by Cathy Hapka
“This holds your jet thrusters,” I said, handing him a space pack. “It’ll help you move around out there. You control it with this.” I tossed him a small joystick.
He nodded and stepped to the air-lock door. “Promise me one thing, Val,” he said. “If I don’t make it back, you’ll finish our Comet Jumpers script and enter it in the contest.”
“Don’t be silly,” I said. “You’ll make it back so we can finish it together.”
“No, really.” He sounded serious. “Promise.”
I crossed my heart. “I promise,” I said. “I’ll be in constant contact on the radio. Good luck out there.”
I opened the air lock. He strapped on his helmet, held on to Zixtar, and stepped through the door.
Chapter 9
THE SPACEWALK
The air-lock door clunked shut behind Wallace. “Can you hear me?” I said into the computer.
“I hear you.” Wallace’s voice sounded funny through the radio. “What happens now?”
I could see him on the screen. His face peeking through the helmet looked nervous.
“Clip your tether to the hook by the door,” I told him. “In a few seconds, the outside air-lock door will open. Once you’re outside, clip the second tether to the hook out there.”
“Got it,” Wallace said.
I watched on the screen as Wallace followed my instructions. Soon he was tethered to the outside of the probe.
“Way to go,” I said. “You’re doing a spacewalk!”
I was excited for him, but I still wished it was me out there. One day I would get my chance.
“It’s hard to move around,” Wallace said. “Now I know how the Baby feels. My legs are useless. Even the jet thrusters only help a little. I have to pull myself around with my hands to get anywhere!”
“Crawl toward the loose heat shield,” I said. “It’s the one sticking up just ahead.”
“I see it,” he said. “It’s not too far.”
Just then the Baby started crying loudly.
“What’s going on in there?” Wallace asked.
“It’s just the Baby,” I said. “He always gets cranky when he’s hungry. I think he’s saying hurry up and fix the heat shield so we can get to that barbecue.”
“Okay, okay,” Wallace said. “I think I found the right tool . . .”
I strapped the Baby and Astro Cat into their seat to keep them quiet. Then I watched on the screen as Wallace tightened one of the bolts.
“Nice job,” I said. “One more to go.”
“Okay.” Wallace shifted toward the last loose bolt. But he missed the handhold. “Yikes!” he cried, sounding scared.
He grabbed the handhold with his other hand. That meant letting go of his tool.
“Quick, grab it before it floats away!” I cried.
But it was too late. We both watched the tool float off into space.
“Oops,” Wallace said. “Now what do I do?”
“Maybe there’s a backup in your pack,” I said.
He dug into the pack with his free hand. Then he shook his head. “I don’t see anything in here that will work.”
“Well, figure something out!” I exclaimed. “Think like a scientist!”
“I’m not a scientist!” he cried. “I don’t know what to do! Maybe I should just come back in.”
I couldn’t believe he was giving up. I really wished it was me out there.
“Come on, Zixtar, let’s get back inside before there’s another jump drive,” Wallace said. Then he gasped. “Wait, I just had a great idea!”
“What great idea?” I asked.
“Attention, Privates!” the computer barked out. “Prepare for jump drive in ten . . . nine . . .”
“Wallace, the countdown is starting!” My fingers flew over the computer screen. “Okay, the computer is restarting, but it won’t take long. You need to get back in here. Pronto!”
“I think one of Zixtar’s tentacles is the right size to tighten the bolt,” Wallace said. “This should only take a second . . .”
“Wallace?” I said. “Get back inside!”
He didn’t answer. On the screen, I saw him huddled over the heat shield. I glanced at the computer. The restart was almost finished.
“Wallace!” I cried. “If you don’t head for the air lock soon, you won’t make it. We’ll have to fix it after the next jump.”
“Almost done,” he said.
“. . . eight,” the computer said, “. . . seven . . . six . . .”
Outside, Wallace was finally scooting toward the air lock. I strapped myself into my seat and held my breath as he pulled himself inside.
“. . . three . . . two . . .”
CLUNK! The outer air-lock door shut behind him.
“We made it!” he cried, just as the ship went into jump drive.
Chapter 10
STAR STORIES
As soon as the jump finished, I rushed over to let Wallace out of the air lock.
“Are you okay?” I cried.
Wallace grinned from ear to ear. “I’m fine,” he said, rubbing his shoulder. “But next time I’d rather be strapped safely into my chair.”
I grinned back. “I’m just glad you made it inside.”
“Zixtar, too!” Wallace held up the action figure. “He was a real hero out there.”
“You both were,” I told him.
I let Astro Cat and the Baby loose, then looked out a window. There were two stars outside. One was a big, bright white star, and the other was much smaller and dimmer. They looked kind of familiar . . .
“I guess we’re still not home yet,” Wallace said. “Hey, PRIMROSE, what star is that?”
WOOF! WOOF!
Loud barking poured out of the speakers. Astro Cat leaped straight up in the air. His tail puffed out, and his eyes went wide.
“It’s okay, Astro Cat,” I said. “That’s not a real dog.”
“Wow! And I thought PRIMROSE was hard to understand when she was speaking French!” Wallace exclaimed with a laugh. “Too bad she can’t help ID the star this time.”
I thought about that. “Or can she?” I said. I pulled out The Universe and flipped through until I found the page I wanted. “I was just thinking that those two stars look like Sirius A and B,” I told Wallace. “Also known as the Dog Star.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of the Dog Star,” he said. “That’s part of Canis Major. It’s the brightest star in the night sky.”
“That’s because it’s one of the nearest stars to Earth,” I said. “Which means at least we’re getting closer to home—and your barbecue.”
WOOF! The cube door slid open. Sitting there was a jar of PRIMROSE’s Fabulous Finger-Lickin’ BBQ Sauce.
Wallace picked it up. “Hey, this smells great,” he said. “Actually, I’m getting pretty hungry. Maybe we should go back. But how?”
I cracked my knuckles. “Time to get coding and see if I can override the jump drive.”
PRIMROSE didn’t seem happy when I started messing with her programming. She kept barking and making all the lights blink on and off.
“Easy, PRIMROSE,” Wallace said. “Be a good dog. We’re just trying to get home.”
I stayed focused and soon figured out the override command. “Setting coordinates for the sun.”
PRIMROSE started barking again. This time the barking sounded rhythmical.
“I think that’s the countdown,” Wallace said. “Let’s strap in.”
He grabbed the Baby. I pulled Astro Cat out from under a chair. Soon we were all strapped in . . .
When we landed, I saw a large star outside a window. It looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure . . .
“PRIMROSE, bark once if that’s the sun, and twice if it’s not,” I said.
“Affirmative, we are o
rbiting the sun,” PRIMROSE said in her original Mary Poppins voice. “Shall I repeat that in Canine?”
Wallace laughed with relief. “Hey, welcome back, PRIMROSE!” he said. “And since you asked, can you bark ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’?”
I smiled as PRIMROSE started barking. It was nice to see the sun again. After all, it’s what makes life on Earth possible. It provides light and heat and photosynthesis, and it controls climate and weather.
But it was awfully bright this close up—so bright that I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, we were back in my basement lab.
* * *
The barbecue was lots of fun. Wallace’s family was nice, and everyone loved the potato salad. We ate and talked and swam in the backyard pool since the rain had totally stopped by then.
When the sun went down, Wallace’s great-grandma Ruby said it was time for the storytelling contest. Everybody took turns. Some stories were funny, some were exciting, and some were a little sad. Even my mom told a story about the time she found a rare orchid in an abandoned lot.
Wallace and I sat together listening to all of them. “Are you going to take a turn tonight?” I whispered to him as Kayla told a story about meeting a mermaid. “You have a great story to tell this time.” I pulled the solar goggles out of my pocket. “Just tell them about our trip to the stars!”
“I don’t know . . .” Wallace glanced toward Dwayne with a frown.
“Remember what Gabe Booth said,” I told him. “Don’t let fear of striking out hold you back.”
He laughed. “You mean Babe Ruth?” he said. “Maybe you’re right . . .”
I nodded. “You can’t give up. I’m a great scientist, and you’re a great storyteller.”
When Kayla finished her story, I poked Wallace again. He grabbed the goggles, stood up, and raised his hand.
“I’ll go next,” he announced.
Dwayne snorted and elbowed the cousin sitting next to him. They both laughed.
I glared at them. “Go ahead, Wallace,” I said.
And he did. He told the whole story of our adventure. He imitated all of PRIMROSE’s voices, which made everyone laugh. Cousin Kayla even snorted soda out of her nose when he started barking!
When Wallace finished, everyone cheered. Dwayne jumped up and gave him a high five. Then Dwayne pulled off the medal he was wearing and put it around Wallace’s neck.
“I think we have a winner,” Dwayne said. “Any objections?”
Everyone cheered even louder. Gramps gave a thumbs-up.
“Thanks, guys,” Wallace said. “But I couldn’t have done it without my good friend Astronaut Girl.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
Cathy Hapka has written more than one hundred books for children and young adults. She lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Ellen Vandenberg is the author of numerous books for young readers. She lives in New York City.
Gillian Reid is a British illustrator, character designer and teacher, She lives in Ontario, Canada.
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