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!