Space Station Crisis: Star Challengers Book 2 Read Free Page A

midnight blue with tiny crystals sewn across it so that it looks like a starry night.”
    “Now that I’d like to see—uh, purely for scientific purposes, of course. Maybe I could identify some of the constellations. I’ve been studying a little astronomy, you know, to do my part….”
    She laughed. He liked it when she laughed. Dyl realized he was blushing. He could hear a muffled chatter of voices in the background, a piano playing. “Uh, aren’t you supposed to be keeping your father from getting bored right now?”
    “Not really. He’s talking to the Duke of Something-or-Other. They were in the same college at Oxford—Merton, I think. Besides, it’s a cocktail reception, and I’m the only person here not drinking—for obvious reasons. So I stepped out on the patio for a few minutes.” She paused, then lowered her voice. “Are you getting excited yet?”
    “About a diplomatic reception?” Dyl misunderstood her on purpose.
    “Junior,” she said in mock exasperation.
    “Oh, you mean about going back to the Challenger Center this weekend? Of course I am. I’ve been working on the assignment Mr. Zota gave us. I even figured out a way to get extra credit at school.” The enigmatic commander had promised that if they spent the month learning three new things according to his instructions, he would send them on another mission—into the future. And so Dyl, JJ, Song-Ye, and their friend Elton Elijah King had all been busy “earning” their next adventure.
    Dyl put a pot of water on the stove for boiling the spaghetti noodles. Their mother would be home from her waitressing job any minute now, and it was Dyl’s turn to fix dinner. Later, while Mrs. Wren got ready to go to her evening job at the hotel, JJ would clean the kitchen. For now, his sister was doing homework in the living room.
    On the phone, Song-Ye said, “Only two more days.”
    “Check. T-minus two days and counting—over.” He turned on the timer for the pasta.
    “Whatever. See you there, Junior. Over and out.”
    JJ sat by the coffee table on the living room floor, doing her algebra problems and enjoying the aromas of baking garlic bread and simmering spaghetti sauce. The entire apartment smelled like an Italian restaurant. She also enjoyed the fact that Tony Vasquez sat next to her. Sure, he was here getting help on math, but his well-to-do parents could have afforded a private tutor, if he’d wanted one. Instead, he chose to be here with JJ.
    Tony ran a hand through his curly light-brown hair and sighed. “I don’t know why I’m so dense. I ought to know this stuff. Boy, you’d think my parents were crash-test dummies instead of computer scientists.”
    JJ snorted. “You’re not dumb. This not-getting-algebra is just temporary. You’re great at lots of subjects, this one’s just taking a little longer.”
    He looked sidelong at her, and the worry in his blue-green eyes faded. “And how do you know I’m not an idiot?”
    Looking up at the ceiling, JJ pursed her lips and thought for a moment. Her blond ponytail swished and tickled the back of her neck. “Well, you always solve mysteries halfway through the movie, you can do Sudoku puzzles in a flash. You made it to Level 100 of Rampart Raids IV faster than anyone I know, plus you built a robot that took first place at the science fair last year. Besides, I predict that you’re going to learn this soon, because you have a good tutor.”
    He laughed at that. “Sure, she’s modest, too. Anyway, what if I’m just faking being bad at algebra so I can spend time with you?”
    JJ could feel her face getting pink. “Well, in that case, I like the way you think.”
    “Do you have time to tutor me on Saturday?”
    She shook her head, hating to turn him down. “I’ve got kind of a … thing on Saturday.” And there was no way she would miss it.
    He raised his eyebrows. “A thing?”
    “An exercise, I’d guess you’d say,” JJ said evasively. She wasn’t supposed to talk