AN UP2U ACTION ADVENTURE LOST IN SPACE by Jan Fields illustrated by Oriol Vidal
CHAPTER 1 Happy Birthday I Think Nick began drawing a venus flytrap next to a pitcher plant and a sundew on his computer table He imagined the plant's special leaves snapping shut to catch bugs He knew he'd never really see any of the cool different Earth plants that ate bugs The colony gardeners mainly grew beans and lettuce They also grew a few other things to eat Of course even if the gardeners would let Nick grow venus flytraps or any of the other bug eating plants he wouldn't have any flies to feed them
Nick spun in his chair He looked out the one round window in his room His mom once told him there were always bugs buzzing around you when you went outside on Earth Nick didn't get outside much here on Colony Alpha But when he did he'd never seen any bugs Through the window he saw blue green moss carpeting the ground around the colony and the shadowy edge of the fluff tree woods Moss and fluff trees were boring Nick was pretty sure the first Earth colony was on the most boring planet in the universe Nick sighed He wouldn't be so bored if his mom were home She'd be making a birthday cake and telling him Earth stories She'd have some great present hidden But his mom was overdue from a mission with five other scientists No one knew where they were
