be fine.”
Alex took a deep breath and asked the question she had tried to get answered many times before. Perhaps the gravity of their current situation would change Grandpa’s mind and get him to talk. “Grandpa, what happened between you and the General?”
Grandpa sighed. When he spoke, his voice was weary. “Alex, I’ve told you before. We had a disagreement—the kind you never recover from. I can’t ask him to help me.”
“But you could have died out here!”
“That probably would have made the General happy,” replied Grandpa drily.
“Grandpa!”
“Oh, now, take it easy. The important thing is I’m still alive. You brought me the one thing I really needed.” Grandpa patted the OPA tank beside him. “So I’m doing just fine without the General’s help.”
“I don’t understand what the two of you could have fought about that was so awful.”
“Alex. We’ve been through this a hundred times. I’m not going to talk about the war with you. War is not a topic for children.”
“I’m not exactly a child anymore. I’m a teenager.”
“Oh, Alex.” Grandpa dropped his head into his hands. “I forgot how many days have passed since we left Earth.” He looked up at her. “I can’t believe your birthday’s passed already. Before the hoverships arrived, I had thought about how we were going to celebrate your thirteenth birthday. I was going to cook your favorite meal and take you for your first flying lesson. I guess my plans got sidetracked.”
Alex looked down at her hands. She hadn’t meant to make her grandpa feel guilty.
“That’s O.K., Grandpa.”
“No, it’s not. A girl should have a thirteenth birthday party. When this whole mess is over, I promise we’ll celebrate, and I’ll get you the best birthday present you’ve ever had. What do you want?”
“All I want is for you to find Grandma and to get me away from this place.” She jerked her head in the direction of the IMC.
“You got it.” He gestured behind the boulder. “Is your droid still out there?”
Alex eased herself up and peered over the edge of the boulder. The doorway to the dustroom near the hangar was closed. There was no sign of Marta. “The coast is clear. I’m going to enter through the next wing of the colony in case Marta is waiting around for me.”
Grandpa stood up beside her and peered over the boulder as well. The area appeared completely desolate.
After a quick good-bye and promises to return in two nights, Alex left her grandfather and headed across the fine-grained surface of the crater. She kept her eyes peeled for Marta. With the low gravity, Alex was able to bounce along easily, prepared to hop behind a boulder if anyone should appear.
However, no one did appear. When Alex reached the next portal, she pulled her PTD from her pocket and held it before the panel. The door slid open, and Alex stepped inside. Once the door had sealed behind her, Alex waited while the moon dust was pulled off her suit and the gravity power increased sixfold. Then she removed her helmet slowly, making sure the atmosphere in the dustroom was properly adjusted for oxygen before shutting off her OPA tank.
Just when Alex thought she was in the clear, she heard a voice come over a speaker.
“Alex Jones. I know you’ve been outside.”
Alex held her breath.
The voice continued, “And I have your bag.”
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Chapter 6
Thanks to "Anonymous" who posted that he/she was enjoying the book so far! I hope you keep enjoying the cliffhangers at the end of each chapter. Here's the next installment:
Chapter 6:
CARRIE'S NOT-SO-SECRET WEAPON
Madame Oberin! Alex recognized the voice from last night. She had used the same punctuated style when she rebuked the boy who had his feet up on a table. Alex bolted out of her cradled position among the Monkey Pod’s branches. Using her right arm for support, she leaned over some of the branches to peer below. She could see snatches of gray and red clothing below, but she couldn’t see Madame Oberin’s face. Alex wondered how much trouble she was in. Was there a rule about not climbing the trees in the playdium? How was she supposed to have known?
Then Alex thought she heard giggling. That can’t be right, Alex thought. Madame Oberin didn’t seem like the type to giggle. Alex climbed down a few branches until she saw some red, curly hair.
“Carrie?” Alex could see her roommate’s face now.
Carrie looked up and smiled.
“Sorry, Alex. We couldn’t resist.”
“We?” Alex climbed farther down and then hopped to the ground.
Standing beside Carrie was the tall, dark-skinned girl who was able to overhear some of Zero and Magnum’s fight the night before.
“Simona can mimic anything she hears,” Carrie beamed at her friend.
“So that was you? I thought Madame Oberin had found me.”
Simona grinned at Carrie before addressing Alex. “That’s what we wanted you to think. It’s a talent I have that comes in pretty hand from time to time.”
“Here,” Carrie held out a brown paper bag, “we brought you some lunch.”
Alex accepted the bag. “Thanks. How’d you know where to find me?”
“When I didn’t see you for breakfast or lunch, I’d thought maybe that story about your grandpa coming to get you was true.”
“But then,” Simona picked up where Carrie left off, “Adam said at lunch that he had seen you head toward the trees in the playdium.” Simona peered up the tree. “How did you get that far up?”
Alex shrugged. “I used to climb trees at home all the time.” She pulled a sandwich from out of the bag and took a bite.
“There are trees on your space station?” Carrie’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. Simona folded her arms, waiting for an explanation.
Oh, no, thought Alex. What did I say? Alex pretended to take a long time chewing a bite of her sandwich while she thought up an excuse.
“Oh, well, they aren’t real trees. There’s just a playground area with some fake trees. My grandpa used to call me monkey because I would hang from those fake trees all the time.” The part about the nickname at least was true.
Simona and Carrie exchanged glances. It was clear they weren’t completely convinced. Finally, Carrie spoke, “We came to see if you’re really as good a catcher as you looked last night.”
Alex nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I mean, I think I am.” She spoke between mouthfuls of her lunch. “Like I said last night, I’ve never played softball, but my grandpa told me all about baseball, and we played catch sometimes.”
“O.K., newbie, let’s see what you got.” Carrie turned and headed toward the softball field.
Simona leaned in toward Alex. “For your sake, I hope that wasn’t just a lucky catch last night.” Simona turned and headed out of the woods. Alex tried to keep up with the other girls while downing her lunch at the same time.
After getting the gloves and a couple softballs out of the equipment box, the three girls formed a triangle in the outfield. Carrie threw the ball to Simona, who threw to Alex, who threw it back to Carrie. These were simple tosses that were easily caught. Carrie and Simona chatted about which grades were going to have decent teams this year while Alex concentrated on catching the ball without using her power. The softball was much bigger than the baseball she and her grandfather used to toss back and forth. In fact, it was close in size to the coconuts on her home island. Alex had had plenty of practice catching those. With surprising dexterity, her grandmother used to shimmy up the trunk of a coconut tree and then toss coconuts down. Alex never had any problems catching the coconuts back then, and she didn’t have any problems catching the softball now.
“That’s enough warm-up,” called Carrie after a bit. “Let’s bring it in, Simona. I want to see if Alex can handle one of my fast pitches.”
“You better go easy on her at first, Carrie,” Simona cautioned.
“If she’s gonna be catcher, she’ll have to handle my fastball.”
“I know. I’m just saying . . .” Simona stepped beside Alex. “Com’n. I’ll help you get your gear on.”
“My gear?”
Simona smirked. “Yeah, your gear. Trust me—you don’t want to try catching one of Carrie’s pitches without this stuff on.”
“Listen to Simona,” Carrie advised. “If anyone knows what it’s like to catch my pitches, it’s her. She was our catcher last year.”
“Oh!” Alex was surprised. Would Simona be mad that she was taking her spot? Carrie seemed really interested in making sure she retained her position; wouldn’t Simona feel the same? “I don’t want to take your spot away from you, Simona.”
“Puh-lease,” Simona intoned. Alex admired the musical quality of her voice. “I’m all too happy to give up the catcher’s slot. Way too dangerous for me. Here—give me your glove.”
Simona took the glove off from Alex’s hand and placed it back in the equipment box. Then she pulled out several new items.
Simona announced each item as she pulled it out of the box. “Chest protector with extra padding—perfect for Carrie’s fastball. Shin and knee guards.” Simona pulled out two of each. “Catcher’s helmet.” Alex noted that it looked like the helmet of her spacesuit, only the front wasn’t solid, just a few metal bars to see through. She pulled it on over her head.
“Kind of hard to see with these bars in front of my face.”
“When a softball is headed toward your face at 90 miles an hour or more,” Simona put it in plain words, “you will be so glad those bars are between you and that softball because let me tell you, girl, there is nothing soft about that ball.” Simona reached into the box again. “Throat protector.”
“Throat protector?”
“Do you want to lose your voice?”
“No.” Alex’s voice was small.
“Neither would I.” She thrust the triangular piece toward Alex. Simona got one more item out of the box. “Finally, your new best friend.” Alex doubted that. “Your catcher’s mitt.”
“It’s huge!” exclaimed Alex.
“You want it huge,” explained Carrie. “I need a big target to aim for, and you want to be able to catch anything I throw at you. Now let’s get you behind home plate and check out your stance.”
Alex’s grandfather had played a fair amount of baseball when he was young. He loved showing Alex pictures of him playing on his high school team, so Alex knew that the catcher had to squat down to catch the ball. She did her best to imitate the posture. Simona walked around to check out Alex’s stance.
“Not bad,” she muttered.
Alex was watching Simona circle her when Carrie suddenly nudged Alex’s shoulder, causing Alex to fall forward onto her knees.
“Hey!” cried Alex. “What d’ya do that for?”
“You’ve got to be steadier on your feet,” explained Carrie. “Try it again. This time spread your feet a little further apart.”
Alex dusted the dirt off her knee guards and steadied herself on her feet again. Then she spread her feet apart a little further. This brought her lower to the ground, and she could immediately feel herself settle into a sturdier position. This time Simona nudged her shoulder. Alex wobbled but didn’t fall.
“Better,” said Carrie. “Now let’s see you catch.” Carrie headed out toward the pitcher’s mound. Simona stepped off to the side.
“Brace yourself, Alex. Carrie’s pitching arm is our softball team’s not-so-secret weapon. This isn’t going to be like anything your grandpa threw at you.”
Simona could not have been more correct. When Grandpa would play catch with her, he threw with an easy grace that Alex had always admired.
Watching Carrie pitch was a completely different experience. Alex checked her stance to make sure she was stable. Then she lifted the large catcher’s mitt in front of her chest, placing her free hand behind it for extra support. The smell of the leather brought back memories from home, but she quickly pushed those aside. When she looked up at Carrie, she was surprised to see her roommate facing straight toward her instead of sideways like her grandpa used to do. Then, rather than pulling her pitching hand over her head, Carrie pulled it down by her side and then swung it forward and up into a full circle rotation, flicking her wrist and releasing the ball near the bottom of the loop. Before Alex had time to realize what was happening, the softball slammed into her mitt, landing her flat on her back in the dirt. A puff of air escaped from her chest. Stunned, she stared up at the playdium ceiling and noticed the fake clouds passing by.
“You O.K., newbie?” Simona was standing to her left.
Alex knew she should respond, but words didn’t want to form in her mouth yet. In fact, she probably couldn’t have told anyone her name at that moment.
She did, however, recognize the sound of approaching footsteps.
“Hey,” said Carrie as she jogged up to Alex’s right side, “she’s still got the ball in her mitt!”
“That’s quite impressive, newbie.” Simona looked down at her.
Alex tried to pull herself together. “Impressive?”
“Oh, yeah, most people get so bowled over the first time they try catching one of Carrie’s fastballs that they totally lose their grip on the ball.” Simona and Carrie helped Alex to her feet. “You feeling O.K.?”
“Yeah, yeah, I think so.” Alex nodded slowly. Her head was beginning to clear.
“Ready for another one?”
“Another one?” Alex’s voice veered up into a high pitch. She didn’t want to seem cowardly, but she wondered if she’d survive another pitch like that. “Give me a minute.”
Simona and Carrie headed off to the pitcher’s mound together, whispering as they went. Alex would have listened in if she hadn’t been so busy concentrating on how she was going to catch the next one. After a minute, Carrie yelled from the mound.
“Alright, Alex, let’s see you handle another one.”
Alex squatted down into the catcher’s stance. She wiggled her feet around until she was sure she was as steady as she could get. Then she raised her glove.
Carrie stared her down for a moment before going into her windup. When she released the ball with a snap, Alex was ready for it. The ball was still thrown with great force, but this time Alex only fell back into a sitting position.
“Fantastic!” yelled Simona from the infield.
Alex stood up and threw the ball back to Carrie.
“You’ll have this down in no time.” Simona clapped her hands to encourage Alex.
Alex wasn’t too sure, but it turned out Simona was right. A few practice pitches later, and Alex was able to catch the ball and hang onto it without falling over.
The rest of the afternoon passed with Simona and Carrie giving Alex different catching scenarios. Each time Alex caught the ball with ease.
At dinner that night, Carrie and Simona reported Alex’s progress to the rest of the seventh grade. Carrie was getting more and more excited about their prospects for the upcoming season.
“With Alex in the catcher position, Simona will be free to move to the outfield, where we could use help.”
“Hey!” yelled Yvonne, who knew Carrie was talking about her difficulties catching balls out in left field.
Most of the people seemed excited about having Alex as a catcher. It was Adam who snapped everyone back to reality.
“And what will happen when Alex’s grandpa comes to pick her up? I mean, how long are you really staying anyway, Alex? Will you even be here for the whole softball season?”
The table quieted down and everyone looked to Alex for an answer.
“Oh, well, I don’t know exactly. I mean, it depends on how long it takes Grandpa to make the repairs.”
Carrie shrugged it off. “Alex will be around plenty long enough to make those miserable eighth graders suffer out there. It takes forever to get to the Mars space stations and back.”
Yvonne nodded her head. “Absolutely. Even traveling at top speeds, it takes at least a month to get to Mars.”
Sam snorted next to Adam. “If that’s even where she’s really from.”
An uneasiness settled across the table. Alex played with the macaroni and cheese in front of her. How could she convince the others she was from Mars? She’d never believe that lie herself.
* * *
Sunday was not too different from Saturday. Alex spent a good part of the day working on her catching with Carrie and Simona out in the playdium. They talked a lot about school and the teachers so that, by Monday morning, Alex had a good idea what to expect.
Every morning, the students had math first period with Mrs. Sephora, a thirty-something woman who reminded Alex of a bird. She had a sharp, pointy nose, and her head bobbed with each important point she made. None of the students dared to make a noise in class for fear Mrs. Sephora would squawk at them. In fact, the only student who did much speaking in math was Yvonne, who was clearly Mrs. Sephora’s class pet. Yvonne certainly knew all the answers to the questions, and she got so excited about any new concepts Mrs. Sephora taught them that she would bounce up and down in her seat and clap her hands together. Alex, on the other hand, was much less excited about math class. Her grandmother had taught her basic algebra back home, but these students were already on geometry. She spent most of math being fascinated by Yvonne’s enthusiasm for numbers.
Second period was history, taught by a serious young man by the name of Mr. Trang. His short, dark hair stood up in a little tuft in front, and his face was framed by a set of short sideburns. His lectures on ancient Greece were accompanied by many photos of the Parthenon, ruins of Greek amphitheaters, and early coins with depictions of the goddess Athena on them. During Mr. Trang’s explanation of the differences between Corinthian columns and Doric columns, Alex realized that she wasn’t used to sitting in a desk all day. She wondered how the other students sat through this five days a week! As she looked around the room, she realized that each of them handled the situation differently. Sanyu did a lot of doodling. Adam dozed off from time to time while his buddy Sam couldn’t sit still at all. He was constantly drumming his fingers on the edge of his console or tapping his foot or finding a reason to get up and grab a tissue.
Next was a double period of language and literature with Ms. Pullman. Sam came bounding into the room shortly after Alex. He threw his stuff down at his place.
“Jan,” he called to the teacher, “I gotta go take a leak.”
“Samuel!” yelled Ms. Pullman
The class grew quiet. “Not again,” groaned Yvonne softly.
“What, sis? I got to go to the bathroom.”
Ms. Pullman fixed Sam with a stare. “Sam, you know what I mean.”
“I’m sorry I said ‘leak,’ but I really gotta go.” Sam hopped up and down.
“That’s not what I mean, Sam. Well, it was what I meant, but I also mean, that is not the proper way to address me. Now sit down and do it right.”
Sam rolled his eyes and headed back to his seat.
Alex turned to Carrie and whispered, “Did he call Ms. Pullman ‘Sis”?”
Carrie nodded, “Yeah, they’re siblings. Weird, huh?”
Back at his desk, Sam sat down and raised his hand.
“Yes, Sam?” Ms. Pullman addressed him with uber-politeness.
“Ms. Pullman,” Sam sat upright in his chair and his voice was sing-songy, “may I please use the restroom facilities?”
“Why, yes, Samuel, since you asked politely.”
“Oh thank you, Ms. Pullman, I am forever indebted to you.” With a bow that dripped with sarcasm, Sam left the classroom to the tune of snickering classmates.
Lunch and recess passed quickly as everyone discussed the field trip that afternoon with Professor Callahan. Arguments arose over how long it had been since a teacher had taken them outside. Was it when Ms. Pullman wanted them to write that descriptive paragraph on the moon’s surface or was it when Mrs. Sephora had them measure craters and rocks?
With their spacesuits on, the eleven seventh graders and Professor Callahan discussed the afternoon’s task while standing in the main hangar of the colony.
“Today we are heading out to the water extraction plant in the Cabeus crater,” explained Professor Callahan. “I want to show you how frozen water was first discovered on the moon way back in 2009 and how we now convert that ice into the water we use here in the colony. Grab an OPA tank from the storage area, and I’ll meet you on Moon Buggy #3.”
The students turned and headed toward the storage area behind them.
Yet again, Alex felt like a fish out of water. They all knew what they were doing and where they were heading except her. However, she quickly learned that an OPA tank was an Oxygen-Producing Algae tank. It was more efficient than the old air tank she had used on her journey to the IMC. These tanks had a container for growing algae. As long as an adequate water supply was available and the plants had access to sunlight, they could continue to produce oxygen.
Moon Buggy #3 was like an open-air bus. The students bounced along as Professor Callahan drove them to the Cabeus crater, passing the farming towers that Marta had mentioned back in General Fratelli’s office. Alex scanned the horizon. Had it really been only three days since she had first walked across the moon’s surface? She thought about her grandfather and wondered if he’d had any luck finding Grandma yet.
The water extraction plant turned out to be fascinating. Enthralled, Alex listened as some of the plant employees explained how they drilled for the frozen water that was locked deep in the moon’s surface for thousands and thousands of years. Normally, any water on the moon would evaporate immediately because of the extreme heat of the sun and lack of atmosphere to hold the moisture in. However, this end of the crater was constantly in shadow, and so water vapor that may have ended up on the moon due to meteor crashes many, many years ago was still frozen.
Professor Callahan elaborated, “The moon’s surface is 250 degrees Fahrenheit in the sun, but in the shade, the temperature drops to -230 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Once they were outside the plant, Professor Callahan instructed his students to pick up some of the rocks in the shady part of the crater and put them in their bags. They would compare the temperature of these rocks with ones from the sunny side of the crater.
Alex grabbed a few small rocks from the surface and then remembered that she had left her bag on the Moon Buggy during the tour of the plant. She ran back to the lunar vehicle. When she pulled her bag off her seat on the buggy, she noticed a piece of paper sticking out of it. That wasn’t there before, Alex thought. Someone must have stuck it in there during the field trip. Curious, she reached for the paper. The page had been folded several times. On one side was written To: Alex, From: G.
Alex ran through as many names of her new classmates as she could remember: Carrie, Simona, Yvonne, Adam, Sam, Sanyu, Jack, and who was that quiet boy who could read lips? Oh yeah, Clark. None of their names started with G. Who would have left her a note? She looked back down and realized she recognized the handwriting. Grandpa!
Chapter 6:
CARRIE'S NOT-SO-SECRET WEAPON
Madame Oberin! Alex recognized the voice from last night. She had used the same punctuated style when she rebuked the boy who had his feet up on a table. Alex bolted out of her cradled position among the Monkey Pod’s branches. Using her right arm for support, she leaned over some of the branches to peer below. She could see snatches of gray and red clothing below, but she couldn’t see Madame Oberin’s face. Alex wondered how much trouble she was in. Was there a rule about not climbing the trees in the playdium? How was she supposed to have known?
Then Alex thought she heard giggling. That can’t be right, Alex thought. Madame Oberin didn’t seem like the type to giggle. Alex climbed down a few branches until she saw some red, curly hair.
“Carrie?” Alex could see her roommate’s face now.
Carrie looked up and smiled.
“Sorry, Alex. We couldn’t resist.”
“We?” Alex climbed farther down and then hopped to the ground.
Standing beside Carrie was the tall, dark-skinned girl who was able to overhear some of Zero and Magnum’s fight the night before.
“Simona can mimic anything she hears,” Carrie beamed at her friend.
“So that was you? I thought Madame Oberin had found me.”
Simona grinned at Carrie before addressing Alex. “That’s what we wanted you to think. It’s a talent I have that comes in pretty hand from time to time.”
“Here,” Carrie held out a brown paper bag, “we brought you some lunch.”
Alex accepted the bag. “Thanks. How’d you know where to find me?”
“When I didn’t see you for breakfast or lunch, I’d thought maybe that story about your grandpa coming to get you was true.”
“But then,” Simona picked up where Carrie left off, “Adam said at lunch that he had seen you head toward the trees in the playdium.” Simona peered up the tree. “How did you get that far up?”
Alex shrugged. “I used to climb trees at home all the time.” She pulled a sandwich from out of the bag and took a bite.
“There are trees on your space station?” Carrie’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. Simona folded her arms, waiting for an explanation.
Oh, no, thought Alex. What did I say? Alex pretended to take a long time chewing a bite of her sandwich while she thought up an excuse.
“Oh, well, they aren’t real trees. There’s just a playground area with some fake trees. My grandpa used to call me monkey because I would hang from those fake trees all the time.” The part about the nickname at least was true.
Simona and Carrie exchanged glances. It was clear they weren’t completely convinced. Finally, Carrie spoke, “We came to see if you’re really as good a catcher as you looked last night.”
Alex nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I mean, I think I am.” She spoke between mouthfuls of her lunch. “Like I said last night, I’ve never played softball, but my grandpa told me all about baseball, and we played catch sometimes.”
“O.K., newbie, let’s see what you got.” Carrie turned and headed toward the softball field.
Simona leaned in toward Alex. “For your sake, I hope that wasn’t just a lucky catch last night.” Simona turned and headed out of the woods. Alex tried to keep up with the other girls while downing her lunch at the same time.
After getting the gloves and a couple softballs out of the equipment box, the three girls formed a triangle in the outfield. Carrie threw the ball to Simona, who threw to Alex, who threw it back to Carrie. These were simple tosses that were easily caught. Carrie and Simona chatted about which grades were going to have decent teams this year while Alex concentrated on catching the ball without using her power. The softball was much bigger than the baseball she and her grandfather used to toss back and forth. In fact, it was close in size to the coconuts on her home island. Alex had had plenty of practice catching those. With surprising dexterity, her grandmother used to shimmy up the trunk of a coconut tree and then toss coconuts down. Alex never had any problems catching the coconuts back then, and she didn’t have any problems catching the softball now.
“That’s enough warm-up,” called Carrie after a bit. “Let’s bring it in, Simona. I want to see if Alex can handle one of my fast pitches.”
“You better go easy on her at first, Carrie,” Simona cautioned.
“If she’s gonna be catcher, she’ll have to handle my fastball.”
“I know. I’m just saying . . .” Simona stepped beside Alex. “Com’n. I’ll help you get your gear on.”
“My gear?”
Simona smirked. “Yeah, your gear. Trust me—you don’t want to try catching one of Carrie’s pitches without this stuff on.”
“Listen to Simona,” Carrie advised. “If anyone knows what it’s like to catch my pitches, it’s her. She was our catcher last year.”
“Oh!” Alex was surprised. Would Simona be mad that she was taking her spot? Carrie seemed really interested in making sure she retained her position; wouldn’t Simona feel the same? “I don’t want to take your spot away from you, Simona.”
“Puh-lease,” Simona intoned. Alex admired the musical quality of her voice. “I’m all too happy to give up the catcher’s slot. Way too dangerous for me. Here—give me your glove.”
Simona took the glove off from Alex’s hand and placed it back in the equipment box. Then she pulled out several new items.
Simona announced each item as she pulled it out of the box. “Chest protector with extra padding—perfect for Carrie’s fastball. Shin and knee guards.” Simona pulled out two of each. “Catcher’s helmet.” Alex noted that it looked like the helmet of her spacesuit, only the front wasn’t solid, just a few metal bars to see through. She pulled it on over her head.
“Kind of hard to see with these bars in front of my face.”
“When a softball is headed toward your face at 90 miles an hour or more,” Simona put it in plain words, “you will be so glad those bars are between you and that softball because let me tell you, girl, there is nothing soft about that ball.” Simona reached into the box again. “Throat protector.”
“Throat protector?”
“Do you want to lose your voice?”
“No.” Alex’s voice was small.
“Neither would I.” She thrust the triangular piece toward Alex. Simona got one more item out of the box. “Finally, your new best friend.” Alex doubted that. “Your catcher’s mitt.”
“It’s huge!” exclaimed Alex.
“You want it huge,” explained Carrie. “I need a big target to aim for, and you want to be able to catch anything I throw at you. Now let’s get you behind home plate and check out your stance.”
Alex’s grandfather had played a fair amount of baseball when he was young. He loved showing Alex pictures of him playing on his high school team, so Alex knew that the catcher had to squat down to catch the ball. She did her best to imitate the posture. Simona walked around to check out Alex’s stance.
“Not bad,” she muttered.
Alex was watching Simona circle her when Carrie suddenly nudged Alex’s shoulder, causing Alex to fall forward onto her knees.
“Hey!” cried Alex. “What d’ya do that for?”
“You’ve got to be steadier on your feet,” explained Carrie. “Try it again. This time spread your feet a little further apart.”
Alex dusted the dirt off her knee guards and steadied herself on her feet again. Then she spread her feet apart a little further. This brought her lower to the ground, and she could immediately feel herself settle into a sturdier position. This time Simona nudged her shoulder. Alex wobbled but didn’t fall.
“Better,” said Carrie. “Now let’s see you catch.” Carrie headed out toward the pitcher’s mound. Simona stepped off to the side.
“Brace yourself, Alex. Carrie’s pitching arm is our softball team’s not-so-secret weapon. This isn’t going to be like anything your grandpa threw at you.”
Simona could not have been more correct. When Grandpa would play catch with her, he threw with an easy grace that Alex had always admired.
Watching Carrie pitch was a completely different experience. Alex checked her stance to make sure she was stable. Then she lifted the large catcher’s mitt in front of her chest, placing her free hand behind it for extra support. The smell of the leather brought back memories from home, but she quickly pushed those aside. When she looked up at Carrie, she was surprised to see her roommate facing straight toward her instead of sideways like her grandpa used to do. Then, rather than pulling her pitching hand over her head, Carrie pulled it down by her side and then swung it forward and up into a full circle rotation, flicking her wrist and releasing the ball near the bottom of the loop. Before Alex had time to realize what was happening, the softball slammed into her mitt, landing her flat on her back in the dirt. A puff of air escaped from her chest. Stunned, she stared up at the playdium ceiling and noticed the fake clouds passing by.
“You O.K., newbie?” Simona was standing to her left.
Alex knew she should respond, but words didn’t want to form in her mouth yet. In fact, she probably couldn’t have told anyone her name at that moment.
She did, however, recognize the sound of approaching footsteps.
“Hey,” said Carrie as she jogged up to Alex’s right side, “she’s still got the ball in her mitt!”
“That’s quite impressive, newbie.” Simona looked down at her.
Alex tried to pull herself together. “Impressive?”
“Oh, yeah, most people get so bowled over the first time they try catching one of Carrie’s fastballs that they totally lose their grip on the ball.” Simona and Carrie helped Alex to her feet. “You feeling O.K.?”
“Yeah, yeah, I think so.” Alex nodded slowly. Her head was beginning to clear.
“Ready for another one?”
“Another one?” Alex’s voice veered up into a high pitch. She didn’t want to seem cowardly, but she wondered if she’d survive another pitch like that. “Give me a minute.”
Simona and Carrie headed off to the pitcher’s mound together, whispering as they went. Alex would have listened in if she hadn’t been so busy concentrating on how she was going to catch the next one. After a minute, Carrie yelled from the mound.
“Alright, Alex, let’s see you handle another one.”
Alex squatted down into the catcher’s stance. She wiggled her feet around until she was sure she was as steady as she could get. Then she raised her glove.
Carrie stared her down for a moment before going into her windup. When she released the ball with a snap, Alex was ready for it. The ball was still thrown with great force, but this time Alex only fell back into a sitting position.
“Fantastic!” yelled Simona from the infield.
Alex stood up and threw the ball back to Carrie.
“You’ll have this down in no time.” Simona clapped her hands to encourage Alex.
Alex wasn’t too sure, but it turned out Simona was right. A few practice pitches later, and Alex was able to catch the ball and hang onto it without falling over.
The rest of the afternoon passed with Simona and Carrie giving Alex different catching scenarios. Each time Alex caught the ball with ease.
At dinner that night, Carrie and Simona reported Alex’s progress to the rest of the seventh grade. Carrie was getting more and more excited about their prospects for the upcoming season.
“With Alex in the catcher position, Simona will be free to move to the outfield, where we could use help.”
“Hey!” yelled Yvonne, who knew Carrie was talking about her difficulties catching balls out in left field.
Most of the people seemed excited about having Alex as a catcher. It was Adam who snapped everyone back to reality.
“And what will happen when Alex’s grandpa comes to pick her up? I mean, how long are you really staying anyway, Alex? Will you even be here for the whole softball season?”
The table quieted down and everyone looked to Alex for an answer.
“Oh, well, I don’t know exactly. I mean, it depends on how long it takes Grandpa to make the repairs.”
Carrie shrugged it off. “Alex will be around plenty long enough to make those miserable eighth graders suffer out there. It takes forever to get to the Mars space stations and back.”
Yvonne nodded her head. “Absolutely. Even traveling at top speeds, it takes at least a month to get to Mars.”
Sam snorted next to Adam. “If that’s even where she’s really from.”
An uneasiness settled across the table. Alex played with the macaroni and cheese in front of her. How could she convince the others she was from Mars? She’d never believe that lie herself.
* * *
Sunday was not too different from Saturday. Alex spent a good part of the day working on her catching with Carrie and Simona out in the playdium. They talked a lot about school and the teachers so that, by Monday morning, Alex had a good idea what to expect.
Every morning, the students had math first period with Mrs. Sephora, a thirty-something woman who reminded Alex of a bird. She had a sharp, pointy nose, and her head bobbed with each important point she made. None of the students dared to make a noise in class for fear Mrs. Sephora would squawk at them. In fact, the only student who did much speaking in math was Yvonne, who was clearly Mrs. Sephora’s class pet. Yvonne certainly knew all the answers to the questions, and she got so excited about any new concepts Mrs. Sephora taught them that she would bounce up and down in her seat and clap her hands together. Alex, on the other hand, was much less excited about math class. Her grandmother had taught her basic algebra back home, but these students were already on geometry. She spent most of math being fascinated by Yvonne’s enthusiasm for numbers.
Second period was history, taught by a serious young man by the name of Mr. Trang. His short, dark hair stood up in a little tuft in front, and his face was framed by a set of short sideburns. His lectures on ancient Greece were accompanied by many photos of the Parthenon, ruins of Greek amphitheaters, and early coins with depictions of the goddess Athena on them. During Mr. Trang’s explanation of the differences between Corinthian columns and Doric columns, Alex realized that she wasn’t used to sitting in a desk all day. She wondered how the other students sat through this five days a week! As she looked around the room, she realized that each of them handled the situation differently. Sanyu did a lot of doodling. Adam dozed off from time to time while his buddy Sam couldn’t sit still at all. He was constantly drumming his fingers on the edge of his console or tapping his foot or finding a reason to get up and grab a tissue.
Next was a double period of language and literature with Ms. Pullman. Sam came bounding into the room shortly after Alex. He threw his stuff down at his place.
“Jan,” he called to the teacher, “I gotta go take a leak.”
“Samuel!” yelled Ms. Pullman
The class grew quiet. “Not again,” groaned Yvonne softly.
“What, sis? I got to go to the bathroom.”
Ms. Pullman fixed Sam with a stare. “Sam, you know what I mean.”
“I’m sorry I said ‘leak,’ but I really gotta go.” Sam hopped up and down.
“That’s not what I mean, Sam. Well, it was what I meant, but I also mean, that is not the proper way to address me. Now sit down and do it right.”
Sam rolled his eyes and headed back to his seat.
Alex turned to Carrie and whispered, “Did he call Ms. Pullman ‘Sis”?”
Carrie nodded, “Yeah, they’re siblings. Weird, huh?”
Back at his desk, Sam sat down and raised his hand.
“Yes, Sam?” Ms. Pullman addressed him with uber-politeness.
“Ms. Pullman,” Sam sat upright in his chair and his voice was sing-songy, “may I please use the restroom facilities?”
“Why, yes, Samuel, since you asked politely.”
“Oh thank you, Ms. Pullman, I am forever indebted to you.” With a bow that dripped with sarcasm, Sam left the classroom to the tune of snickering classmates.
Lunch and recess passed quickly as everyone discussed the field trip that afternoon with Professor Callahan. Arguments arose over how long it had been since a teacher had taken them outside. Was it when Ms. Pullman wanted them to write that descriptive paragraph on the moon’s surface or was it when Mrs. Sephora had them measure craters and rocks?
With their spacesuits on, the eleven seventh graders and Professor Callahan discussed the afternoon’s task while standing in the main hangar of the colony.
“Today we are heading out to the water extraction plant in the Cabeus crater,” explained Professor Callahan. “I want to show you how frozen water was first discovered on the moon way back in 2009 and how we now convert that ice into the water we use here in the colony. Grab an OPA tank from the storage area, and I’ll meet you on Moon Buggy #3.”
The students turned and headed toward the storage area behind them.
Yet again, Alex felt like a fish out of water. They all knew what they were doing and where they were heading except her. However, she quickly learned that an OPA tank was an Oxygen-Producing Algae tank. It was more efficient than the old air tank she had used on her journey to the IMC. These tanks had a container for growing algae. As long as an adequate water supply was available and the plants had access to sunlight, they could continue to produce oxygen.
Moon Buggy #3 was like an open-air bus. The students bounced along as Professor Callahan drove them to the Cabeus crater, passing the farming towers that Marta had mentioned back in General Fratelli’s office. Alex scanned the horizon. Had it really been only three days since she had first walked across the moon’s surface? She thought about her grandfather and wondered if he’d had any luck finding Grandma yet.
The water extraction plant turned out to be fascinating. Enthralled, Alex listened as some of the plant employees explained how they drilled for the frozen water that was locked deep in the moon’s surface for thousands and thousands of years. Normally, any water on the moon would evaporate immediately because of the extreme heat of the sun and lack of atmosphere to hold the moisture in. However, this end of the crater was constantly in shadow, and so water vapor that may have ended up on the moon due to meteor crashes many, many years ago was still frozen.
Professor Callahan elaborated, “The moon’s surface is 250 degrees Fahrenheit in the sun, but in the shade, the temperature drops to -230 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Once they were outside the plant, Professor Callahan instructed his students to pick up some of the rocks in the shady part of the crater and put them in their bags. They would compare the temperature of these rocks with ones from the sunny side of the crater.
Alex grabbed a few small rocks from the surface and then remembered that she had left her bag on the Moon Buggy during the tour of the plant. She ran back to the lunar vehicle. When she pulled her bag off her seat on the buggy, she noticed a piece of paper sticking out of it. That wasn’t there before, Alex thought. Someone must have stuck it in there during the field trip. Curious, she reached for the paper. The page had been folded several times. On one side was written To: Alex, From: G.
Alex ran through as many names of her new classmates as she could remember: Carrie, Simona, Yvonne, Adam, Sam, Sanyu, Jack, and who was that quiet boy who could read lips? Oh yeah, Clark. None of their names started with G. Who would have left her a note? She looked back down and realized she recognized the handwriting. Grandpa!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Chapter 5
Chapter 5:
HOMESICK
Over the course of the next few days, people who had witnessed what became known as “Zero’s Knife Throwing Act” were asked repeatedly to retell the story to those who had not seen it. However, these stories didn’t always end the same. Many people said that Alex ducked her head out of the way just in time, and her catching of the knife by the handle was pure luck. At this point in the story, people usually shivered as they imagined what would have happened if Alex had caught the wrong end of the steak knife.
Other people said a miracle occurred because the knife seemed to change directions as it was speeding towards Alex’s face. One moment it looked like it was going to slice through her cheek, and the next it was speeding toward her hand.
If you had asked Clark Johnson what had happened, he would have told you that Alex must have had a magnet in her hand. From his perspective, it appeared that the knife did indeed change directions. Not only that, the way Clark told the story, the knife seemed to stop spinning briefly before hitting the palm of Alex’s hand—almost as if the knife knew Alex had to catch it by the handle and not the blade. Even Clark’s brother Jack didn’t believe that part of his story.
Only Alex knew how close Clark’s story came to the truth. For the second time in one day, Alex had done the one thing both her grandpa and the General had told her not to do. She had used her power to pull an object into her hand. But what else was she supposed to do? When the knife was spinning toward her at a vicious speed, it was only instinct for Alex to think about catching it so that neither she nor anyone else got hurt. And as for catching it by the handle—of course, she concentrated on moving the handle into her palm. Who would want to catch a knife by its blade?
Of course, there was a small handful of people who simply believed Alex had great catching instincts. Foremost among these people was the man in the white shirt with the word “Coach” across the back. As soon as he saw Zero pick up the knife to throw at Magnum, he hopped up and yelled, “Zero! No!”
When the coach saw Alex catch the knife, he was momentarily stunned into silence. Then he ran up to Alex. In her left hand, she held a half-spilled glass of milk. In her right hand, she still held the knife. Both hands were shaking.
“In all my years of coaching softball,” he began, “I’ve never seen a catch like that.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it. “Who are you?”
Carrie ran up beside Alex. “Coach, this is my new roommate. She’d make a good catcher for the team, don’t you think? I mean, some people are saying she’d make a good pitcher, but after what we just saw, I think she’d really be a better catcher.”
The coach looked Alex right in the eyes. “What’s your name?”
Alex looked up into the big brown eyes of the handsome man in the coach’s shirt. His chiseled jaw was set in a wide grin that showed off his gleaming white, perfectly straight teeth.
“A – Alex,” she stammered. “Jones.”
The coach cradled her shaking right hand in his two strong hands. “I’m Coach Skule. Why don’t you let me take this knife now? O.K., Alex?” Alex nodded, the shaking of her hands spreading to the rest of her body as she realized how close she had come to having her cheek sliced off.
Coach Skule slipped the knife out of Alex’s hands. Then he looked up to check on Zero and Magnum; security was already hauling the two of them away.
“So what do you think, Coach?” Carrie was hopping with excitement beside Alex. “Don’t you think she would make a great catcher?”
The coach’s smile got even wider. “I think you’re right, Carrie. What do you say, Alex? We could use a good catcher like you on our team.”
“Oh, well, I’ve never played softball before, but my grandpa did teach me about baseball.”
“Perfect,” beamed the coach. “We’ve got a month before the softball season begins. I’m sure Carrie will help you prepare. In the meantime, Carrie, why don’t you get our new catcher a fresh glass of milk?” Coach took the half empty glass from Alex and handed it to Carrie. “And, Alex, why don’t you go back to your table and relax for a bit? You still seem a bit shaken up. We’ll talk more about softball later. I need to fill out my security report.”
With that, Coach Skule walked away, and Alex returned to her seat.
Simona’s dark eyes were like saucers. “Alex, that was amazing!”
“The chance of making a catch like that . . .” Yvonne paused as if mentally calculating the chances.
“Who cares about the chances? She did it!” exclaimed Jack. He leaned over the table. “Do you think you could do it again, leak?”
“Maybe,” Alex shrugged. If she used her ability, she knew she could it again, but she couldn’t tell them that. Then she smiled a little. “Of course, Jack, if you keep calling me a leak, I might not stop any knife that was headed toward you.” That got a loud laugh from Clark, and a few snickers from the rest.
“Nice one,” Carrie commented as she sat down beside Alex and handed her a new glass of milk.
For the remainder of the meal, the seventh grade students pumped Alex for information about where she lived and how she had gotten to the moon. She kept to the story she had told to Carrie. When Jack asked what was wrong with the space station home she had left, Alex made up a story about the air recycling system malfunctioning, and her grandpa wasn’t sure they were getting an adequate amount of oxygen. It sounded life-threatening enough without being too dramatic. Alex noticed most of the students were riveted to her story, but Sam and Adam whispered to each other periodically. Alex thought she caught the words shirt and yanking, along with a few leak’s thrown in.
When it was time to go, Alex followed the rest of the seventh graders to the trash chutes. Most of them had already stepped out into the hallway, but Adam and Sam lurked behind until it was Alex’s turn. Adam stepped right in front of the trash chute Alex was aiming for. His arms were crossed, and the glare he gave Alex rivaled the one she had given him earlier that day.
“You might have wowed a few people with your lucky catch back there,” Adam scoffed, “but make no mistake about it. We don’t trust you. You’re still a leak.” Alex made no response, but chewed her lip until Adam stepped aside and exited with Sam.
Once she had disposed of her tray, Alex hurried out into the hallway. Had Carrie remembered that she was supposed to show her to their room?
Carrie was standing outside the dining hall. “There you are!” she exclaimed. “What took you so long?”
“Oh, nothing.” Alex didn’t want to repeat what Adam had said to her. Did everyone think she was a leak?
“Let’s head this way,” Carrie led her in the opposite direction of the rest of the seventh graders. “I’ve got to take you to see Madame Oberin first.”
“Madame who?” Alex worried how she would ever keep everyone’s names straight. Back at home, she had only two names to worry about: Grandma and Grandpa.
“Madame Oberin,” replied Carrie. The two girls stepped into an elevator. “Second floor,” announced Carrie, and the lift began to move. “She’s like our foster mom, only much tougher than any mom I’ve ever met. She lost all of her own children during the Final Battle. Tragic.” Carrie shook her head as they exited the elevator and turned left.
“All of them?”
“Yeah, she had seven of them. Now she’s in charge of the orphans here, so she’s got like 50 or 60 kids now. Something like that—Yvonne could tell you the exact number.”
Carrie and Alex turned the corner and were greeted by a sturdy-looking woman in her 60s. Her steel grey hair was cut into a blunt bob, one side of which was carefully pinned back. Alex had the impression that if one of the woman’s grey hairs had dared to fly out of place, she would have deemed it impossible to continue her work until that hair had been properly taken care of.
“This must be Alex Jones, I suppose.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Yes, Madame Oberin,” replied Carrie.
Madame Oberin’s murky brown eyes took in Alex’s appearance. “Hmph,” was her only comment about that. “Let’s get you to the sleeping quarters you’ll be sharing with Carrie.” She turned and started heading toward the opposite end of the hallway. I see you already have your PTD. Excellent. You’ll need it for entrance into your room. This room over here,” she indicated a doorway that read Madame Oberin, Orphan Supervisor, “is where you can find me in an emergency, but please,” she held up one hand, “only come to my room if you cannot reach me via PTD first.” She glanced over her shoulder at the two girls. “I’m not always in my room, you know. The PTD is the most efficient way to find me. No use wasting your time running all over the complex.”
Alex noticed that Madame Oberin’s gait seemed brisk and efficient, too. No unnecessary arm swaying, just get from Point A to Point B as fast as possible.
“This section of the dormitory is for the male students.” Madame Oberin gestured toward the doors as they passed, each labeled with a room number. “You will not be spending any time here.” Carrie and Alex exchanged glances.
“Coming up is the common area of the dormitory. This section is accessible to both the boys and the girls between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., if you should decide to form a co-educational study group. It also offers a lovely view of the playdium.”
The hallway opened up, and Alex found herself in a modern, but comfortable looking room. Students were spread across the couches and chairs. Some had their heads in their books; others were engaged in conversation. Many of them looked up when Alex stepped into the room.
“Jeffrey!” Madame Oberin hollered. “Put . . . your . . . feet . . . down.” The last statement was made with crisp, clipped words spurted out in a staccato fashion. A blond boy immediately pulled his feet down from the table they had been propped on. Madame Oberin looked at her watch. “Only two hours left in the common area tonight.” This was followed by a few groans.
Madame Oberin continued her tour. “This side of the dormitory is for the young ladies. After 10:00 each night, you’ll need to remain on this half of the hallway. Ah, here we are now.” Madame Oberin stopped in front of a doorway on her left. Room 111, the sign read.
Carried reached for the PTD on her ear.
“Let Alex try hers,” said Madame Oberin. “Let’s see if she’s programmed into the system yet.”
Alex pulled the PTD off her ear. She had almost forgotten it was there. Alex glanced up at Madame Oberin, who nodded encouragement, then placed the PTD before the panel beside the door. It slid open.
“Perfect,” declared Madame Oberin. “Well, I’ll leave you two girls to get acquainted. Carrie, make sure Alex is up to date on all our protocol here. Remember, curfew is 10:00. Lights out by 11:00. If you need me, try reaching me on your PTD.” Madame Oberin turned and walked back down the hallway.
“After you,” Carrie gestured toward the room.
Alex stepped inside. The room wasn’t big, but it held two twin beds, a pair of nightstands, and a couple of desks. One side of the room would have looked like a mirror image of the other if it weren’t for the softball and sport photos Carrie had hanging up on her side of the room.
“This is your closet.” Carrie pushed a panel door aside. Alex’s new clothes were already inside, as well as her spacesuit and her old clothes. “That’s your bed and that’s your desk.” A few books were spread out on the top of the desk and a shirt was draped over the back of the chair. “Oh,” Carrie snatched up the shirt and books. “Sorry, about that. They didn’t give me any warning that I was getting a roommate.” Carrie put her belongings back on her side of the room. “Oberin does inspections of our rooms every Monday night, so make sure your side of the room is tidy by then.”
Alex nodded. Could she ever think of this as her room? She pictured her old room back at home: the pink and blue quilt her grandmother had made for her bed, her shelves of books, and the mural Grandpa had painted on her wall. From memory he had drawn the old skyscrapers that had graced his hometown of Chicago before the Final Battle. She went to sleep every night snuggled up with her grandmother’s handiwork while admiring Grandpa’s rendition of the old Chicago skyline. This is only temporary, she told herself now as she looked at the blank wall and the plain red bedspread. Grandpa’s coming back soon. She walked across the room and peeked behind the shades that were covering the window.
“We’re really lucky to be on this side of the hallway,” said Carrie. “We get a nice view of the playdium.”
She was right. Their room was on the second level and looked out over the softball field. In the distance, Alex could see the wooded area. She knew that if she could see beyond the trees, she would see the track where she had beaten Adam. Her stomach lurched a bit at the memory. Had she really used her power to beat a boy in a race? And what good did it do me? she thought. Adam totally thinks I’m a leak. Then she remembered the reason why she had wanted to beat him so bad. Tomorrow would be her birthday, and there was no one there who would help her celebrate.
“Do you want to head down to the common area?” Carrie gestured with her thumb.
Alex sat down on her bed. “No, thanks.” Exhaustion consumed her. “I think I just want to go to bed.”
“Yeah, I guess traveling from Mars must be a pain.”
Alex nodded. Then she let her head hit the pillow.
“Alright, I’m going to head down to the common area with the others. Bathroom’s two doors down on the right if you need it. I’ll try not to wake you when I come back. Can’t make any promises, though. I’m not used to having a roommate.”
Carrie needn’t have worried about waking Alex; she fell into a deep sleep shortly after Carrie left the room.
* * *
When she did finally wake up, it was with a start and two thoughts consumed her: 1) It wasn’t a dream—I really am on the moon! and 2) It’s my birthday, and I’m alone!
Alex groaned softly as she sat up in bed. She looked around. Carrie wasn’t in the room, and her bed was already made. Something small and black was on the floor. Alex bent down and realized it was her PTD. Better hang onto that, she thought. Alex headed toward the closet and pulled some of her new clothes from the closet. Then she ventured out into the hallway. No one was around. Which way had Carrie said was the washroom? Alex wandered down the hallway a bit and found a room marked Girls’ Lavatory. Alex wasn’t sure what this meant, but it didn’t have a room number so she figured it must be safe. She waved her PTD, and the door slid open.
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. The room was indeed a washroom with several private shower stalls. Never in her life had Alex enjoyed a hot shower more than she did that morning.
She dressed quickly in one of her new skorts and a white v-neck shirt, topping it all off with her grandfather’s old blue baseball cap. By the time Alex found her way down to the dining hall, most of the colony had finished eating breakfast. Alex sat alone at the otherwise empty seventh grade table and felt the awkward stares of the few remaining diners. She didn’t stay long. As soon as she was finished, Alex sent her tray down the chute and headed out. Not knowing what to do next, Alex wandered through the moon colony. Pieces of it seemed familiar to her from her tour with Marta the day before. However, she must have gone down a different hallway at one point, for Alex suddenly found herself in a spot she hadn’t seen previously.
A long set of windows ran the length of the hallway. Stepping over to them, Alex peered down into a hangar, a giant room for storing spaceships. Alex marveled at the variety before her. Grandpa’s old Rock Jumper was the only ship she had ever seen up close. Sure, she had occasionally seen other little ships flying over her island back home, and then there were those hoverships that had come looking for her, but these were real rocket ships. Some of them were small with a tiny cockpit on top for a fighter pilot and thin wings on each side for quick maneuvering. Others were large tubes with pointed noses at one end and massive rocket boosters at the other. A few technicians were moving around below the ships, checking parts here and there. The whirring of electric screwdrivers and the pounding of hammers floated up to Alex. She wondered how often these ships were used and where they flew.
For a moment, Alex had visions of breaking into the rocket hanger, stealing a ship, and flying home on her own. She knew the flight was too long to make it home before her birthday ended, but at least she . . . Alex stopped mid-thought. What was the point? She didn’t know how to fly, and even if she could manage one of those smaller rocket ships, where would she go? Emperor Devlesh’s men were probably watching over her old house, and who knew where Grandpa had gone looking for Grandma?
Alex resigned herself to spending her birthday alone. She turned away from the windows and rambled down the hallway. Eventually, she found her way inside the playdium. It was a beautiful day inside the artificial atmosphere. The sky was programmed to be blue that day with a few clouds drifting by.
Alex stopped short inside the entranceway. Adam was sitting alone on top of the bleachers. He had a notebook and an old-fashioned pencil in his hands.
Not in the mood for a confrontation, Alex tried to sneak behind the bleachers to the other side of the playdium.
“I can see ya, leak,” Adam called out without turning around.
Alex didn’t break her stride. “Yeah, so? I can see you, too.” Alex thought she heard Adam snort as she walked away.
In the wooded area, Alex began examining the trees. They were definitely real—and of all shapes, sizes, and sorts. Alex recognized some of them—palm trees, mangroves, guava trees—from her island back home. Many of them were completely new to her, but some reminded her of the trees in her grandmother’s photos of the old family home back in Chicago. Alex tried to remember what her grandmother had said they were. Maple trees? Oak trees? Deep into the wooded area, she came across several evergreens—Christmas trees her grandmother had called them. There were at least two of every variety, as if someone had decided this section of the moon colony would be a “Noah’s ark” for trees. Alex’s heart soared when she saw two Monkey Pod trees. They were like some of the ones she used to climb daily on her island home.
Wasting no time, Alex climbed one of the Monkey Pod trees. It felt good to get her hands around rough tree bark again. Her new moon boots weren’t quite as adept at scaling up the trunk as her old shoes had been, but they worked. Higher and higher she climbed, her feet and hands knowing which branches to reach for and which to push off of.
At last, she found herself hidden among the top branches of the tree. The Monkey Pod stretched out far around her. As is usually the case with Monkey Pods, this tree was much wider than it was tall. Its branches spread out in a shape similar to the top of a mushroom. Alex didn’t mind that it wasn’t the tallest tree in the playdium. For the moment, she felt enveloped in its branches, and the smell of home was heart-achingly familiar.
Alex spent hours up in that tree. Occasionally, she switched to a new position, but mostly she thought of the past few days. How quickly life had changed! She wondered where her grandfather was now. Had he made it back to Earth yet? Were the Emperor’s henchmen waiting for him? Would he be able to find Grandma? Earth was such a big planet. Where would Grandpa start his search?
Then she thought about her birthday. Last year’s birthday had been terribly sad because Grandma had been gone almost a year. Since Grandpa wasn’t much of a baker, Alex had made her own birthday cake, chocolate with pink frosting. The cake had tasted fine, but Alex didn’t have the fancy decorating touch her grandmother had. When she blew out the candles on that cake, she wished Grandma would be back in time for thirteenth birthday. No such luck.
Now she was turning thirteen and everything was ten times worse, Alex decided. She had neither of her grandparents with her, and she didn’t know when her grandfather would return. Alex considered telling someone that it was her birthday, but who would really care?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a stern voice below.
“Alexandra!” The voice hollered out the staccato-style command. “Get . . . down . . . off . . . that . . . tree!”
HOMESICK
Over the course of the next few days, people who had witnessed what became known as “Zero’s Knife Throwing Act” were asked repeatedly to retell the story to those who had not seen it. However, these stories didn’t always end the same. Many people said that Alex ducked her head out of the way just in time, and her catching of the knife by the handle was pure luck. At this point in the story, people usually shivered as they imagined what would have happened if Alex had caught the wrong end of the steak knife.
Other people said a miracle occurred because the knife seemed to change directions as it was speeding towards Alex’s face. One moment it looked like it was going to slice through her cheek, and the next it was speeding toward her hand.
If you had asked Clark Johnson what had happened, he would have told you that Alex must have had a magnet in her hand. From his perspective, it appeared that the knife did indeed change directions. Not only that, the way Clark told the story, the knife seemed to stop spinning briefly before hitting the palm of Alex’s hand—almost as if the knife knew Alex had to catch it by the handle and not the blade. Even Clark’s brother Jack didn’t believe that part of his story.
Only Alex knew how close Clark’s story came to the truth. For the second time in one day, Alex had done the one thing both her grandpa and the General had told her not to do. She had used her power to pull an object into her hand. But what else was she supposed to do? When the knife was spinning toward her at a vicious speed, it was only instinct for Alex to think about catching it so that neither she nor anyone else got hurt. And as for catching it by the handle—of course, she concentrated on moving the handle into her palm. Who would want to catch a knife by its blade?
Of course, there was a small handful of people who simply believed Alex had great catching instincts. Foremost among these people was the man in the white shirt with the word “Coach” across the back. As soon as he saw Zero pick up the knife to throw at Magnum, he hopped up and yelled, “Zero! No!”
When the coach saw Alex catch the knife, he was momentarily stunned into silence. Then he ran up to Alex. In her left hand, she held a half-spilled glass of milk. In her right hand, she still held the knife. Both hands were shaking.
“In all my years of coaching softball,” he began, “I’ve never seen a catch like that.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it. “Who are you?”
Carrie ran up beside Alex. “Coach, this is my new roommate. She’d make a good catcher for the team, don’t you think? I mean, some people are saying she’d make a good pitcher, but after what we just saw, I think she’d really be a better catcher.”
The coach looked Alex right in the eyes. “What’s your name?”
Alex looked up into the big brown eyes of the handsome man in the coach’s shirt. His chiseled jaw was set in a wide grin that showed off his gleaming white, perfectly straight teeth.
“A – Alex,” she stammered. “Jones.”
The coach cradled her shaking right hand in his two strong hands. “I’m Coach Skule. Why don’t you let me take this knife now? O.K., Alex?” Alex nodded, the shaking of her hands spreading to the rest of her body as she realized how close she had come to having her cheek sliced off.
Coach Skule slipped the knife out of Alex’s hands. Then he looked up to check on Zero and Magnum; security was already hauling the two of them away.
“So what do you think, Coach?” Carrie was hopping with excitement beside Alex. “Don’t you think she would make a great catcher?”
The coach’s smile got even wider. “I think you’re right, Carrie. What do you say, Alex? We could use a good catcher like you on our team.”
“Oh, well, I’ve never played softball before, but my grandpa did teach me about baseball.”
“Perfect,” beamed the coach. “We’ve got a month before the softball season begins. I’m sure Carrie will help you prepare. In the meantime, Carrie, why don’t you get our new catcher a fresh glass of milk?” Coach took the half empty glass from Alex and handed it to Carrie. “And, Alex, why don’t you go back to your table and relax for a bit? You still seem a bit shaken up. We’ll talk more about softball later. I need to fill out my security report.”
With that, Coach Skule walked away, and Alex returned to her seat.
Simona’s dark eyes were like saucers. “Alex, that was amazing!”
“The chance of making a catch like that . . .” Yvonne paused as if mentally calculating the chances.
“Who cares about the chances? She did it!” exclaimed Jack. He leaned over the table. “Do you think you could do it again, leak?”
“Maybe,” Alex shrugged. If she used her ability, she knew she could it again, but she couldn’t tell them that. Then she smiled a little. “Of course, Jack, if you keep calling me a leak, I might not stop any knife that was headed toward you.” That got a loud laugh from Clark, and a few snickers from the rest.
“Nice one,” Carrie commented as she sat down beside Alex and handed her a new glass of milk.
For the remainder of the meal, the seventh grade students pumped Alex for information about where she lived and how she had gotten to the moon. She kept to the story she had told to Carrie. When Jack asked what was wrong with the space station home she had left, Alex made up a story about the air recycling system malfunctioning, and her grandpa wasn’t sure they were getting an adequate amount of oxygen. It sounded life-threatening enough without being too dramatic. Alex noticed most of the students were riveted to her story, but Sam and Adam whispered to each other periodically. Alex thought she caught the words shirt and yanking, along with a few leak’s thrown in.
When it was time to go, Alex followed the rest of the seventh graders to the trash chutes. Most of them had already stepped out into the hallway, but Adam and Sam lurked behind until it was Alex’s turn. Adam stepped right in front of the trash chute Alex was aiming for. His arms were crossed, and the glare he gave Alex rivaled the one she had given him earlier that day.
“You might have wowed a few people with your lucky catch back there,” Adam scoffed, “but make no mistake about it. We don’t trust you. You’re still a leak.” Alex made no response, but chewed her lip until Adam stepped aside and exited with Sam.
Once she had disposed of her tray, Alex hurried out into the hallway. Had Carrie remembered that she was supposed to show her to their room?
Carrie was standing outside the dining hall. “There you are!” she exclaimed. “What took you so long?”
“Oh, nothing.” Alex didn’t want to repeat what Adam had said to her. Did everyone think she was a leak?
“Let’s head this way,” Carrie led her in the opposite direction of the rest of the seventh graders. “I’ve got to take you to see Madame Oberin first.”
“Madame who?” Alex worried how she would ever keep everyone’s names straight. Back at home, she had only two names to worry about: Grandma and Grandpa.
“Madame Oberin,” replied Carrie. The two girls stepped into an elevator. “Second floor,” announced Carrie, and the lift began to move. “She’s like our foster mom, only much tougher than any mom I’ve ever met. She lost all of her own children during the Final Battle. Tragic.” Carrie shook her head as they exited the elevator and turned left.
“All of them?”
“Yeah, she had seven of them. Now she’s in charge of the orphans here, so she’s got like 50 or 60 kids now. Something like that—Yvonne could tell you the exact number.”
Carrie and Alex turned the corner and were greeted by a sturdy-looking woman in her 60s. Her steel grey hair was cut into a blunt bob, one side of which was carefully pinned back. Alex had the impression that if one of the woman’s grey hairs had dared to fly out of place, she would have deemed it impossible to continue her work until that hair had been properly taken care of.
“This must be Alex Jones, I suppose.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Yes, Madame Oberin,” replied Carrie.
Madame Oberin’s murky brown eyes took in Alex’s appearance. “Hmph,” was her only comment about that. “Let’s get you to the sleeping quarters you’ll be sharing with Carrie.” She turned and started heading toward the opposite end of the hallway. I see you already have your PTD. Excellent. You’ll need it for entrance into your room. This room over here,” she indicated a doorway that read Madame Oberin, Orphan Supervisor, “is where you can find me in an emergency, but please,” she held up one hand, “only come to my room if you cannot reach me via PTD first.” She glanced over her shoulder at the two girls. “I’m not always in my room, you know. The PTD is the most efficient way to find me. No use wasting your time running all over the complex.”
Alex noticed that Madame Oberin’s gait seemed brisk and efficient, too. No unnecessary arm swaying, just get from Point A to Point B as fast as possible.
“This section of the dormitory is for the male students.” Madame Oberin gestured toward the doors as they passed, each labeled with a room number. “You will not be spending any time here.” Carrie and Alex exchanged glances.
“Coming up is the common area of the dormitory. This section is accessible to both the boys and the girls between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., if you should decide to form a co-educational study group. It also offers a lovely view of the playdium.”
The hallway opened up, and Alex found herself in a modern, but comfortable looking room. Students were spread across the couches and chairs. Some had their heads in their books; others were engaged in conversation. Many of them looked up when Alex stepped into the room.
“Jeffrey!” Madame Oberin hollered. “Put . . . your . . . feet . . . down.” The last statement was made with crisp, clipped words spurted out in a staccato fashion. A blond boy immediately pulled his feet down from the table they had been propped on. Madame Oberin looked at her watch. “Only two hours left in the common area tonight.” This was followed by a few groans.
Madame Oberin continued her tour. “This side of the dormitory is for the young ladies. After 10:00 each night, you’ll need to remain on this half of the hallway. Ah, here we are now.” Madame Oberin stopped in front of a doorway on her left. Room 111, the sign read.
Carried reached for the PTD on her ear.
“Let Alex try hers,” said Madame Oberin. “Let’s see if she’s programmed into the system yet.”
Alex pulled the PTD off her ear. She had almost forgotten it was there. Alex glanced up at Madame Oberin, who nodded encouragement, then placed the PTD before the panel beside the door. It slid open.
“Perfect,” declared Madame Oberin. “Well, I’ll leave you two girls to get acquainted. Carrie, make sure Alex is up to date on all our protocol here. Remember, curfew is 10:00. Lights out by 11:00. If you need me, try reaching me on your PTD.” Madame Oberin turned and walked back down the hallway.
“After you,” Carrie gestured toward the room.
Alex stepped inside. The room wasn’t big, but it held two twin beds, a pair of nightstands, and a couple of desks. One side of the room would have looked like a mirror image of the other if it weren’t for the softball and sport photos Carrie had hanging up on her side of the room.
“This is your closet.” Carrie pushed a panel door aside. Alex’s new clothes were already inside, as well as her spacesuit and her old clothes. “That’s your bed and that’s your desk.” A few books were spread out on the top of the desk and a shirt was draped over the back of the chair. “Oh,” Carrie snatched up the shirt and books. “Sorry, about that. They didn’t give me any warning that I was getting a roommate.” Carrie put her belongings back on her side of the room. “Oberin does inspections of our rooms every Monday night, so make sure your side of the room is tidy by then.”
Alex nodded. Could she ever think of this as her room? She pictured her old room back at home: the pink and blue quilt her grandmother had made for her bed, her shelves of books, and the mural Grandpa had painted on her wall. From memory he had drawn the old skyscrapers that had graced his hometown of Chicago before the Final Battle. She went to sleep every night snuggled up with her grandmother’s handiwork while admiring Grandpa’s rendition of the old Chicago skyline. This is only temporary, she told herself now as she looked at the blank wall and the plain red bedspread. Grandpa’s coming back soon. She walked across the room and peeked behind the shades that were covering the window.
“We’re really lucky to be on this side of the hallway,” said Carrie. “We get a nice view of the playdium.”
She was right. Their room was on the second level and looked out over the softball field. In the distance, Alex could see the wooded area. She knew that if she could see beyond the trees, she would see the track where she had beaten Adam. Her stomach lurched a bit at the memory. Had she really used her power to beat a boy in a race? And what good did it do me? she thought. Adam totally thinks I’m a leak. Then she remembered the reason why she had wanted to beat him so bad. Tomorrow would be her birthday, and there was no one there who would help her celebrate.
“Do you want to head down to the common area?” Carrie gestured with her thumb.
Alex sat down on her bed. “No, thanks.” Exhaustion consumed her. “I think I just want to go to bed.”
“Yeah, I guess traveling from Mars must be a pain.”
Alex nodded. Then she let her head hit the pillow.
“Alright, I’m going to head down to the common area with the others. Bathroom’s two doors down on the right if you need it. I’ll try not to wake you when I come back. Can’t make any promises, though. I’m not used to having a roommate.”
Carrie needn’t have worried about waking Alex; she fell into a deep sleep shortly after Carrie left the room.
* * *
When she did finally wake up, it was with a start and two thoughts consumed her: 1) It wasn’t a dream—I really am on the moon! and 2) It’s my birthday, and I’m alone!
Alex groaned softly as she sat up in bed. She looked around. Carrie wasn’t in the room, and her bed was already made. Something small and black was on the floor. Alex bent down and realized it was her PTD. Better hang onto that, she thought. Alex headed toward the closet and pulled some of her new clothes from the closet. Then she ventured out into the hallway. No one was around. Which way had Carrie said was the washroom? Alex wandered down the hallway a bit and found a room marked Girls’ Lavatory. Alex wasn’t sure what this meant, but it didn’t have a room number so she figured it must be safe. She waved her PTD, and the door slid open.
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. The room was indeed a washroom with several private shower stalls. Never in her life had Alex enjoyed a hot shower more than she did that morning.
She dressed quickly in one of her new skorts and a white v-neck shirt, topping it all off with her grandfather’s old blue baseball cap. By the time Alex found her way down to the dining hall, most of the colony had finished eating breakfast. Alex sat alone at the otherwise empty seventh grade table and felt the awkward stares of the few remaining diners. She didn’t stay long. As soon as she was finished, Alex sent her tray down the chute and headed out. Not knowing what to do next, Alex wandered through the moon colony. Pieces of it seemed familiar to her from her tour with Marta the day before. However, she must have gone down a different hallway at one point, for Alex suddenly found herself in a spot she hadn’t seen previously.
A long set of windows ran the length of the hallway. Stepping over to them, Alex peered down into a hangar, a giant room for storing spaceships. Alex marveled at the variety before her. Grandpa’s old Rock Jumper was the only ship she had ever seen up close. Sure, she had occasionally seen other little ships flying over her island back home, and then there were those hoverships that had come looking for her, but these were real rocket ships. Some of them were small with a tiny cockpit on top for a fighter pilot and thin wings on each side for quick maneuvering. Others were large tubes with pointed noses at one end and massive rocket boosters at the other. A few technicians were moving around below the ships, checking parts here and there. The whirring of electric screwdrivers and the pounding of hammers floated up to Alex. She wondered how often these ships were used and where they flew.
For a moment, Alex had visions of breaking into the rocket hanger, stealing a ship, and flying home on her own. She knew the flight was too long to make it home before her birthday ended, but at least she . . . Alex stopped mid-thought. What was the point? She didn’t know how to fly, and even if she could manage one of those smaller rocket ships, where would she go? Emperor Devlesh’s men were probably watching over her old house, and who knew where Grandpa had gone looking for Grandma?
Alex resigned herself to spending her birthday alone. She turned away from the windows and rambled down the hallway. Eventually, she found her way inside the playdium. It was a beautiful day inside the artificial atmosphere. The sky was programmed to be blue that day with a few clouds drifting by.
Alex stopped short inside the entranceway. Adam was sitting alone on top of the bleachers. He had a notebook and an old-fashioned pencil in his hands.
Not in the mood for a confrontation, Alex tried to sneak behind the bleachers to the other side of the playdium.
“I can see ya, leak,” Adam called out without turning around.
Alex didn’t break her stride. “Yeah, so? I can see you, too.” Alex thought she heard Adam snort as she walked away.
In the wooded area, Alex began examining the trees. They were definitely real—and of all shapes, sizes, and sorts. Alex recognized some of them—palm trees, mangroves, guava trees—from her island back home. Many of them were completely new to her, but some reminded her of the trees in her grandmother’s photos of the old family home back in Chicago. Alex tried to remember what her grandmother had said they were. Maple trees? Oak trees? Deep into the wooded area, she came across several evergreens—Christmas trees her grandmother had called them. There were at least two of every variety, as if someone had decided this section of the moon colony would be a “Noah’s ark” for trees. Alex’s heart soared when she saw two Monkey Pod trees. They were like some of the ones she used to climb daily on her island home.
Wasting no time, Alex climbed one of the Monkey Pod trees. It felt good to get her hands around rough tree bark again. Her new moon boots weren’t quite as adept at scaling up the trunk as her old shoes had been, but they worked. Higher and higher she climbed, her feet and hands knowing which branches to reach for and which to push off of.
At last, she found herself hidden among the top branches of the tree. The Monkey Pod stretched out far around her. As is usually the case with Monkey Pods, this tree was much wider than it was tall. Its branches spread out in a shape similar to the top of a mushroom. Alex didn’t mind that it wasn’t the tallest tree in the playdium. For the moment, she felt enveloped in its branches, and the smell of home was heart-achingly familiar.
Alex spent hours up in that tree. Occasionally, she switched to a new position, but mostly she thought of the past few days. How quickly life had changed! She wondered where her grandfather was now. Had he made it back to Earth yet? Were the Emperor’s henchmen waiting for him? Would he be able to find Grandma? Earth was such a big planet. Where would Grandpa start his search?
Then she thought about her birthday. Last year’s birthday had been terribly sad because Grandma had been gone almost a year. Since Grandpa wasn’t much of a baker, Alex had made her own birthday cake, chocolate with pink frosting. The cake had tasted fine, but Alex didn’t have the fancy decorating touch her grandmother had. When she blew out the candles on that cake, she wished Grandma would be back in time for thirteenth birthday. No such luck.
Now she was turning thirteen and everything was ten times worse, Alex decided. She had neither of her grandparents with her, and she didn’t know when her grandfather would return. Alex considered telling someone that it was her birthday, but who would really care?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a stern voice below.
“Alexandra!” The voice hollered out the staccato-style command. “Get . . . down . . . off . . . that . . . tree!”
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Chapter 4
Chapter 4: MOON DUST, NEW THREADS, & A FOOD FIGHT
Jack whacked Sanyu upside the head. “Really smooth, Sanyu!”
“What?” cried Sanyu helplessly. Jack just shook his head.
“It’s all right,” said Alex. She held her head up high now. There was no way she was going to let her new classmates see her cry. “I could tell you were all thinking the same thing.”
A couple of the girls looked down at their shoes. Clark shifted his weight uneasily. Sanyu tilted his head to the side and scratched the top of it. He seemed to be figuring out how Alex could have turned out to be a girl.
Sam made his way over to Adam and gave him a consolation pat on the back. “Don’t worry about the race, man. Obviously, the new kid is a freak.” Alex felt her teeth grind together. That little Sam kid was gonna be trouble.
In the distance, a shrill bell rang.
“Thank God!” sighed Yvonne. “Let’s get back to class. This recess stuff is stressing me out.” Her long, blond hair swaying behind her, she ran back to the other side of the playdium. The rest of the kids followed quickly.
Near the exit to the playdium stood Ms. Pullman, who greeted each student by name when they walked past her.
“Good afternoon, Adam.”
“Hey, Ms. Pullman.”
“Samuel.” She gave Sam a stern, warning look that Alex couldn’t understand. What had Sam done to annoy Ms. Pullman?
“Ms. Pullman,” sang Sam. He smiled at the teacher.
“Hello, Jack.”
“Hey.”
“And . . . ,” Ms. Pullman craned her neck around Jack to see who was coming last. In the small hallway leading from the playdium to the inner loop of the colony, Alex’s new classmates bunched up near the doorway as if expecting something to happen when Ms. Pullman saw Alex without her hat on. Did they think Ms. Pullman would be shocked that Alex was a girl, too? Alex could see Yvonne’s blue eyes peeking out from behind Clark’s tall frame.
Ms. Pullman’s brow furrowed a bit. “Good afternoon,” she said slowly. Then with the slightest raise of her voice, she made the last word a question. “Alex?”
“Good afternoon, Ms. Pullman,” Alex answered strongly, faking a sense of confidence, and strode into the hallway where the other students had gathered to watch the scene. Alex took a step forward; her new classmates took a step back. Yvonne, still standing behind Clark, let out an, “Ouch!” Apparently, he had stepped on her foot. Alex took another step forward. This time Yvonne moved fast enough to get out of Clark’s way. Ms. Pullman stepped into the hallway behind Alex.
“Well?” she looked at everyone. “What are you waiting for? Get your things from my room and proceed to Professor Callahan’s room for science.”
Alex took another step forward.
“Go, go,” urged Sam. “The freak needs to get through!” With an abrupt aboutface, the students headed out of the hallway and into the inner circle.
“Samuel!” Ms. Pullman yelled, but Sam continued to speed down the hallway.
Back in Ms. Pullman’s room, Alex picked up her small bag. In the corner of the room, Ms. Pullman was having a hushed conversation with Sam. Alex couldn’t hear what was being said, but neither Ms. Pullman nor Sam looked happy. As Sam shot her a dirty look, Alex followed the other students out of the classroom and down the hallway to a doorway marked Astrophysics and Other Sciences: Professor Callahan.
Callahan turned out to be a funny, old man. With his white hair, thick white beard and round tummy, he looked like he should have been wearing a red suit trimmed in white fur. His green eyes twinkled when the students walked into his room.
“Ah, my young scholars,” he greeted them. “How are we doing today?”
“We got a new kid,” Jack nodded back to Alex who entered the room behind him.
“Yes, General Fratelli stopped in a moment ago to tell me about our new student.”
Professor Callahan stepped forward to shake Alex’s hand. “Well, well, hello there, young lady. Come on in, welcome. Adriana, isn’t it?”
“Alex, sir, my name’s Alex.”
“Oh, of course, of course. I knew it started with an A. You mustn’t mind me, Alex. I’ve been at this science teacher game too long. Eons ago, well before the war, I used to teach astrophysics back on Earth at a university called . . .” He rubbed the side of his temple, then let his hand drop. “Well, now, what does it matter what it was called? That school doesn’t exist anymore anyway. Let’s get started, shall we? Take a seat over here, Alex,” Professor Callahan gestured to an empty seat on the side of his classroom. “I think we should begin by reviewing what we discussed yesterday. It will be a good way to introduce Alex to her new home, too. Did everyone plug in their PTDs?” Callahan looked around to see that the students had logged into their consoles.
“Alex, did anyone give you a PTD yet?” The professor directed his attention to his newest student.
“I’m sorry, a what?” The term sounded familiar to her, but she had no idea what he was talking about.
“A PTD. That’s what we call these things here.” Callahan lifted a small, rectangular device off his ear, and Alex realized that all of her classmates had taken off the strange black gadgets they had had in their ears and placed them into their computer terminals. “A personal technology device.” He held it out for Alex to see. She shook her head to indicate that she didn’t have one. “I’m sure General Fratelli will be getting you one shortly. We couldn’t live without them here on the moon. They do everything for us: make phone calls, hold our music and electronic files, open doorways, give directions, capture video and photos.” Suddenly, Alex remembered where she had heard the term before. When she tried to enter the IMC, the lit panel had asked her to scan her PTD. Callahan continued his explanation by pointing at a small portion of the device, “The tiny screen here can be a bit of a strain on our eyes. That’s why we plug them into the consoles when we want to do any real work.” Callahan turned toward his teacher’s console and attached his own PTD. On the large screen behind him popped up a photo of the south pole of the moon. With a few touches on the screen, Callahan zoomed in on a particular crater.
“Here we go, the Shackleton crater. Can anyone tell us from yesterday’s discussion why this site was chosen for the moon colony?” The blond girl’s hand popped up.
“Yes, Yvonne.”
“Some areas of the south pole, like the Shackleton crater, get sunlight almost all the time. In fact, some areas see sunlight almost 98% of the time.”
“Very good. And why would constant sunlight be so important? Life on earth exists without continual daylight. Why is it so vital to our existence here? Clark.”
“Solar power.” Something about Clark’s response seemed odd to Alex. Did he speak with an accent?
“Absolutely, solar power.” Professor Callahan looked around the room. “Imagine if we didn’t have solar power.” He paused to let the idea sink in. “How would we survive? What would keep this colony going?” He chuckled to himself for a moment. “It’s not like we could have run an electrical line between the earth and the moon.”
Alex slowly raised a hand. There was a question on her mind, but she wasn’t sure if she should ask it.
Callahan’s eyes lit up. He loved to be questioned. “Yes, Alex.”
“What about wind energy? Couldn’t you use that to generate power as well?”
“There is no wind on the moon,” Adam blurted out. Then he rolled his eyes, as if to say, What an idiot!
“No wind?” She turned to look at him. “Ever?”
“I’m afraid, young Mr. Zweil speaks the truth, Alex,” Mr. Callahan stepped in before Adam could respond. “We have no wind here on the moon. Which brings me to my next point—the moon has no significant atmosphere. What problems does this cause for us?”
“No oxygen,” Jack quipped.
“Well, yes,” Professor Callahan chuckled. “I would have thought that was obvious. The designers of this colony complex had to find a way to create and then seal-in an environment that was rich in oxygen. One crack in our protective ‘bubble’ here, and we’re all in trouble.” He shuddered at the thought. “Let’s move beyond the obvious. What other problem does a lack of atmosphere give us?”
Alex looked around the room; no one seemed to know. Seated beside her was the redheaded girl named Carrie. She was manipulating her console, trying to find the answer in her notes.
“The Earth,” continued Professor Callahan, “has an extremely useful atmosphere. Not only does it provide oxygen, but it also protects its inhabitants from something else. Unfortunately, the damage done to the Earth by Emperor Devlesh means its atmosphere isn’t as adept at protecting the planet as it used to be.”
“Radiation,” Alex said. They all turned to look at her. “Radiation, that’s it, isn’t it? The Earth’s atmosphere is able to absorb some of the radiation from the sun, but without any atmosphere on the moon, we’re at risk of radiation poisoning.”
“Very good, Alex,” Callahan nodded approvingly.
“Radiation poisoning?” Yvonne asked. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it?” Alex sat up straighter in her seat. “You said the designers chose this site because we would be in the sun all the time, but that also means we’re exposed to radiation all the time.” Alex’s breathing quickened. She looked around the room at everyone. “That means you’ve all had eleven years of radiation exposure.” Visions of her new classmates growing second heads swam before her. She looked down at her own hands and turned them over several times. “We can’t stay here. This isn’t healthy.” By this point, the rest of the class was looking at her as if she had just grown a second head.
Professor Callahan chuckled softly. “Slow down there, Alex. We’re perfectly safe. You’re right that radiation is extremely dangerous, but our founders knew that when they built this complex, so they made the necessary adjustments. I was going to talk more about the Shackleton crater today, but we’d better turn to page 211. Let’s find out how the colony designers used a little thing called ‘moon dust’ to save us from radiation.” Callahan and the rest of the students began tapping out instructions on their consoles.
“Um, sir,” Alex raised her hand timidly.
“Oh, sorry, Alex. I forgot you don’t have a PTD yet to access your console. Why don’t you look on with Carrie for now?”
Carrie didn’t look too pleased with this idea, but she tilted her console slightly so Alex could look, too.
* * *
An hour and a half later, not only had Callahan given the class a thorough explanation of the layer of moon dust (also called regolith, the professor informed them) that covered the colony complex, but he also whipped up a last-minute experiment with moon dust as well. Several sealed containers with small amounts of moon dust were passed out to each lab table.
“Be sure to keep the containers sealed,” warned Professor Callahan. “Prolonged exposure to moon dust is harmful to your lungs.”
Using a device Professor Callahan called a magnetron, Alex worked with her lab partners Carrie and Sanyu to heat the moon dust at varying temperatures and for varying lengths of time. Alex watched in amazement as the moon dust quickly melted into a cement-like creation. Using a different power setting on the magnetron, they melted another container of moon dust until it resembled glass.
“Notice what happens when I shine a concentrated beam of light and heat at this melted moon dust.” Professor Callahan took one of Adam and Sam’s samples that had been melted into concrete and secured it before a powerful lamp he had at the front of the room. “Pretend this light represents the sun. You’ll notice how it is unable to penetrate the concrete. The moon dust is protecting us not only from the radiation of the sun, but also the extreme heat. That’s why we can use the old lava tunnels under this complex as protection from the bright sun if something should happen to our colony. In fact, the early colony designers considered building the entire colony underground. Any questions?” He looked around to make sure everyone understood.
“Alright, we’re running out of time. Let’s start cleaning up the lab.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Alex saw Adam pack away some of the unused moon dust and store it in a cabinet. Then he took his seat beside Sam. When Adam looked up at her, Alex looked away and concentrated on wiping the lab table she had shared with Sanyu and Carrie.
“I guess you’re not too worried any more about getting fried by the radiation,” Adam called over to Alex.
“People used to be really scared of radiation,” said Sam, “especially before they knew how to protect themselves from too much exposure.” Then his eyes widened. “Hey, maybe Alex is a time traveler who has come here from the past!” A few of the nearby students giggled.
“Alright.” Professor Callahan stood before the class, rubbing his hands together excitedly. He seemed completely oblivious to the little dialogue that had just occurred. “It looks like we’re almost cleaned up. Excellent. Now listen carefully, I have something important I need you to remember for Monday’s class.” A few students clicked on their consoles to type in reminders. “I think,” continued Professor Callahan, “that we need to get up close and personal with the our home crater here. Therefore, bring your space suits on Monday. We’re going outside!”
“Outside?” questioned Clark.
“Yes!” hissed Jack.
Alex wondered what the big deal was. She had been outside the colony walls just a few hours ago. However, the excited grins and the slapping of hands among the other kids told Alex that this was something special for them.
“Yes, outside!” Callahan’s eyes sparkled. “It’s time we did a little exploring.”
The bell rang, and students logged out of their consoles and returned their PTDs to their ears. Alex picked up her small bag and wondered where she was supposed to go next. She tapped Sanyu on the shoulder before he could walk away.
“Hey, Sanyu, where do we go next?”
Sanyu gave a little shrug. “Home.”
Home. The word cut at Alex. It was impossible for her to go home. By now, her grandfather would have repaired the Rock Jumper and be on his way back to Earth. How long would it take him to find Grandma? The sooner he found her, the sooner he would return for Alex. In the meantime, she wondered what she should do next.
The doorway to Professor Callahan’s classroom slid open, and Marta rolled into the room.
“Excuse me, Professor Callahan. At the General’s orders, I am to take Alex Jones with me.” No one but Callahan and Alex paid any attention to Marta. The other students walked around her and out of the classroom, excitedly talking about their plans for the remainder of the afternoon.
Callahan looked at Marta and then at Alex. “Of course, Marta. Alex, make sure you have all your things. Marta will take good care of you.”
The prospect of spending more time with Marta didn’t thrill Alex, but at least she had somewhere to go now.
Out in the hallway, Alex said, “So where are we going?”
“The General has decided you need some new clothes and supplies.”
The next few hours were spent in two rooms. The first room they visited was labeled Carol’s Colony Clothing. Carol turned out to be a tall, dark-skinned woman with her hair in a high bun and a set of dark-rimmed spectacles on the tip of her nose. She asked Alex to step into a cylindrical machine in which Alex’s body was scanned from head to toe. Then Marta asked the seamstress Carol for “the standard seventh grade issue.” Carol told her to return in an hour.
Next Marta took Alex to a much larger room in the outer loop of the colony. This place was labeled Technology & Technical Services. Here Alex received her PTD. Marta showed her how to attach it to her ear so that she could receive phone calls and listen to music. When she took it off her ear, she could use it for taking photos and videos. Then Marta demonstrated how to plug the PTD into any console in the complex. Alex was amazed by how much she could do with the PTD. All of her textbooks were stored on it. Her homework would be kept on it. Alex did her best to soak in the information Marta threw at her so quickly.
“The most important thing to remember,” Marta insisted, “is that you never lose your PTD. It is your key to everything in this colony. Your very life may depend on it.”
Alex nodded as she fit the PTD onto her ear. She was surprised by how lightweight it felt.
When Marta’s tutorial on the use of the PTD was finished, they headed back to Carol’s Colony Clothing where Alex was amazed to find a whole new wardrobe completed just for her. The clothes fit perfectly. She had multiple skirts of the style she had seen her female classmates wearing. Each skirt had a short sewn into it, which explained to Alex why the girls didn’t mind running around in their skirts. There were also several colors of leggings and numerous tops with the same V-neck style and fitted bodice all the older girls and women of the colony seemed to be wearing. Each top bore the colony’s five-star emblem. Several pairs of sporty-looking ankle boots were also waiting for her.
Choosing a dark skort and a blue top, Alex changed into one of the outfits immediately. She examined her new look in a full-length mirror. Startled by the difference, she realized why the others had thought she was a boy in her old clothes.
“We’ll have the other items delivered to your sleeping quarters later,” Marta explained.
The door to Carol’s Colony Clothing slid open, and a disgruntled girl walked in. Alex recognized Carrie immediately. Despite having completed a science lab with her, Alex realized she knew nothing about her except that she was supposed to be the pitcher for the softball team.
“You called for me, Marta?” Carrie tightened her ponytail before folding her arms over her chest. She glanced over at Alex to take in her new clothes.
“Yes, Carrie.” Marta rolled over to where Carrie was standing near the doorway.
“Alex will be staying with you.”
“What?” Carrie unfolded her arms, put her hands on her hips, and leaned toward Marta as if she had heard wrong.
“Alex is your new roommate.”
“But why? Doesn’t she have any parents either?”
Either? thought Alex. Had Carrie been abandoned on the moon, too?
Marta stood silently. It was clear she wasn’t giving Carrie any more information than she thought necessary.
“Why me?” Carrie finally asked when she realized Marta wasn’t going to answer her last question.
“You are the only seventh grade girl who does not have a roommate.”
“But . . .”
“These are the General’s orders.” Marta’s voice was stern, and Carrie pulled back a little. “You are also to take the new girl with you to dinner. See that she knows how we operate around here. After dinner, you are to take her to the sleeping quarters. Alex’s new clothes as well as her . . .” Marta looked at the pile of Alex’s old clothes slumped over the back of a chair, “former apparel will be delivered there by the time dinner is through.”
Carrie sighed. “Couldn’t someone else . . .” She waved her hand vaguely at Alex.
Marta rolled a bit closer to Carrie. “You wish for me to tell the General you will disobey his orders?”
Sighing, Carrie turned to Alex. “Com’n, Newbie. I’ll show you where we eat dinner.”
Out in the hallway, Alex turned to her new roommate. “So, Carrie, what did you mean when you asked Marta if I didn’t have any parents either?”
Carrie gave her a wary glance. “Just what it sounded like. I figure if you had parents you wouldn’t need a roommate.”
“So you don’t have parents either?”
Carrie stopped in her tracks. “Listen, Newbie, we don’t talk much about parents around here. So if you want to get along with people, you’d better not mention them.”
Alex walked beside Carrie for a while in silence. “But why? Why would people not want to talk about their parents?”
With another abrupt stop, Carrie faced Alex. “Because most of us are orphans, you
leak.” Leak? Alex wondered what that was supposed to mean.
“I don’t understand.”
Carrie resumed walking. “We’re orphans, Newbie. Like you.”
For the second time that afternoon, words cut at Alex. Orphan?
“I’m not an orphan,” she protested. “My grandpa’s coming back for me real soon.”
Carrie rolled her deep blue eyes. “Sure he is.”
“No, really he is!”
“Where are you from anyway?”
Alex tried to remember what the General had told her. “A space station.”
“Oh, yeah.” Carrie’s eyes narrowed. “Which one? Some of the other kids and I have been reading up on the space stations lately.”
“Oh, well, this isn’t an Earth space station.” Alex bit her lower lip. Would she be able to pull off the lie? “Ours was back by Mars.”
“Mars!” Carrie’s eyes widened. “No wonder you’re such a leak.”
“What’s a leak?”
“A leak, you know, a leak.” Carrie struggled for an explanation. “Like when something bad from the outside gets into the inside.” She stopped walking again and folded her arms. She turned toward Alex and took two steps forward, pressing Alex up against the wall. “Listen, I’m not one to beat around the moon rock, you know what I mean? So I’m going to ask you straight. Are you one of Emperor Devlesh’s spies?”
Alex shook her head frantically. “No, not at all. I’m nobody’s spy. My grandpa dropped me off here to be safe for a while until he could make repairs at home. That’s all. Promise!” Alex held her hands up in surrender.
Carrie took a step back. “Well, we’ll see about that.” She jerked her head toward a doorway. “This is the dining hall.”
When the door slid open, Alex saw one of the biggest rooms she had yet to encounter in the colony. There were several rows of long tables with benches. Along two of the walls were several, long silver rails upon which people slid blue trays. On the wall immediately to Alex’s right was a small black box, similar to the one she had seen near the entrance portal.
“Ya gotta swipe your PTD here.” Carrie removed the device from her ear and waved it before the small black box. “That’ll get you a tray.” Sure enough, a slot opened up in the wall, and a blue tray slid halfway out. Carrie pulled it the rest of the way out and placed it on the beginning of the silver rails. Alex mimicked Carrie’s actions and pulled out her own tray.
“Why do we need to swipe the PTD?”
“We, I mean the orphans, get three meals a day here. Others can come eat in the dining hall too if they want, but they’ve got to pay. The PTDs help them keep track of who is eating when.” Carrie slid her tray further down the rails. “Food is broken into categories here. Say you want ravioli. Then you come over here to the pasta section. On this screen, you hit your selection. In a few seconds, the screen slides away, and your food is here.” Carrie demonstrated as she spoke. “If you want chicken stir fry, see the chicken section. Say you want a nice filet mignon, try the steak and chops department. I would recommend you take at least one thing from the vegetables section every once in a while otherwise the school nurse gets on your case.”
Alex nodded, trying to take it in while she ordered herself a plate of chicken parmigiana.
“Oh, one more thing,” Carrie continued. “Don’t try taking more than one dessert from the sweets section. When you touch the screen, it scans and remembers your fingerprint. It won’t let you touch the sweets screen twice during one meal period, and it sends an immediate alert to the health department.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope.” Carrie ordered herself a glass of chocolate milk from the beverage screen.
“Obesity used to be a real problem when first colonists came here. They don’t mess around anymore.”
As Alex waited for the beverage screen to slide away and reveal her glass of milk, she got the sensation that she was being watched. Her back was to the seating area of the cafeteria. Turning around, she discovered that many of the diners had indeed been staring at her. Some of them looked away quickly, but others made no attempt to hide their curiosity. They continued to gaze steadily at her. In groups of twos and threes, some of the colonists, both young and old, bent their heads together to discuss the new arrival.
Deciding to ignore them, Alex picked up her glass of milk and followed Carrie.
“You better sit with the rest of the seventh grade.” Carried headed toward a table near the back. “We don’t trust ya, but at least we won’t eat you alive.”
They walked past a table of slightly older students, and Alex was reminded of a certain section of ocean not too far from her home island. The term “shark-infested” popped into her head. A couple of the boys glared at each other across the table as if they were about to start a fight. Some of the other students stared at Alex as if she were new prey that had crossed into their territory. One girl in particular gave Alex the creeps. Her eyes stared in opposite directions. Her right eye followed Alex as she walked past while the left eye watched the two boys who glared menacingly at each other.
“Those are the eighth graders,” whispered Carrie as they sat down at their table.
“I’d recommend keeping away from them.” Alex nodded and took a seat next to Carrie. Everyone from their class except Sanyu was at their table. Alex wondered if this meant Sanyu had an actual family to go home to. Carrie had said most of them were orphans. Had the war left that many children without parents?
“Hey,” Jack leaned over the table to Carrie, “what’s with bringing the leak?” He jerked his head toward Alex.
Carrie stabbed a piece of ravioli with her fork. “Had to. General’s orders.” She shoved the ravioli in her mouth.
“What are you supposed to do with her after dinner?” asked Sam. “Send her down the trash chute?” The others snickered.
“She’s my new roommate,” murmured Carrie between bites of pasta.
“My condolences,” interjected Adam, who was sitting beside his roommate Sam.
“Oh God!” Jack slapped his knee and laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Carrie retorted.
“I’m just picturing the start of softball season next month. I saw the leak tossing the ball to Sanyu today. She’s got a strong arm. Should be interesting when the two of you are both up for the pitching slot on the team, and then you got to sleep in the same room at night.” Jack chuckled some more. Carrie narrowed her eyes toward Jack. Then she picked up a piece of ravioli and hurled it right into his left eye, splattering marinara sauce across his face and onto his left shoulder. This got a hurt “Hey” from Jack, but a series of snorting laughs from everyone else.
“Serves ya right for messing with the pitcher,” called Adam.
A beautiful dark-skinned girl with her hair tightly braided into thick cornrows was sitting to Alex’s left. She nudged Alex with her elbow. Her brown eyes seemed a little softer, a little less cruel than some of the rest’s. “So you’re an orphan too, huh?”
“Not really,” began Alex, but she couldn’t continue her explanation.
Clark, who was sitting at the end of the table, uttered one word that made the rest of them freeze: “Fight.” They all turned in the direction Clark was facing. Alex turned her head as well. They were looking at the eighth grade table.
“I don’t see any fight,” said Alex.
“Not yet, but it’s coming,” explained the dark-skinned girl.
“How does Clark know?”
“He can read lips.”
“Read lips?”
“Yeah, you know, tell what people are saying from far away by watching the way their lips move. Clark’s an expert at it. He has to be. He’s deaf.”
“He can’t hear?” Alex was astounded.
“That’s what she said, leak,” Jack jumped into the conversation. “You got a problem with my brother’s hearing loss?” Alex looked back and forth between the two boys. They were similar looking, but not identical. Fraternal twins, Alex decided.
“No, no problem at all.”
“Hey, Simona,” Adam called down to the dark-skinned girl beside Alex. “You pickin’ up any of this?” Adam pointed toward the eighth grade table.
“Simona can hear anything,” Carrie whispered to Alex. “She’s like the exact opposite of Clark.”
Simona strained her hearing for a moment. “Seems to be the usual thing. Zero wants Magnum to get a dessert for him.”
Alex looked over at the eighth grade table in time to see an extremely thin boy slam down his glass. The boy seemed emaciated, his bony elbows making sharp angles as he pressed his palms onto the table and leaned forward.
“Com’n, Magnum. You know you’re not going to eat any dessert; you never use your ration.” The skinny boy directed his comments across the table at a boy who was about as large as Zero was skinny.
“Forget about it, Zero!” Magnum yelled back. “Just because I choose not to eat my dessert doesn’t mean I have to sit here and watch you eat two of them.” Magnum rose to his full height, which was rather intimidating.
Several tables over, Alex watched in confusion. Was the skinny boy actually asking for food from the fat boy because the fat boy never ate dessert? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
“You’re a selfish leak,” screamed Zero, who stood up to face Magnum eye-to-eye. When he was standing upright, Alex was surprised to find that Zero was as tall as Magnum. However, in Zero’s case, his unusual height only emphasized how incredibly scrawny he was. Bones jutted out from every corner of his body.
“You’re an obnoxious . . .”
“Boys!” An adult in a white shirt with red letters spelling “Coach” on the back ran up to the table. “That’s enough, Magnum and Zero. Perhaps the younger kids can teach you some manners. Zero, sit over there at the sixth grade table. Magnum, you sit with the fifth graders.” The man looked around the room. “Everybody else, go back to eating.”
One by one, the other diners returned to their meals as Zero and Magnum snatched up their trays and headed to opposite ends of the dining hall.
“Man!” sighed Jack. “I wish Coach Skule would stop interfering. We might get a real fight one of these days.”
Alex looked back at her tray and was surprised to see she had already finished her glass of milk. “Um, there’s no rule against getting two drinks, is there?” She looked around the table. Carrie shook her head while others discussed the inevitable “real” fight that would have to erupt some day between the two eighth grade boys.
At the beverage station, Alex ordered up another milk. Two stations down from her, Magnum approached the dessert station. He tapped the screen a couple times and then pulled out a large ice cream sundae complete with whipped topping and a cherry on top. Alex couldn’t figure out what he was doing at first. Didn’t Zero say Magnum never ate dessert? Smirking, Magnum turned away from the sweet station and made sure that Zero was watching his every move before he dumped the sundae right into the trash chute.
By this time, Alex had her glass of milk in hand and was heading back to her table. She found herself in the unfortunate position of standing between the two eighth grade boys: Zero was three tables to her left, and Magnum, still near the trash chute, was two tables to her right. From the left, she heard a voice scream, “Son of a . . .” Zero picked up a steak knife and hurled it across the dining hall toward Magnum. Alex looked up just in time to see the knife spinning rapidly, blade over handle, right toward her face.
Jack whacked Sanyu upside the head. “Really smooth, Sanyu!”
“What?” cried Sanyu helplessly. Jack just shook his head.
“It’s all right,” said Alex. She held her head up high now. There was no way she was going to let her new classmates see her cry. “I could tell you were all thinking the same thing.”
A couple of the girls looked down at their shoes. Clark shifted his weight uneasily. Sanyu tilted his head to the side and scratched the top of it. He seemed to be figuring out how Alex could have turned out to be a girl.
Sam made his way over to Adam and gave him a consolation pat on the back. “Don’t worry about the race, man. Obviously, the new kid is a freak.” Alex felt her teeth grind together. That little Sam kid was gonna be trouble.
In the distance, a shrill bell rang.
“Thank God!” sighed Yvonne. “Let’s get back to class. This recess stuff is stressing me out.” Her long, blond hair swaying behind her, she ran back to the other side of the playdium. The rest of the kids followed quickly.
Near the exit to the playdium stood Ms. Pullman, who greeted each student by name when they walked past her.
“Good afternoon, Adam.”
“Hey, Ms. Pullman.”
“Samuel.” She gave Sam a stern, warning look that Alex couldn’t understand. What had Sam done to annoy Ms. Pullman?
“Ms. Pullman,” sang Sam. He smiled at the teacher.
“Hello, Jack.”
“Hey.”
“And . . . ,” Ms. Pullman craned her neck around Jack to see who was coming last. In the small hallway leading from the playdium to the inner loop of the colony, Alex’s new classmates bunched up near the doorway as if expecting something to happen when Ms. Pullman saw Alex without her hat on. Did they think Ms. Pullman would be shocked that Alex was a girl, too? Alex could see Yvonne’s blue eyes peeking out from behind Clark’s tall frame.
Ms. Pullman’s brow furrowed a bit. “Good afternoon,” she said slowly. Then with the slightest raise of her voice, she made the last word a question. “Alex?”
“Good afternoon, Ms. Pullman,” Alex answered strongly, faking a sense of confidence, and strode into the hallway where the other students had gathered to watch the scene. Alex took a step forward; her new classmates took a step back. Yvonne, still standing behind Clark, let out an, “Ouch!” Apparently, he had stepped on her foot. Alex took another step forward. This time Yvonne moved fast enough to get out of Clark’s way. Ms. Pullman stepped into the hallway behind Alex.
“Well?” she looked at everyone. “What are you waiting for? Get your things from my room and proceed to Professor Callahan’s room for science.”
Alex took another step forward.
“Go, go,” urged Sam. “The freak needs to get through!” With an abrupt aboutface, the students headed out of the hallway and into the inner circle.
“Samuel!” Ms. Pullman yelled, but Sam continued to speed down the hallway.
Back in Ms. Pullman’s room, Alex picked up her small bag. In the corner of the room, Ms. Pullman was having a hushed conversation with Sam. Alex couldn’t hear what was being said, but neither Ms. Pullman nor Sam looked happy. As Sam shot her a dirty look, Alex followed the other students out of the classroom and down the hallway to a doorway marked Astrophysics and Other Sciences: Professor Callahan.
Callahan turned out to be a funny, old man. With his white hair, thick white beard and round tummy, he looked like he should have been wearing a red suit trimmed in white fur. His green eyes twinkled when the students walked into his room.
“Ah, my young scholars,” he greeted them. “How are we doing today?”
“We got a new kid,” Jack nodded back to Alex who entered the room behind him.
“Yes, General Fratelli stopped in a moment ago to tell me about our new student.”
Professor Callahan stepped forward to shake Alex’s hand. “Well, well, hello there, young lady. Come on in, welcome. Adriana, isn’t it?”
“Alex, sir, my name’s Alex.”
“Oh, of course, of course. I knew it started with an A. You mustn’t mind me, Alex. I’ve been at this science teacher game too long. Eons ago, well before the war, I used to teach astrophysics back on Earth at a university called . . .” He rubbed the side of his temple, then let his hand drop. “Well, now, what does it matter what it was called? That school doesn’t exist anymore anyway. Let’s get started, shall we? Take a seat over here, Alex,” Professor Callahan gestured to an empty seat on the side of his classroom. “I think we should begin by reviewing what we discussed yesterday. It will be a good way to introduce Alex to her new home, too. Did everyone plug in their PTDs?” Callahan looked around to see that the students had logged into their consoles.
“Alex, did anyone give you a PTD yet?” The professor directed his attention to his newest student.
“I’m sorry, a what?” The term sounded familiar to her, but she had no idea what he was talking about.
“A PTD. That’s what we call these things here.” Callahan lifted a small, rectangular device off his ear, and Alex realized that all of her classmates had taken off the strange black gadgets they had had in their ears and placed them into their computer terminals. “A personal technology device.” He held it out for Alex to see. She shook her head to indicate that she didn’t have one. “I’m sure General Fratelli will be getting you one shortly. We couldn’t live without them here on the moon. They do everything for us: make phone calls, hold our music and electronic files, open doorways, give directions, capture video and photos.” Suddenly, Alex remembered where she had heard the term before. When she tried to enter the IMC, the lit panel had asked her to scan her PTD. Callahan continued his explanation by pointing at a small portion of the device, “The tiny screen here can be a bit of a strain on our eyes. That’s why we plug them into the consoles when we want to do any real work.” Callahan turned toward his teacher’s console and attached his own PTD. On the large screen behind him popped up a photo of the south pole of the moon. With a few touches on the screen, Callahan zoomed in on a particular crater.
“Here we go, the Shackleton crater. Can anyone tell us from yesterday’s discussion why this site was chosen for the moon colony?” The blond girl’s hand popped up.
“Yes, Yvonne.”
“Some areas of the south pole, like the Shackleton crater, get sunlight almost all the time. In fact, some areas see sunlight almost 98% of the time.”
“Very good. And why would constant sunlight be so important? Life on earth exists without continual daylight. Why is it so vital to our existence here? Clark.”
“Solar power.” Something about Clark’s response seemed odd to Alex. Did he speak with an accent?
“Absolutely, solar power.” Professor Callahan looked around the room. “Imagine if we didn’t have solar power.” He paused to let the idea sink in. “How would we survive? What would keep this colony going?” He chuckled to himself for a moment. “It’s not like we could have run an electrical line between the earth and the moon.”
Alex slowly raised a hand. There was a question on her mind, but she wasn’t sure if she should ask it.
Callahan’s eyes lit up. He loved to be questioned. “Yes, Alex.”
“What about wind energy? Couldn’t you use that to generate power as well?”
“There is no wind on the moon,” Adam blurted out. Then he rolled his eyes, as if to say, What an idiot!
“No wind?” She turned to look at him. “Ever?”
“I’m afraid, young Mr. Zweil speaks the truth, Alex,” Mr. Callahan stepped in before Adam could respond. “We have no wind here on the moon. Which brings me to my next point—the moon has no significant atmosphere. What problems does this cause for us?”
“No oxygen,” Jack quipped.
“Well, yes,” Professor Callahan chuckled. “I would have thought that was obvious. The designers of this colony complex had to find a way to create and then seal-in an environment that was rich in oxygen. One crack in our protective ‘bubble’ here, and we’re all in trouble.” He shuddered at the thought. “Let’s move beyond the obvious. What other problem does a lack of atmosphere give us?”
Alex looked around the room; no one seemed to know. Seated beside her was the redheaded girl named Carrie. She was manipulating her console, trying to find the answer in her notes.
“The Earth,” continued Professor Callahan, “has an extremely useful atmosphere. Not only does it provide oxygen, but it also protects its inhabitants from something else. Unfortunately, the damage done to the Earth by Emperor Devlesh means its atmosphere isn’t as adept at protecting the planet as it used to be.”
“Radiation,” Alex said. They all turned to look at her. “Radiation, that’s it, isn’t it? The Earth’s atmosphere is able to absorb some of the radiation from the sun, but without any atmosphere on the moon, we’re at risk of radiation poisoning.”
“Very good, Alex,” Callahan nodded approvingly.
“Radiation poisoning?” Yvonne asked. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it?” Alex sat up straighter in her seat. “You said the designers chose this site because we would be in the sun all the time, but that also means we’re exposed to radiation all the time.” Alex’s breathing quickened. She looked around the room at everyone. “That means you’ve all had eleven years of radiation exposure.” Visions of her new classmates growing second heads swam before her. She looked down at her own hands and turned them over several times. “We can’t stay here. This isn’t healthy.” By this point, the rest of the class was looking at her as if she had just grown a second head.
Professor Callahan chuckled softly. “Slow down there, Alex. We’re perfectly safe. You’re right that radiation is extremely dangerous, but our founders knew that when they built this complex, so they made the necessary adjustments. I was going to talk more about the Shackleton crater today, but we’d better turn to page 211. Let’s find out how the colony designers used a little thing called ‘moon dust’ to save us from radiation.” Callahan and the rest of the students began tapping out instructions on their consoles.
“Um, sir,” Alex raised her hand timidly.
“Oh, sorry, Alex. I forgot you don’t have a PTD yet to access your console. Why don’t you look on with Carrie for now?”
Carrie didn’t look too pleased with this idea, but she tilted her console slightly so Alex could look, too.
* * *
An hour and a half later, not only had Callahan given the class a thorough explanation of the layer of moon dust (also called regolith, the professor informed them) that covered the colony complex, but he also whipped up a last-minute experiment with moon dust as well. Several sealed containers with small amounts of moon dust were passed out to each lab table.
“Be sure to keep the containers sealed,” warned Professor Callahan. “Prolonged exposure to moon dust is harmful to your lungs.”
Using a device Professor Callahan called a magnetron, Alex worked with her lab partners Carrie and Sanyu to heat the moon dust at varying temperatures and for varying lengths of time. Alex watched in amazement as the moon dust quickly melted into a cement-like creation. Using a different power setting on the magnetron, they melted another container of moon dust until it resembled glass.
“Notice what happens when I shine a concentrated beam of light and heat at this melted moon dust.” Professor Callahan took one of Adam and Sam’s samples that had been melted into concrete and secured it before a powerful lamp he had at the front of the room. “Pretend this light represents the sun. You’ll notice how it is unable to penetrate the concrete. The moon dust is protecting us not only from the radiation of the sun, but also the extreme heat. That’s why we can use the old lava tunnels under this complex as protection from the bright sun if something should happen to our colony. In fact, the early colony designers considered building the entire colony underground. Any questions?” He looked around to make sure everyone understood.
“Alright, we’re running out of time. Let’s start cleaning up the lab.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Alex saw Adam pack away some of the unused moon dust and store it in a cabinet. Then he took his seat beside Sam. When Adam looked up at her, Alex looked away and concentrated on wiping the lab table she had shared with Sanyu and Carrie.
“I guess you’re not too worried any more about getting fried by the radiation,” Adam called over to Alex.
“People used to be really scared of radiation,” said Sam, “especially before they knew how to protect themselves from too much exposure.” Then his eyes widened. “Hey, maybe Alex is a time traveler who has come here from the past!” A few of the nearby students giggled.
“Alright.” Professor Callahan stood before the class, rubbing his hands together excitedly. He seemed completely oblivious to the little dialogue that had just occurred. “It looks like we’re almost cleaned up. Excellent. Now listen carefully, I have something important I need you to remember for Monday’s class.” A few students clicked on their consoles to type in reminders. “I think,” continued Professor Callahan, “that we need to get up close and personal with the our home crater here. Therefore, bring your space suits on Monday. We’re going outside!”
“Outside?” questioned Clark.
“Yes!” hissed Jack.
Alex wondered what the big deal was. She had been outside the colony walls just a few hours ago. However, the excited grins and the slapping of hands among the other kids told Alex that this was something special for them.
“Yes, outside!” Callahan’s eyes sparkled. “It’s time we did a little exploring.”
The bell rang, and students logged out of their consoles and returned their PTDs to their ears. Alex picked up her small bag and wondered where she was supposed to go next. She tapped Sanyu on the shoulder before he could walk away.
“Hey, Sanyu, where do we go next?”
Sanyu gave a little shrug. “Home.”
Home. The word cut at Alex. It was impossible for her to go home. By now, her grandfather would have repaired the Rock Jumper and be on his way back to Earth. How long would it take him to find Grandma? The sooner he found her, the sooner he would return for Alex. In the meantime, she wondered what she should do next.
The doorway to Professor Callahan’s classroom slid open, and Marta rolled into the room.
“Excuse me, Professor Callahan. At the General’s orders, I am to take Alex Jones with me.” No one but Callahan and Alex paid any attention to Marta. The other students walked around her and out of the classroom, excitedly talking about their plans for the remainder of the afternoon.
Callahan looked at Marta and then at Alex. “Of course, Marta. Alex, make sure you have all your things. Marta will take good care of you.”
The prospect of spending more time with Marta didn’t thrill Alex, but at least she had somewhere to go now.
Out in the hallway, Alex said, “So where are we going?”
“The General has decided you need some new clothes and supplies.”
The next few hours were spent in two rooms. The first room they visited was labeled Carol’s Colony Clothing. Carol turned out to be a tall, dark-skinned woman with her hair in a high bun and a set of dark-rimmed spectacles on the tip of her nose. She asked Alex to step into a cylindrical machine in which Alex’s body was scanned from head to toe. Then Marta asked the seamstress Carol for “the standard seventh grade issue.” Carol told her to return in an hour.
Next Marta took Alex to a much larger room in the outer loop of the colony. This place was labeled Technology & Technical Services. Here Alex received her PTD. Marta showed her how to attach it to her ear so that she could receive phone calls and listen to music. When she took it off her ear, she could use it for taking photos and videos. Then Marta demonstrated how to plug the PTD into any console in the complex. Alex was amazed by how much she could do with the PTD. All of her textbooks were stored on it. Her homework would be kept on it. Alex did her best to soak in the information Marta threw at her so quickly.
“The most important thing to remember,” Marta insisted, “is that you never lose your PTD. It is your key to everything in this colony. Your very life may depend on it.”
Alex nodded as she fit the PTD onto her ear. She was surprised by how lightweight it felt.
When Marta’s tutorial on the use of the PTD was finished, they headed back to Carol’s Colony Clothing where Alex was amazed to find a whole new wardrobe completed just for her. The clothes fit perfectly. She had multiple skirts of the style she had seen her female classmates wearing. Each skirt had a short sewn into it, which explained to Alex why the girls didn’t mind running around in their skirts. There were also several colors of leggings and numerous tops with the same V-neck style and fitted bodice all the older girls and women of the colony seemed to be wearing. Each top bore the colony’s five-star emblem. Several pairs of sporty-looking ankle boots were also waiting for her.
Choosing a dark skort and a blue top, Alex changed into one of the outfits immediately. She examined her new look in a full-length mirror. Startled by the difference, she realized why the others had thought she was a boy in her old clothes.
“We’ll have the other items delivered to your sleeping quarters later,” Marta explained.
The door to Carol’s Colony Clothing slid open, and a disgruntled girl walked in. Alex recognized Carrie immediately. Despite having completed a science lab with her, Alex realized she knew nothing about her except that she was supposed to be the pitcher for the softball team.
“You called for me, Marta?” Carrie tightened her ponytail before folding her arms over her chest. She glanced over at Alex to take in her new clothes.
“Yes, Carrie.” Marta rolled over to where Carrie was standing near the doorway.
“Alex will be staying with you.”
“What?” Carrie unfolded her arms, put her hands on her hips, and leaned toward Marta as if she had heard wrong.
“Alex is your new roommate.”
“But why? Doesn’t she have any parents either?”
Either? thought Alex. Had Carrie been abandoned on the moon, too?
Marta stood silently. It was clear she wasn’t giving Carrie any more information than she thought necessary.
“Why me?” Carrie finally asked when she realized Marta wasn’t going to answer her last question.
“You are the only seventh grade girl who does not have a roommate.”
“But . . .”
“These are the General’s orders.” Marta’s voice was stern, and Carrie pulled back a little. “You are also to take the new girl with you to dinner. See that she knows how we operate around here. After dinner, you are to take her to the sleeping quarters. Alex’s new clothes as well as her . . .” Marta looked at the pile of Alex’s old clothes slumped over the back of a chair, “former apparel will be delivered there by the time dinner is through.”
Carrie sighed. “Couldn’t someone else . . .” She waved her hand vaguely at Alex.
Marta rolled a bit closer to Carrie. “You wish for me to tell the General you will disobey his orders?”
Sighing, Carrie turned to Alex. “Com’n, Newbie. I’ll show you where we eat dinner.”
Out in the hallway, Alex turned to her new roommate. “So, Carrie, what did you mean when you asked Marta if I didn’t have any parents either?”
Carrie gave her a wary glance. “Just what it sounded like. I figure if you had parents you wouldn’t need a roommate.”
“So you don’t have parents either?”
Carrie stopped in her tracks. “Listen, Newbie, we don’t talk much about parents around here. So if you want to get along with people, you’d better not mention them.”
Alex walked beside Carrie for a while in silence. “But why? Why would people not want to talk about their parents?”
With another abrupt stop, Carrie faced Alex. “Because most of us are orphans, you
leak.” Leak? Alex wondered what that was supposed to mean.
“I don’t understand.”
Carrie resumed walking. “We’re orphans, Newbie. Like you.”
For the second time that afternoon, words cut at Alex. Orphan?
“I’m not an orphan,” she protested. “My grandpa’s coming back for me real soon.”
Carrie rolled her deep blue eyes. “Sure he is.”
“No, really he is!”
“Where are you from anyway?”
Alex tried to remember what the General had told her. “A space station.”
“Oh, yeah.” Carrie’s eyes narrowed. “Which one? Some of the other kids and I have been reading up on the space stations lately.”
“Oh, well, this isn’t an Earth space station.” Alex bit her lower lip. Would she be able to pull off the lie? “Ours was back by Mars.”
“Mars!” Carrie’s eyes widened. “No wonder you’re such a leak.”
“What’s a leak?”
“A leak, you know, a leak.” Carrie struggled for an explanation. “Like when something bad from the outside gets into the inside.” She stopped walking again and folded her arms. She turned toward Alex and took two steps forward, pressing Alex up against the wall. “Listen, I’m not one to beat around the moon rock, you know what I mean? So I’m going to ask you straight. Are you one of Emperor Devlesh’s spies?”
Alex shook her head frantically. “No, not at all. I’m nobody’s spy. My grandpa dropped me off here to be safe for a while until he could make repairs at home. That’s all. Promise!” Alex held her hands up in surrender.
Carrie took a step back. “Well, we’ll see about that.” She jerked her head toward a doorway. “This is the dining hall.”
When the door slid open, Alex saw one of the biggest rooms she had yet to encounter in the colony. There were several rows of long tables with benches. Along two of the walls were several, long silver rails upon which people slid blue trays. On the wall immediately to Alex’s right was a small black box, similar to the one she had seen near the entrance portal.
“Ya gotta swipe your PTD here.” Carrie removed the device from her ear and waved it before the small black box. “That’ll get you a tray.” Sure enough, a slot opened up in the wall, and a blue tray slid halfway out. Carrie pulled it the rest of the way out and placed it on the beginning of the silver rails. Alex mimicked Carrie’s actions and pulled out her own tray.
“Why do we need to swipe the PTD?”
“We, I mean the orphans, get three meals a day here. Others can come eat in the dining hall too if they want, but they’ve got to pay. The PTDs help them keep track of who is eating when.” Carrie slid her tray further down the rails. “Food is broken into categories here. Say you want ravioli. Then you come over here to the pasta section. On this screen, you hit your selection. In a few seconds, the screen slides away, and your food is here.” Carrie demonstrated as she spoke. “If you want chicken stir fry, see the chicken section. Say you want a nice filet mignon, try the steak and chops department. I would recommend you take at least one thing from the vegetables section every once in a while otherwise the school nurse gets on your case.”
Alex nodded, trying to take it in while she ordered herself a plate of chicken parmigiana.
“Oh, one more thing,” Carrie continued. “Don’t try taking more than one dessert from the sweets section. When you touch the screen, it scans and remembers your fingerprint. It won’t let you touch the sweets screen twice during one meal period, and it sends an immediate alert to the health department.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope.” Carrie ordered herself a glass of chocolate milk from the beverage screen.
“Obesity used to be a real problem when first colonists came here. They don’t mess around anymore.”
As Alex waited for the beverage screen to slide away and reveal her glass of milk, she got the sensation that she was being watched. Her back was to the seating area of the cafeteria. Turning around, she discovered that many of the diners had indeed been staring at her. Some of them looked away quickly, but others made no attempt to hide their curiosity. They continued to gaze steadily at her. In groups of twos and threes, some of the colonists, both young and old, bent their heads together to discuss the new arrival.
Deciding to ignore them, Alex picked up her glass of milk and followed Carrie.
“You better sit with the rest of the seventh grade.” Carried headed toward a table near the back. “We don’t trust ya, but at least we won’t eat you alive.”
They walked past a table of slightly older students, and Alex was reminded of a certain section of ocean not too far from her home island. The term “shark-infested” popped into her head. A couple of the boys glared at each other across the table as if they were about to start a fight. Some of the other students stared at Alex as if she were new prey that had crossed into their territory. One girl in particular gave Alex the creeps. Her eyes stared in opposite directions. Her right eye followed Alex as she walked past while the left eye watched the two boys who glared menacingly at each other.
“Those are the eighth graders,” whispered Carrie as they sat down at their table.
“I’d recommend keeping away from them.” Alex nodded and took a seat next to Carrie. Everyone from their class except Sanyu was at their table. Alex wondered if this meant Sanyu had an actual family to go home to. Carrie had said most of them were orphans. Had the war left that many children without parents?
“Hey,” Jack leaned over the table to Carrie, “what’s with bringing the leak?” He jerked his head toward Alex.
Carrie stabbed a piece of ravioli with her fork. “Had to. General’s orders.” She shoved the ravioli in her mouth.
“What are you supposed to do with her after dinner?” asked Sam. “Send her down the trash chute?” The others snickered.
“She’s my new roommate,” murmured Carrie between bites of pasta.
“My condolences,” interjected Adam, who was sitting beside his roommate Sam.
“Oh God!” Jack slapped his knee and laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Carrie retorted.
“I’m just picturing the start of softball season next month. I saw the leak tossing the ball to Sanyu today. She’s got a strong arm. Should be interesting when the two of you are both up for the pitching slot on the team, and then you got to sleep in the same room at night.” Jack chuckled some more. Carrie narrowed her eyes toward Jack. Then she picked up a piece of ravioli and hurled it right into his left eye, splattering marinara sauce across his face and onto his left shoulder. This got a hurt “Hey” from Jack, but a series of snorting laughs from everyone else.
“Serves ya right for messing with the pitcher,” called Adam.
A beautiful dark-skinned girl with her hair tightly braided into thick cornrows was sitting to Alex’s left. She nudged Alex with her elbow. Her brown eyes seemed a little softer, a little less cruel than some of the rest’s. “So you’re an orphan too, huh?”
“Not really,” began Alex, but she couldn’t continue her explanation.
Clark, who was sitting at the end of the table, uttered one word that made the rest of them freeze: “Fight.” They all turned in the direction Clark was facing. Alex turned her head as well. They were looking at the eighth grade table.
“I don’t see any fight,” said Alex.
“Not yet, but it’s coming,” explained the dark-skinned girl.
“How does Clark know?”
“He can read lips.”
“Read lips?”
“Yeah, you know, tell what people are saying from far away by watching the way their lips move. Clark’s an expert at it. He has to be. He’s deaf.”
“He can’t hear?” Alex was astounded.
“That’s what she said, leak,” Jack jumped into the conversation. “You got a problem with my brother’s hearing loss?” Alex looked back and forth between the two boys. They were similar looking, but not identical. Fraternal twins, Alex decided.
“No, no problem at all.”
“Hey, Simona,” Adam called down to the dark-skinned girl beside Alex. “You pickin’ up any of this?” Adam pointed toward the eighth grade table.
“Simona can hear anything,” Carrie whispered to Alex. “She’s like the exact opposite of Clark.”
Simona strained her hearing for a moment. “Seems to be the usual thing. Zero wants Magnum to get a dessert for him.”
Alex looked over at the eighth grade table in time to see an extremely thin boy slam down his glass. The boy seemed emaciated, his bony elbows making sharp angles as he pressed his palms onto the table and leaned forward.
“Com’n, Magnum. You know you’re not going to eat any dessert; you never use your ration.” The skinny boy directed his comments across the table at a boy who was about as large as Zero was skinny.
“Forget about it, Zero!” Magnum yelled back. “Just because I choose not to eat my dessert doesn’t mean I have to sit here and watch you eat two of them.” Magnum rose to his full height, which was rather intimidating.
Several tables over, Alex watched in confusion. Was the skinny boy actually asking for food from the fat boy because the fat boy never ate dessert? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?
“You’re a selfish leak,” screamed Zero, who stood up to face Magnum eye-to-eye. When he was standing upright, Alex was surprised to find that Zero was as tall as Magnum. However, in Zero’s case, his unusual height only emphasized how incredibly scrawny he was. Bones jutted out from every corner of his body.
“You’re an obnoxious . . .”
“Boys!” An adult in a white shirt with red letters spelling “Coach” on the back ran up to the table. “That’s enough, Magnum and Zero. Perhaps the younger kids can teach you some manners. Zero, sit over there at the sixth grade table. Magnum, you sit with the fifth graders.” The man looked around the room. “Everybody else, go back to eating.”
One by one, the other diners returned to their meals as Zero and Magnum snatched up their trays and headed to opposite ends of the dining hall.
“Man!” sighed Jack. “I wish Coach Skule would stop interfering. We might get a real fight one of these days.”
Alex looked back at her tray and was surprised to see she had already finished her glass of milk. “Um, there’s no rule against getting two drinks, is there?” She looked around the table. Carrie shook her head while others discussed the inevitable “real” fight that would have to erupt some day between the two eighth grade boys.
At the beverage station, Alex ordered up another milk. Two stations down from her, Magnum approached the dessert station. He tapped the screen a couple times and then pulled out a large ice cream sundae complete with whipped topping and a cherry on top. Alex couldn’t figure out what he was doing at first. Didn’t Zero say Magnum never ate dessert? Smirking, Magnum turned away from the sweet station and made sure that Zero was watching his every move before he dumped the sundae right into the trash chute.
By this time, Alex had her glass of milk in hand and was heading back to her table. She found herself in the unfortunate position of standing between the two eighth grade boys: Zero was three tables to her left, and Magnum, still near the trash chute, was two tables to her right. From the left, she heard a voice scream, “Son of a . . .” Zero picked up a steak knife and hurled it across the dining hall toward Magnum. Alex looked up just in time to see the knife spinning rapidly, blade over handle, right toward her face.
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