Three’s a Crowd!

by Ray O’Ryan

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1 Waiting for Bert

  Chapter 2 Best Friends

  Chapter 3 Bert’s Here!

  Chapter 4 Welcome to Nebulon!

  Chapter 5 Home, Sweet Home!

  Chapter 6 Bert at Sprockets

  Chapter 7 Lunchtime

  Chapter 8 A New Adventure!

  Chapter 9 Lollyland!

  Chapter 10 Two Best Friends

  ‘A Green Christmas!’ Excerpt

  About Ray O’Ryan and Colin Jack

  Chapter 1

  Waiting for Bert

  Zack Nelson jumped up from his seat at the kitchen table. He had hardly taken a bite from the stack of nebu-cakes that sat on his plate.

  “I can’t believe he’s coming today!” Zack cried. He threw both his arms into the air. Then he spun around in a circle and shouted, “YIPPEE WAH-WAH!”

  “Honey, I know you’re excited that Bert is coming to visit,” said Shelly Nelson, Zack’s mom. “But you haven’t touched any of your breakfast. Nebu-cakes with boingoberry syrup are your favorite. And it’s almost time to leave for school.”

  “But Bert is coming!” Zack shouted. “I haven’t seen him in so long!”

  Bert Jones was Zack’s best friend on Earth. But Zack didn’t live on Earth anymore. A few months ago Zack and his family had moved to the planet Nebulon. Zack had not seen Bert since he moved.

  At least not in person.

  Sure they kept in touch through z-mail and video chats. Zack even had a holocam that showed a 3-D image of Bert. It almost felt like Bert was in the room.

  But not really.

  Zack missed going to baseball games with Bert. He missed trading 3-D holo-comics. He missed going to the orbiting drive-in movie theater for triple features. He just missed having his best buddy nearby, even if they had nothing to do.

  Zack missed Bert. And now Bert was coming from Earth to visit him on Nebulon. Zack couldn’t wait to show Bert around his new home planet.

  “Come on, honey. You have to eat something!” Mom insisted.

  Zack leaned over his plate. He grabbed an entire nebu-cake and shoved it into his mouth. A thin line of purple boingoberry syrup ran down his chin.

  “Dmvrum barimden,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food.

  “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” said Mom.

  Zack swallowed.

  “Okay,” he said. “Gotta go. Can’t be late for school. The Sprockets Speedybus will be here any second. Bye, Mom!”

  “Have a good day at school,” Mom said.

  Zack grabbed his jacket and his backpack and dashed out the front door. His twin sisters, Charlotte and Cathy, followed him outside.

  “Bye, Mom. . . .”

  “We’ll see you . . .”

  “. . . after school,” said Charlotte and Cathy.

  The school speedybus was waiting outside.

  Now all I have to do is make it through the school day! Zack thought. Then he and his sisters climbed on board the bus.

  Chapter 2

  Best Friends

  Zack sat in his classroom at Sprockets Academy. He did his best to pay attention. His teacher, Ms. Rudolph, stood in front of the class. Her lesson was about the great Nebulon scientist Renur Lelo. Lelo had made many discoveries about Nebulon’s two suns and three moons.

  “Renur Lelo tracked shadows on Nebulon and also those cast on the moons. That is how she made her amazing discoveries,” Ms. Rudolph explained.

  Normally, Zack was very interested in science. But today all he could think about was Bert. He looked at his Galactic Standard watch.

  Only nine more hours until Bert arrives! Wait until I tell Drake. He’s going to be so excited!

  Zack worked hard all morning to concentrate. Finally, lunchtime arrived. Zack hurried to the space bus that took students to the cafeteria. He found a seat next to Drake.

  Ever since Zack and his family moved from Earth to Nebulon, Drake Taylor had been his best new friend.

  “Today’s the day, Drake!” Zack said excitedly.

  “The day for what, Zack?” asked Drake.

  “The day that Bert is coming!” Zack shouted. “Remember? Bert is my best friend from Earth. He’s landing at the Creston City Spaceport this evening. Then tomorrow he’s coming to school with me!”

  “That should be fun,” said Drake—although it didn’t sound like Drake thought it would be fun.

  “Oh yeah, Bert is tons of fun!” said Zack. “He likes baseball and amusement parks and exploring and dogs and burgers and fries and all kinds of grape stuff.” On Nebulon, grape means “cool.” After living on Nebulon for a few months, Zack started using this term too.

  “I am sure you guys will have a good time,” said Drake.

  “Yeah, we will,” replied Zack. “After all, Bert is my best friend!”

  Drake nodded, then looked out the window.

  Drake doesn’t seem like himself today, thought Zack. Usually he’s super-excited about everything.

  The space bus soon arrived at the cafeteria. Zack was hungry for lunch, so he hurried off. Drake walked slowly behind him.

  Chapter 3

  Bert’s Here!

  After school, Zack climbed into the Nelson family’s flying car. His mom was in the driver’s seat.

  “I told Drake all about Bert today,” Zack said excitedly.

  “Oh yeah?” said Mom.

  “I told him about all the grape stuff Bert and I used to do on Earth,” explained Zack. “Bert is so cool, I just know that Drake is going to like him.”

  “And what did Drake have to say?” asked Mom.

  “Not much,” admitted Zack. “But he’s got to like Bert. After all, Bert is my best friend.”

  A few minutes later the Creston City Spaceport came into view. The complex was huge. It spread out for miles in every direction.

  All kinds of ships zoomed in and out of the spaceport. Some ships were small private spacecrafts. Others were public shuttles.

  After Mom landed the flying car, they walked over to the waiting area of the spaceport. Many different-looking kinds of people hurried around the terminal. Some were tall and very thin and had red skin. Others were long and round and crawled on the ground on many tiny legs.

  Some people hurried to catch ships that were taking off for far distant planets. Others ran to meet loved ones who had just landed.

  Zack pulled out his hyperphone. He pressed a button. A list of arriving flights appeared on the screen.

  “Flight six-two-five from Earth to Nebulon is scheduled to land in five minutes!” he said. Then he jumped up and down with excitement.

  Zack paced back and forth. Every few seconds he looked up at the giant holographic clock on the spaceport’s ceiling. The second hand that tick-tick-ticked floated in midair.

  “Zack, pacing is not going to make Bert get here faster,” Mom pointed out.

  Zack stopped pacing. Then he immediately started again.

  “Flight six-two-five from Earth is now arriving at landing pod fifty-one,” said an announcement over the spaceport’s loudspeakers.

  “That’s it!” Zack shrieked. “He’s here!”

  Zack walked quickly around the spaceport. He came to a round door with a number above it. An electronic buzzer sounded. The number fifty-one lit up. Then the door slid open.

  A crowd of people rushed through the door.

  Then Zack spotted Bert.

  “Hey, Bert!” he shouted. “Over here!”

  Chapter 4

  Welcome to Nebulon!

  Bert hurried over to Zack. He dropped his backpack onto the floor.

  Before either one said a word, they both launched into their special handshake. First they gave each other high fives with th
eir right hands. Then with their left hands. They each lifted a fist into the air and bumped them together. Then the two friends started laughing.

  Zack noticed a few Nebulites staring at the two of them.

  “It’s so cool that you’re here!” said Zack.

  “Don’t you mean ‘so grape’?” said Bert.

  Zack had told Bert about the word “grape” in one of their many 3-D holo-chats.

  They both laughed.

  Mom joined the two boys.

  “Hello, Bert! It’s so nice to see you,” she said with a smile. “How was your flight?”

  “It was good, Mrs. Nelson. Thanks,” replied Bert.

  “Before we do anything, please z-mail your mom and dad to let them know you arrived safely,” said Mom. “And say hello for me.”

  Bert sent a quick message to his parents. Then they headed to the car.

  “I know you told me that Nebulites are blue,” Bert whispered. “But it’s amazing to see them in person. Their arms and legs are so long and skinny.”

  “Yeah,” replied Zack. “There are all kinds of cool people on Nebulon.”

  A few minutes later they were in the car and flying toward home.

  Bert stared in amazement at all the flying cars zooming past them.

  “Wow!” he exclaimed. “Nebulon is like something out of a movie!”

  “Told ya!” said Zack. He was proud of his new home planet. He was also thrilled to have his best friend at his side.

  When they landed at home, Zack’s dog, Luna, bounded from the house and jumped on Bert.

  “Hi, Luna!” said Bert, rubbing her head. “It’s good to see you, girl.”

  Bert had taken care of Luna during the time the Nelson family made their move from Earth to Nebulon.

  “Come on inside,” said Zack. “Wait until you see my house!”

  Zack hurried over to a round door in the garage. The door slid open and he stepped into the elevator. Bert, Mom, and Luna followed him in.

  “Which room is this?” asked Bert.

  “It’s not a room, it’s an elevator!” Zack said, smiling. He remembered the first time he had stepped into this elevator. And he remembered what came next.

  Chapter 5

  Home, Sweet Home!

  The elevator door closed with a soft hiss. Then the elevator started moving—sideways.

  “Whoa!” exclaimed Bert. “This reminds me of a ride we used to go on at the Low Gravity Amusement Park on Venus.”

  “Our elevator can take you to all the sections of the house,” Zack said proudly. “It moves through tubes or something. It can go sideways, up, down, forward, and backward.”

  Zack recalled how nervous he had been about moving away from Earth. He thought about how strange this new house felt when he first walked in. Now he was showing it off to Bert. This really had become his home.

  The elevator glided to a stop. The doors slid open.

  Zack, Bert, Mom, and Luna stepped into the kitchen.

  “Wow! This kitchen looks like something from a spaceship!” said Bert.

  Shiny counters and glass panels lined the whole room.

  “Hey, Bert! Welcome to our home!” said Otto Nelson, Zack’s dad. “What do you think?”

  “Hi, Mr. Nelson,” replied Bert. “You have a really cool house here.”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet,” said Dad.

  “It is quite a house,” Mom said.

  “Welcome home, Master Just Zack,” said Ira, the Nelson’s Indoor Robotic Assistant. “And you must be Bert. Zack has talked about you ever since he moved here.”

  “Uh, who just said that?” asked Bert, looking around. “I don’t see anybody else.”

  “That’s Ira,” Zack explained. “He’s built into the house. Ira controls everything—the computers, the communications systems, all the electronic and mechanical parts of the house.”

  “This is like a spaceship!” said Bert.

  “Oh, and I forgot the best part,” Zack added quickly. “Are you hungry?”

  “I’m starving! All they served on the shuttle was a tiny pack of something they called ‘nebu-nuts.’ ”

  “No problem,” said Zack. “What do you feel like eating?”

  “I’d love a burger and fries,” said Bert.

  “On Nebulon we call that a galactic patty and crispy fritters,” explained Zack. “Ira, two galactic patties and two crispy fritters, please.”

  “Certainly, Master Just Zack,” said Ira.

  “What does ‘Master Just Zack’ mean?” Bert whispered.

  Zack laughed. “I’ll tell you later,” he said. “Let’s sit in the dining room.”

  A panel in the ceiling slid open. Two plates of food floated down before Zack and Bert.

  “Two galactic patties and crispy fritters,” said Ira.

  “You mean all you have to do is tell Ira what you want, and food just appears?” Bert asked.

  “Pretty much,” replied Zack.

  “I think I could get used to life on Nebulon!” said Bert.

  Bert took a bite of his galactic patty.

  “Mmmm, this is really good! Thanks, Ira!”

  “You’re welcome, Master Bert,” said Ira.

  “Would you like something to drink?” asked Zack.

  “Can Ira make a shake?” Bert asked.

  “Ira, two boingoberry cosmic coolers, please!” Zack requested.

  Two bubbling purple drinks dropped down from the ceiling.

  Bert took a sip. “This is delicious too!” he exclaimed. He wiped the purple mustache from his mouth.

  When they had finished eating, the boys hurried to Zack’s room.

  Zack had a huge desk. A computer touch pad was built into the desktop. The entire wall behind the desk was a giant view screen.

  “Touch the top of the desk,” Zack said to Bert.

  Bert tapped the desktop with his finger. Billions of stars swirling through space suddenly appeared on the screen.

  “This is even better than the überzoom galactic telescope you had on Earth!” shouted Bert.

  “I know!” said Zack. “You can see the whole galaxy from right here! And, hey, check out the beds!”

  “Two beds coming right up,” said Ira.

  A panel in the ceiling opened and two fully made beds dropped down from above.

  “I don’t even have to make my bed every morning!” said Zack.

  “Super-cool!” said Bert.

  “And tomorrow, you can come to school with me!” said Zack.

  Zack and Bert went to the family room and settled down in front of the sonic cell monitor, the Nebulon version of TV. They watched a few quins of a galactic blast game. Then it was time to go to sleep. Both boys got into their beds for the night and looked forward to the next day.

  Chapter 6

  Bert at Sprockets

  Zack’s mom dropped the kids off at Sprockets Academy the next morning. The two boys scrambled out of the car.

  “Have a great day, guys,” said Mom. “And Zack?”

  Zack hung back for a moment. “Don’t forget to introduce Bert to Ms. Rudolph and your friends.”

  “Sure, Mom!” said Zack.

  The boys ran toward the school’s entrance.

  Zack spotted Drake.

  “Hey, Drake, wait up!” he shouted.

  Drake spun around.

  “Drake, this is Bert,” Zack said. “My best friend from Earth. He’s coming to class with us today. Bert, this is Drake, my new friend here on Nebulon.”

  Drake lifted his hand with his palm facing out. He moved his hand in a small circle in front of his face.

  “Nice to meet you, Bert,” said Drake. “Zack has told me a lot about you.”

  Bert raised his hand and made a circle in front of his face.

  “Nice to meet you too, Drake,” he said. “Zack told me how Nebulites shake hands. It’s pretty cool. Or, actually, pretty grape!”

  Zack led Bert into the classroom and over to his teacher.

 
“Ms. Rudolph, this is my friend Bert from Earth,” Zack explained. “He’d like to sit in our class today.”

  “That’s very nice,” said Ms. Rudolph. “Welcome, Bert. I’m from Earth too.”

  “You are?” Bert asked.

  “Yes. And I think that once you get to know Nebulon, you’ll love it as much as I do,” Ms. Rudolph said. “Now, please find a seat, and let’s begin today’s lessons.”

  Zack pointed to two empty seats. “Over here,” he said to Bert.

  The two boys sat down.

  “Wow! What’s this?” Bert asked. He pointed to a large screen right in front of him.

  “That’s your edu-screen,” Zack explained. “Just tap it in the center.”

  Bert tapped the screen and a series of images blazed to life. One showed a picture of an ancient civilization. Another showed a close-up of an atom. A third showed a series of mathematical equations.

  “Everyone, please open your science holo-text,” said Ms. Rudolph.

  Zack leaned over and tapped the atom on Bert’s screen. The rest of the images disappeared and the 3-D atom rose higher from the desk. It spun around in the air right in front of their eyes.

  “Now that is grape!” whispered Bert.

  Chapter 7

  Lunchtime

  As the school day continued, Zack helped Bert follow all the lessons. When the bell rang for lunch, Zack led Bert to the space bus.