Saving Sky Read Free Page A

DAISY and on the right, SWEATY SOCKS .
    â€œAnd guess what he discovered?” Bunsen paused to let the tension build, eyes wide with excitement. Sky wondered if he secretly dreamed of being an actor—or maybe a stand-up comic.
    â€œThe ones who’d been given the Stink-away Juice smelled fresh as a daisy , while the others smelled like sweaty socks . Would you say his invention was a success ?”
    â€œYes!” everyone roared.
    â€œI couldn’t agree more. A Nobel Prize for Professor Frybrain! Now, moving on, what aspect of his experiment would you say was the independent variable ?”
    Silence reigned in the classroom.
    â€œCome on, guys. Didn’t anybody do the reading? Oh, all right, Rachel.”
    â€œThe independent variable is whether the Stink-away Juice was given to the students or not; and the dependent variable is the result, which in this case was that the students who got the juice smelled good and the ones who didn’t smelled bad.”
    â€œThank you, Rachel. Even more than I asked for. If they let twelve-year-olds teach school, you could take over this class.”
    â€œI’m thirteen.”
    â€œI stand corrected. Now. Professor Frybrain decided to refine his experiment, giving different amounts…”
    And so it went. Finally, finally the bell rang.
    But once that crew got all riled up, it was hard to tamp them back down. Out in the hall, the hilarity continued.
    â€œYo! Abdool-a-mush,” Gerald yelled at Kareem. “Need some Stink-away Juice?”
    â€œEw, what smells?” Javier made a face.
    â€œ Cut it out , guys,” Sky yelled. “Leave him alone.” She was breaking her rule of avoiding Gerald, but she just couldn’t stand it anymore.
    Gerald stopped in his tracks and stared at her, a smirk growing on his face.
    â€œ Yeah , hippie-weirdo?”
    â€œ Yeah , Gerald. Try acting like a person for a change. See how it feels.”
    â€œOoooh, ouch. So is Abdool-a-mush your boyfriend ? Is that it?”
    She was about to come back with another smart remark when her eyes suddenly went wide. She’d just been blessed with an inspiration.
    â€œSay, Gerald,” she said, “remember that hamster, back in kindergarten?”
    â€œShut up, Sky!”
    â€œIt’s a great story. Javier, have you heard about the hamster? You, Travis?”
    â€œI said shut up !”
    â€œAll right. I will, as you say, shut up—if you leave Kareem alone. Is it a deal?” She tilted her head and smiled.
    â€œYou wouldn’t dare,” he snapped.
    â€œYou sure?”
    He gave her a threatening look, then turned and started to leave.
    â€œOkay. Fine with me. Hey, Travis, want to hear—”
    â€œOh, all right !” Gerald snapped. “Deal.”

4
The Universe Is One Great Spirit
    T HE CALL CAME ON F RIDAY night, three days after the red alert.
    They had finished dinner, switched off the electricity to save the batteries, and brought out the “endless power” lanterns. They were the windup kind, designed for camping.
    The girls were curled up on the couch with a blanket, while Luke sprawled in his big leather chair and Ana sat ready, the book in her lap: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. It was reading time.
    She was only a few pages into the story when they heard the tones of “ La Paloma ” coming from the kitchen. That was Aunt Pat’s ring tone. Luke jumped up to answer the phone.
    They waited in stony silence. They could only catch theoccasional word, but there was no doubt it was bad news. You could see it in the way his body slumped, the way he stared at the floor as he listened. Finally he told Pat good-bye, flipped the phone shut, and wordlessly herded them over to the kitchen table. They sat in a circle as they always did, hands clasped.
    â€œThere’s been another attack,” he said. His voice was gentle and soft. “Two, actually. They destroyed some oil