she was smelling week-old gym socks stuffed with cooked cabbage Wait til she sees my tarantula Which reminds me I think I will name my tarantula Worf like the Klingon in Star Trek The Next Generation There was that one episode where the actor playing Worf gets red paint on his knees and then in the next scene it’s gone I know my new pet is a girl but she’s a Mexican red knee tarantula Get it Red knee Technically the term Mexican red-knee is used to refer to a couple different species of tarantulas To be specific scientists would use the Latin name Brachypelma hamorii or B hamorii to identify Worf The other species that sometimes gets called a Mexican red-knee is B smithi These spiders look similar to B hamorii but they’re actually two different kinds of spiders B smithi and B hamorii look and act the same to me And all tarantulas have the same mellow temperament and that’s what I really care about The only reason I even know Worf is a B hamorii is because the breeder labeled her cage
Oh there goes my stomach again Maybe it’s just noisy because it’s lunchtime And speaking of lunch maybe I should feed my new tarantula Worf She’s probably really hungry after getting acclimated to her new home in my room I bet she feels like she’s landed on an alien planet too Maybe I’ll put a model of the Starship Enterprise next to her cage to make her feel safe
Day 8 on the Barren Planet I’ve spent pretty much the whole time since we got here unpacking and going shopping for school with Mom and Izzy This is the first chance I’ve had in the last couple of days to catch up on this journal and just in time for the first day of school So far Brenton Park is just like any other school except that there are more kids wearing shirts that say funny smart things like Oh no 7 ate 9 and Will code for candy And there are some cowboy boots although not nearly as many as I thought there would be The halls are boring and plain except for some bright posters advertising a Day of the Dead Festival That’s kind of cool we didn’t have a festival for Day of the Dead back home I hoped I didn’t stick out as the new kid since all the other sixth graders are new too They’re starting over like me since they’re from all over the school district We all looked sort of lost It made me feel better even though I still missed my friends So I decided to start SOMNF Special Operation Make New Friends
I couldn’t wait for science class because I was pretty sure that was where I’d finally find someone to hang out with I have science right after lunch so as soon as the bell rang signaling the end of lunch I sprinted down the hall to my science classroom The doors opened and I was greeted by the familiar sight of black-topped lab tables and that weird moist smell from something wet living in a tank in the back of the room It felt like home Mr Eagon the sixth-grade science teacher is way better than my old science teach awesome He’s thin wiry and super funny Turns out Mr Eagon is also in charge of the Brenton Park Science Squad He said there’d be a short Squad sign-up meeting right after school He also said we could take turns bringing in our own pets to show everyone during our life science unit I ran to sign up Worf for the first slot She’s sure to impress someone Then Mr Eagon went over safety rules and stuff like that While he did that I got a good look around I saw lots of beakers and flasks some posters on the walls of various animal life cycles and a locked cabinet that I hope is full of
