The Space Mission Adventure Read Free

left.
    â€œIt looks like an army barrack!” Rico said in dismay as they entered the room they’d been assigned to. There were a total of seven narrow beds, five of them top bunks. Underneath three of the top bunks were desks. The room was clean, bare of the carpetand wallpaper and room decorations the boys were used to at their homes, and very, very small.
    â€œMost astronauts are in the military, you know,” Stanley told them.
    â€œThat never occurred to me,” Rico said thoughtfully.
    â€œWhat about bugs?” Jerome asked. “Have you seen any insects crawling or flying around the Habitat? I like to be prepared, you understand.”
    Stanley chuckled. “Not that I’m aware of, Jerome. No more than the usual small bugs that you’d ordinarily find in Alabama this time of year. Certainly nothing dangerous. The dorms are cleaned and sanitized between each group of Space Campers, if that will make you feel any better.”
    â€œThanks, man,” Jerome said. He kneeled down on the concrete floor and peered under the bed, anyway.
    Ziggy turned around in circles several times, searching the room with a quizzical look on his face.
    â€œWhat are you doing, Ziggy?” Rashawn asked as he made up his bed.
    â€œSomething’s missing, mon,” Ziggy said.
    â€œWell, it’s not fancy, but it’s got beds and lights and a place to store your gear,” Stanley offered. “The bathroom’s right outside, in this hall.”
    â€œThat’s not it, mon. There’s no television in this room! ” Ziggy stated, his arms stretched out dramatically.
    Stanley laughed. “Of course not. You won’t need it, you won’t miss it, and you won’t have time for it. By the time you get back to the Habitat tonight, you’ll be exhausted and glad to see these lumpy bunks.”
    â€œOh, I’ll miss it, mon. I already do,” Ziggy said with a sigh.
    â€œWho will be in the other three bunks?” Rico asked.
    â€œThree boys from Georgia,” Stanley replied. “They’re in the same grade as you guys.”
    Rashawn looked a little surprised. “Somehow I thought it would just be the four of us here. I never even thought about the other kids who’d be coming to Space Camp.”
    â€œJust a few rules,” Stanley announced. “No eatingin the Habitat—we have a great cafeteria that will feed you well. No loud noises after lights-out. No girls in the boys’ Habitat. No boys on the girls’ floor. Just general common sense rules.”
    â€œGirls? You got girls here?” Rashawn asked with interest.
    â€œSure. The girls’ Habitat is downstairs. Women can be astronauts too, you know,” Stanley said. “We probably have as many girls here this weekend as boys. As a matter of fact, the rest of your team is probably the girls from the school in Georgia.”
    â€œCool,” Rico said. “This place is gonna be really cool.”

SAMANTHA, THEIR COUNSELOR FOR THE PATHFINDER camp, had curly brown hair, a sprinkling of freckles on her nose, and a broad smile for her team as they met on the grass near the huge Pathfinder Shuttle that rested like a great beast on display. She wore the same navy blue shirt and beige pants that identified all the counselors, and she carried a clipboard that held a schedule for the day and the names of all the members of Team America.
    Ziggy, Rico, Rashawn, and Jerome, dressed in their crisp, new, white Space Camp T-shirts, waited expectantly with the rest of their team as Samanthatook attendance and made the effort to learn everyone’s name.
    â€œWe’re going to have a wonderful time here,” she told the group with a smile. “We’ll be up at dawn every morning, and back to the Habitat to rest at nine or ten each night.”
    â€œLong day, mon. When do we eat?” Ziggy asked.
    â€œYou’ll get breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” Samantha