by Linda Urban
“You mean Antarctica?” asked Max.
Mom leaned closer. “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear that. What was the word?”
“Antarctica,” said Max. “Antarctica. Antarctica. Antarctica.”
“Uh-huh.” Mom took another bite of her cookie. “I’m sorry I don’t have any seal stew for you.”
Max pretended to be disappointed, but really he wasn’t. He picked a cookie from the tin and took a big chocolatey bite.
“Not so bad being a champion, huh?” said Mom.
“Almost as good as being an explorer,” said Max.
Chapter
Three
When Max got to school the next morning, there was a banner hanging over his classroom door.
WELCOME TO OUR INSPIRATION CELEBRATION!
“Third-graders,” said Mrs. Maloof, “our special guests won’t be here for another few hours. Until then, our day will be business as usual.”
The business of the day did not feel very usual. Everyone’s spine seemed to be tingling. Everyone’s toes seemed to be tapping. Zuri could not stop spinning. Glenn could not stop moonwalking. Even Warren did the backstroke from time to time. Whenever he could, Max practiced saying Antarctica. Whenever he needed to, he took deep breaths and let them out slow, slow, slowly.
At 11:45, Mrs. Maloof rang the Quiet Chime. “Time to get ready,” she said.
The whole class sprang into action, rearranging desks and setting up rows of chairs for the special guests. Mrs. Maloof set juice boxes and bags of popcorn on the refreshment table.
Finally, it was time to put on their costumes. Max zipped up his parka and slipped his feet into his too-big boots. He found his spot between Warren and Glenn just as the special guests began to arrive.
Usually, Mom was the first to arrive, but not today. Today, Zuri’s Uncle Teshome was first. He sat in an aisle seat. “He has long legs,” whispered Zuri. “He needs space.”
Warren’s parents arrived next. They sat at the back of the room with Warren’s baby sister. “Uli sometimes fusses,” explained Warren. “They might need to make a quick getaway.”
Max watched the door as the seats filled. Finally, Mom appeared in the doorway, tucking a yellow paper into her purse and flattening her sproingy curls. She waved at Max and took a seat in the front row. Max did not tell Glenn and Warren why she sat in the front, but he knew.
Mrs. Maloof looked at the classroom clock just as Dad slipped in and stood behind Mr. Sistrunk. He saluted at Max. Max waved back.
“Special guests, it is a pleasure to welcome you to our Biography Month Inspiration Celebration,” said Mrs. Maloof. Her voice was even speechier than yesterday.
Max took a deep breath. He let it out slow, slow, slowly as Mrs. Maloof introduced the first speaker.
He did it again when she introduced the second. And the third. And the fourth. Max studied his speech paper. Antarctica, he said in his head. Antarctica. Antarctica. Antarctica.
When it was Zuri’s turn to speak, Max tried to listen, but mostly he could hear his own voice reminding him, Antarctica. Antarctica. He tried to breathe deep. He tried to let his breath out slow, slow, slowly.
“Are you okay?” asked Glenn.
“Pfffuuh,” said Max.
Zuri spun and bowed. The special guests applauded.
Warren gave his speech and pretended to swim back to his spot next to Max. The special guests applauded again.
Then Mrs. Maloof stood. “Our next speaker is Max LeRoy, who will be sharing what he has learned about the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton,” she said.
Max straightened his parka and put on his mittens. He shuffled his too-big boots to the front of the room. Warren gave him a thumbs-up. Dad saluted again. Mom took a deep breath.
Max held up his speech paper and began to read. “The best biography I read this month was about Ernest Shackleton. He was an awesome explorer who tried to cross”—he looked at Mom—“Ant-arc-ti-ca,” said Max.
He had done it! Max could not help grinning. The audience grinned too, and some of them laughed, but not in a tricky-word way.
“I almost said Artantica,” Max explained. And then everyone laughed. Even Mom. Even Max.
The rest of his speech was perfect. Max told about all the ways Ernest Shackleton was an awesome explorer. He told about Feats Accomplished. He told about Discoveries Made. He told about ice mountains and seal stew and the whole crew getting home safe. Then Max made his Declaration of Inspiration: “Someday I am going to be an awesome explorer, just like Ernest Shackleton.”
The applause was so loud, Max did not worry about doing anything special at the end of his speech. The speech had been special enough. Antarctica!
When all the speeches were done, Max and his classmates joined their special guests for popcorn and juice.
“Great job,” said Mom.
“Yeah, great job, champ,” said Dad.
“Mom is the champ,” said Max. “I am an explorer.”
“Right,” said Dad. “And I am a guy who has to get back to work.” He nodded to Mom. He hugged Max. “I’ll see you next weekend,” he said. “Have a great time on your trip. When you get back, I want to hear all about the grand expedition of Maxelton LeRoy.”
The grand expedition of Maxelton LeRoy?
Max liked the way that sounded. He liked the way it made him feel. And most of all, he liked that it gave him a great idea. He did not have to wait until “someday” to be an awesome explorer like Ernest Shackleton. He could be an awesome explorer right now!
Chapter
Four
On the bus ride home, Max studied The Spine-Tingling Book. He had a lot of catching up to do if he was going to be an awesome explorer on this trip. After all, Mom had already declared their destination and charted their course and packed their provisions. When they got to Pennsylvania, Max could take over the discovering-things part, but he did not want to wait. There had to be some kind of awesome-explorer things he could do now.
Ernest Shackleton was a great leader, said the book. He accomplished many feats and made many discoveries. He kept up his spirits and those of his crew, despite terrible hardships and deprivations.
Even though Max had read The Spine-Tingling Book five times, he was still not sure what deprivations were, but he knew that hardships were like sleeping in a tent in the super-freezing cold and running out of food and walking a kabillion miles on the ice and not being able to feel your feet anymore.
It was only a block from Max’s bus stop to his house, and the weather was warm and sunny, but Max put his shoes on the opposite feet for the walk home. It wasn’t a super hardship, but it was a start.
When he got home, Max went straight to the kitchen. Mom was filling a cooler with snacks. “Which do you want for the trip?” She held up two yogurt cups. “Strawberry or blueberry?”
“Strawberry,” answered Max. He liked blueberry best, which made strawberry more of a hardship. It was too bad Mom didn’t have peach. He hated peach.
Mom put the strawberry yogurt in the cooler. She picked up a yellow list from the counter and checked a box. “Done,” said Mom. “Are you all ready?”
Yesterday, she had given Max a yellow list called MAX’S THINGS TO PACK. It had seemed like a pretty good list when he was just a kid going to his Great-Great-Aunt Victory’s birthday party, but now that he was an awesome explorer, he would need to make a few changes.
“Almost,” said Max.
Repacking his suitcase was not a hardship, but carrying it to the car was. Explorer gear was heavy! Max dragged his suitcase across the lawn. He heaved it into the trunk of the car. Now he was ready.
“All set, kiddo?” asked Mom.
“All set, explorer,” corrected Max.
“Right. Explorer luggage in car—” Mom made a mark on her list. “Check. Explorer in car?”
Max leaped into the back seat and buckled his seat belt. “Check!” he said.
Mom slid into the front seat. “Porch light? Check. Door locked?
Check. GPS set? Check.”
Max’s toes tapped. This must have been what Shackleton felt like when he was about to leave for Antarctica—except Max doubted that any of Shackleton’s crew checked a box marked Ask Shackleton if he needs to use the bathroom.
Finally, Mom set down her box-checking pen. “That’s everything,” she said. “Our first road trip together, just you and me.” Mom looked at Max through the rearview mirror. “Are you ready, explorer?”
Max was more than ready. “Let’s go, let’s go!” he said.
Max watched the neighborhood pass by as Mom drove. He hoped the journey would be perilous. Lots of explorers had perilous journeys. And long ones too.
“What time is it?” asked Max.
“It’s 4:30,” said Mom.
“How long does it take to get to Pennsylvania?” asked Max.
“About six hours.”
“Oh,” said Max. Six hours was a lot shorter than the time it took Shackleton to sail from England to Antarctica, but it was a lot longer than Max wanted to be in the car. He wished he had put some of his explorer things in the back seat instead of packing them all in his suitcase.
“Don’t worry,” said Mom. “It will go quick.”
Max was not so sure. Mom always said that their grocery shopping would be quick, but it never was. Grocery shopping took forever.
“Here. This will help pass the time.” Mom handed Max a sheet of yellow list paper. At the top it said FUN THINGS TO DO ON THE ROAD. Underneath was a long list of games to play and songs to sing and things to think about.
“What is ‘License Plate-Palooza’?” asked Max.
“You check the license plates of the cars that you pass and write down the states they are from and see if you can get all fifty.”
Max looked out the window at the cars they passed.
Michigan.
Michigan.
Michigan.
Michigan.
All the license plates were from Michigan. Finally, Max saw a car from Ohio.
“Oooh!” said Mom. “Write it down!”
Max wrote it down. After a while, they saw a license plate from Indiana and wrote that down too. Mom’s definition of fun was turning out to be a lot like her definition of quick.
Max looked at the list again. Maybe they should try a different game. “What is ‘I’m an Animal’?”
“One person thinks of an animal, and the other person asks yes-or-no questions until he guesses what the animal is.”
Max was good at I’m an Animal. It took him only six questions to figure out that Mom was Mr. Yamamoto’s pet chameleon, Angus. When Mom had to guess what Max was, it took her thirty-six questions. Then she gave up.
“I’m a blobfish,” said Max.
“Excellent,” said Mom. But she did not say it in a way that sounded like she thought it was excellent. She said it in a way that sounded like she was thinking of something else.
“Max,” said Mom, “I’m going to turn on the radio for a minute, okay? I want to catch the weather report.”
Max watched out the window while Mom listened to the weather report. He counted six Ohios and two more Michigans. Then Mom turned off the radio. “Hmmmm,” she said.
That was her thinking-hard-about-something sound. “What?” asked Max.
“Nothing,” said Mom. “There’s a storm coming this way, that’s all. Are you getting hungry?”
Max was getting hungry. He wished he had not said strawberry about the yogurt. “Yes. I guess.”
“Good,” said Mom. “Because we’re almost there.”
“Almost to Pennsylvania?” Maybe road trips were quicker than he thought.
Mom laughed. “No. We’re almost to that restaurant I told you about. Remember? The fun one?”
Max did remember. Mom had circled it on her list. At the time, Max had been excited about going to a fun restaurant with Mom, but now that he had played License Plate-Palooza, he was not sure she could be trusted about what was fun and what wasn’t.
Mom parked the car next to a building with big windows. Inside, Max could see people eating hot dogs. “Let’s go, let’s go!” said Mom.
“To the hot dog restaurant?” Max was surprised. Mom was not the kind of mom who took people to hot dog restaurants. Actually, Mom didn’t go to restaurants much at all.
“Fun hot dogs,” said Mom. “Famous hot dogs.”
Max did not know how a hot dog could be famous. Then again, he did not know that a person could have a dessert named after them until yesterday.
Mom held open the door, and Max went inside. At first it looked like a regular not-famous place. There were not-famous-looking people in booths and not-famous-looking waitresses and not-famous-looking photographs of chili dogs above the cash register. Then Max noticed the art on the walls.
“Are those hot dog buns?” asked Max.
Mom grinned. “Famous hot dog buns. Signed by famous people.”
Max looked at the hot dog buns. There were hundreds of them, mounted on wood and covered with plastic. Each bun had a fat black signature on it and a tiny gold plaque underneath that told who the signer was.
Max read the names aloud. Margaret Thatcher. Alan Alda. Danny Glover. Who were these people? “Art Garfunkel?” said Max. Was that a real name? It sounded as mixed up as saying Artantica.
Finally, he found a name he recognized. “John Glenn,” said Max. “If Glenn were here, he would be excited.”
“Are you excited?” asked Mom.
“I’m hungry,” said Max.
“Me too,” said Mom.
“Dining in or taking out?” asked a lady in an apron. Her name tag said MILLIE.
Mom turned to Max. “I had planned for us to eat here, but with the storm coming, I think we should take out and get back on the road, okay?”
Max nodded. “Okay.”
“Well, now that that’s decided, what’ll you have?” asked Millie.
“What did Art Garfunkel have?” asked Max. He didn’t really care about the answer. He just wanted to say Art Garfunkel again.
“Wouldn’t know,” said Millie. “That was before my time here. I did meet a gymnastics girl. And a golfer, and a couple of those TV-talent-show kids.”
Mom ordered some hot dogs and some lemonade and sides of pickles and fries.
“Did you ever meet an explorer?” Max asked Millie while they waited for their order.
“Don’t think so,” said Millie.
“I’m an explorer,” said Max.
“That so?”
“I’ll sign a bun if you want.”
“I wouldn’t mind, but the owners are really looking for famous people. Are you famous?”
“Not yet,” admitted Max.
“Well, come back when you are,” said Millie. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a coupon. “Bring this and you’ll get a free dessert, too.”
Max took the coupon. Free dessert sounded almost as good as signing a hot dog bun. Maybe, if he got really famous, they would even name the dessert after him.
When their order came up, Millie handed the drinks to Mom and the bags of hot dogs and pickles and fries to Max. “You drive safe,” she said. “And be sure to check out Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s buns on your way out.”
Max knew what Millie meant, but it still sounded funny to be told to check out a president’s buns.
Max tried not to laugh. He looked at Mom. She did not look like she was trying not to laugh. She looked like she was trying to get to the car as quickly as she could.
Chapter
Five
As soon as they got in the car, Max took a hot dog out of the bag. He held it out to Mom.
“You eat,” said Mom. “I’m not hungry right now.”
Max saw Mom look out at the sky. It was getting dark. Was it late already?
“What time is it?” asked Max.
“What?” asked Mom. “Oh, 6:20.”
Mom pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic. All around, the sky
grew darker, but not in a soft, slow, night-is-coming way. In a gray-green-crackly sort of way.
Raindrops plinked on the windshield. Then they plunked. The air in the car felt spiky and sharp.
“The weather report said there was only a chance of showers,” said Mom. “Guess we’re getting the chance.” Her voice was spiky and a little sharp too. Max looked out the window. Trucks whizzed by. “Oklahoma!” said Max. “I saw an Oklahoma license plate.”
“Max, I need to concentrate on the road.” Max saw Mom tighten her grip on the steering wheel.
The rain came harder. The sky grew darker and greener and the air felt even more crackly. It was too dark to read the list of FUN THINGS TO DO ON THE ROAD and too crackly to do any of them anyway.
The rain slapped. Sometimes there was lightning. Thunder rattled the cups in the cup holders. Mom drove and drove and drove.
After a very long time, the slapping slowed. The sky wasn’t quite so green and so dark. Off in the distance, Max saw a streak of blue.
But Mom’s hands were tight on the steering wheel. The air was still crackling around her. In the rearview mirror, Max could see her eyes. They looked a little like she had just said Artantica in front of her whole class.
Max took a deep breath. He let it out slow, slow, slowly. Pfffffffuh.
Mom’s eyes met his in the mirror. He took another deep breath. Mom did too. Pfffuuuuuuuuh.
“Thanks, pal,” said Mom. Her eyes did not look Artantic-y any longer, but she still sounded sharp. “I hate driving in weather like this.”
“It is a hardship,” agreed Max.
The Spine-Tingling Book said that during some hardships, Shackleton kept spirits up by getting his men to put on plays and sing songs. He even had a guy in the crew who could play the banjo. Max did not have a banjo. He did have a harmonica, but it was packed in his suitcase with the rest of his explorer gear. He did not think he could put on a play right now, either. How could Mom watch when her eyes were on the road?
Then Max got an idea.
“Hey, Mom, can I ask a question?”
