CHAPTER 1 SAFETY FIRST What are you waiting for Pat Miles Holley whispered to his friend The countdown finished a whole count down ago Push the button Quiet Patrick Meyer said in an exaggerated hiss He closed his eyes and tilted his head back breathing deeply I’m savoring this The two boys were standing just beyond second base of the senior baseball field at Camp Avalon Camp Average to those in the know Pat the taller of the two held an oblong black control box with a wire jutting out of one end The wire snaked along the bright green grass until it reached a blue-and-red ESTES Expedition model rocket mounted on a makeshift launchpad in shallow center field Miles Camp Average’s foremost rocketry aficionado mustered an embarrassed smile as he felt the eyes of his rocketry instructor and two other campers on him Savoring Pat I think you mean spoiling he said 1
under his breath pushing his glasses back on his face and pinning them to the bridge of his nose You would know Pat grunted Then he turned his attention back to the control box Now where is this button you mentioned It was only the first day of camp and Miles was already worn out by Pat’s low-wattage pranks not to mention regretful that he’d agreed to let Pat do the honors for his first launch of the summer Give it to me Miles whispered the fake smile hurt ing his cheeks No no Pat said examining the underside of the control box I’ve almost got the hang of this That did it Miles casually rubbed the back of his head to fake Pat out then lunged at the control box with both hands accidentally pressing the button in the process Hey Pat shouted indignantly Safety first Inside the rocket the propellant ignited generating enough exhaust gas to thrust the vessel skyward Nice one Pat exclaimed as the rocket started its thousand-foot climb I should help you out with more of these things Just as Miles breathed a sigh of relief he felt a little breeze ruffle his hair The forecast didn’t say anything about wind he mumbled to himself This means 2
The moment the rocket’s nose cone popped off and its parachute emerged the wind picked up and pushed it away from the field toward the center of camp Miles darted across the right-field line between the outfield fence and the bleachers tracking the rocket in the sky The wind wasn’t strong enough to drag it all the way out to the lake but that didn’t mean the rocket was safe Wait up Pat shouted from behind him dropping the controller in the grass No time Miles shouted over his shoulder It’s head ing toward the ball-hockey court A pain developed in his gut as he envisioned the worst for his rocket landing on the court and getting run over by ten helmeted kids looking out for orange plastic balls not cardboard rockets But there was no direct route from the senior baseball field to the ball-hockey court Unless Through the woods he shouted Miles cut behind the fence and along the line of trees that sat behind it Then he plunged into them and down the hill branches ricocheting off him as he went His steely eyes never wavered as pine needles hit his glasses and got stuck in the frames Ow Pat shouted from behind him Ow COME ON Miles hit level ground at a dead sprint and bolted 3
