Page 6 of Whoops-A-Mate From Outer Space
I shook my head. It didn’t matter. I’d promised a kid that I’d get him a list of science books, and I wasn’t going to let him down.
Chapter 2
Ishifted my backpack and turned to lock the door. I’d done my best to prepare to be gone for two months, though part of me wished I’d had a bit more time.
Then again, was anybody properly prepared to meet aliens?
I grabbed my rolling suitcase’s handle and started toward the elevator, only to see the white door of the next apartment open as I approached.
“Whereyagoin’, Gene?” asked Sam, his blond hair still sleep mussed and words running together.
I knelt on the beige linoleum to look him in the eye. “Remember when I told you yesterday that the Army wants me to work on something special?”
He nodded. “Yeah…”
“That’s where I’m going. They’re here to pick me up. I’m going to a lab so super secret that even I don’t know where it is.”
“Really?” he asked, eyes growing wide with wonder. Then his lip quivered. “Does that mean we can’t read books together?”
I reached out and tousled his hair. “Sorry, Sam. Super secret lab means I can’t read with you. But I gave your mom a list of books that the other science teachers like. You’ll have plenty toread all summer. There are books about plants, animals… bugs. The engineering teachers all suggested books about how things are made. There are books about the ocean and deep space. You’ll learn so much from all these books that you’ll be smarter than me by the end of summer.”
“Really?” he sniffled.
I nodded. “And because I know you like to know things so much, I even asked a few history professors about science history books. So you’ll learn about how we discovered things long ago and how that led to even more cool science.”
“There’s science in history?” he asked.
I laughed. “There’s a lot of science in history, if you know where to look.”
“Woooooooow,” he replied.
I smiled. “I gotta go. But we’ll talk about all the cool things you’ve learned when I get back, ok?”
He nodded. “Ok.”
I stood and saw his mom smiling from her open door. She mouthed a silent ‘thank you.’
I nodded and grabbed my bag again, then turned back to Sam. “Find something cool to teach me about, ok?”
He grinned. “Ok! Have fun at the super secret lab!”
I chuckled. “I’ll try.”
I held out my fist, and he bumped it with his own. Then I continued toward the elevator.
The chime sounded, and I glanced back to see Sam waving. I returned the wave, then stepped in. A minute later, I exited thebuilding and spotted a newer black SUV that was trying too hard to be nondescript among the older cars that filled the parking lot.
I walked over, and a uniformed man got out of the driver’s seat.
“You’re late,” he chastised.
I looked at my watch, which read three minutes past seven. I shook my head. “I was saying goodbye to the neighbor kid.”
“It’s customary to report ten minutes prior to…” he started.
“Good for you,” I interrupted. “But I’m a civilian. If I decide that saying goodbye to a nine-year-old is worth being a few minutes late, then that’s my choice.”
We stared at each other for several seconds before he pointed to my suitcase. “Is that all you’ve got?”
