Mash three of the parts together and put that on Saturn’s sheet Arno did so Divide the remaining piece into ten equal parts Arno did that too just as his frisky dog pitter-pattered pitter-pattered into Arno’s bedroom Comet immediately sniffed the wet clay on Arno’s desk and wagged his tail like an exclamation mark Leave it Arno warned pushing Comet’s nose away Comet was little and he couldn’t reach the top of Arno’s desk but still Arno had once caught him sliding a kitchen chair toward the counter so that he could jump on it to reach some fresh-baked cookies cooling on the racks Comet perked his triangle-folded ears but backed down Muttering he trotted over to the foot of Arno’s bed and flopped to the floor his head resting on both front paws while he watched Arno’s every move Arno paused The radio music had stopped The announcer was delivering news and the
weather which called for another unbearably hot August day Arno held his breath Was the contest about to begin No After the weather came sports and then more surf rock music Blast it Arno exclaimed Comet lifted his head saw that nothing was happening then rolled onto his side and closed his eyes for a nap Arno returned to his book which helped keep his jitters in check Add five parts to Saturn’s lump Mash two parts together and put them on Neptune’s sheet Mash two more parts together and put them on the sheet for Uranus Take the remaining piece and divide it into ten equal parts Arno carefully followed the instructions Four of the nine planets in the solar system were starting to take shape on their respective pieces of paper Okay Arno I’m heading out now
Arno looked up His dad was standing at the door in his blue-and-white delivery uniform Comet scrambled to his paws then dashed across the floor to greet him his tail wagging furiously I’ve already fed Comet his breakfast his dad said bending to give the dog a pat So don’t let him fool you Uh-huh Arno said turning back to his project Remember to make your bed And promise me you’ll get outside his dad added Today is going to be too beautiful to waste I won’t waste it I’m building an accurate model of the solar system Arno held up a wet lump of clay Right his dad said checking his watch He went over to ruffle the top of Arno’s head I’ll be home for lunch Arno was half listening what with the demands of building planets and monitoring the radio at the same time He only vaguely heard the sound of his dad’s van pulling out of the driveway It had big logos on both sides
Stinky’s Arno’s dad ran a diaper-cleaning service People left bins of soiled cloth diapers and empty baskets on their front steps for pickup His small fleet of vans cruised the suburbs replacing them with empty bins and baskets full of soft freshly laundered diapers Arno used to like riding shotgun but today he sighed in relief as the van drove off without him He remembered the last time he helped with deliveries Arno had been rearranging the towering stacks of baskets in the back of the van while his dad rang the doorbell of a new customer A sudden wind pushed the van’s back door shut with a surprising bang trapping Arno inside the airless windowless space Arno froze Everything was black At first he only heard the sound of his breath Then his heart started to pound in his ears He clutched at his chest which began to feel tight as if something was pressing down on him He couldn’t catch his breath He imagined the baskets toppling on top of him if he so much as budged
