Blast Off! Read Free

the stairs in my bare feet.
    Light suddenly filled the hallway and I froze. “What’s going on, Zack?” It was my dad. He was standing in the doorway to his office.
    I slowly dropped the hand holding the Erdian guy to my side, like I was sneaking a cookie. “Nothing. Why?”
    â€œWhy?” he asked, puzzled. “Well, because it’s two hours past your bedtime and you’re running around the house in your underwear.”
    I looked down, trying to come up with a reason for not wearing pants. “My pajamas are around here somewhere,” I said lamely, looking around.
    â€œI heard a loud thump earlier and a big bang just a minute ago. What’s going on?”
    I could feel Amp squirming, but I didn’t dare reveal my hidden hand.
    I gulped. “Uh . . . My pants were muddy, so I left them in the laundry room for Mom.”
    â€œHow’d your pants get muddy?”
    â€œGood question,” I said, trying to think of some good excuses for my weird behavior. I came up with nothing.

    â€œGo to bed, Zack,” he moaned. “You’ve got school tomorrow.”
    â€œOkay,” I peeped, then shot up the stairs, zipped down the hallway, and closed my door quietly behind me.
    It had flashed through my mind that I should tell my dad, but I just couldn’t share my secret, not just yet. This was my discovery. Everybody in my house was a science big shot. Maybe now I would be the big shot, too. Images of me and my alien on the covers of magazines flashed through my mind: “Science Whiz Kid Captures Blue Alien!”
    â€œI can’t breathe!” the creature wheezed from between my fingers.
    â€œOh, sorry,” I said. “Must be all the excitement.”
    He gulped for air. “That earthling was even bigger than you!” he said with tiny, wide eyes. “My size charts are all wrong.”
    â€œThat’s my dad,” I explained. “I’m just a kid. I’m pretty small, actually, but I’ll grow bigger.”
    â€œBlast!” he said, pounding his little fist into the palm of his other hand. “Our calculations were way off. This is a disaster!”
    â€œWhat’s a disaster?”
    â€œYou’re much too big for what we were planning,” he said, distracted.
    â€œDon’t worry, little man, I’ll take care of you.”
    â€œYou don’t understand!” he shouted, grabbing his forehead with both hands.
    I laughed at his high voice, which sounded extra funny when he was mad.
    â€œWhy are you laughing? This is an intergalactic snafu of epic proportions!”
    â€œI’m not even sure what that means,” I said.
    â€œI need to get back to Erde and call off the attack,” he said, looking over at his now-quiet spaceship.
    â€œYou can’t leave!” I cried. “You just got here! I’ve got to show you off. Maybe enter you in the science fair. We can be on magazine covers.”
    â€œNo, you want me to leave, trust me,” he said. “And you can’t tell anybody about me.”
    â€œOh, come on, you don’t strike me as the shy type. We could be on TV!”
    â€œIf your leaders learn of me, I’ll never get home in time,” he squeaked.
    â€œRelax, I’ll take care of you. I’ll be your agent. Cool?”
    â€œWhat’s an agent?” he said, suddenly concerned.
    â€œYou know,” I said, trying to figure out what I was talking about. “For movies, TV shows, comic books. Hey, can you sing?”
    â€œI don’t know what you’re talking about, Zack!”
    â€œWe’ll be famous.”
    â€œWe don’t have time to be famous. You have to help me repair that,” he said, pointing at his spaceship.
    â€œMe?” I said. “I’ve never fixed a thing in my life! And besides, my wall didn’t hit you, you hit my wall!”
    â€œWhat do you know about repairing an initial launch system?” he