Mrs. Morgan looked taller without Jim’s dad towering over her. And she looked pretty in her pink-flower dress and pearls. And Jim looked very solemn in his suit. Ronnie grinned and waved. Jim waved back. Ronnie’s mom had redecorated the cafeteria for the ceremony. The tables had been stashed somewhere, […]
Martian Adventures
Ronnie still couldn’t get over how everyone had reacted to their discovery. The geology department gave both her and Jim specially created paperweights carved out of Martian rock and had thrown them a party. The engineers had started designing robots to explore the crevasse. Her mom had dedicated a whole […]
Martian Adventures: The Valor Crevasse
Jim examined the spacesuit. It didn’t look at all like the ones in the vids about the history of spaceflight. It looked more like the wetsuit that he’d worn when his grandmother took him SCUBA diving. It was sleek and black and rubbery against his fingers. Ronnie was already wearing […]
Martian Adventures: Exploration Part 1
Ronnie scowled at her blueberry pancakes. "I don’t see why Jim can’t come over." Her parents exchanged a look. Her dad arched an eyebrow, and her mom shook her head. Ronnie sighed, knowing the answer, even before Dad turned to her. "It’s family day, Ronnie," he said. "It’s a day […]
Martian Adventures: Family Day Part 2
Jim scowled at his book reader. He hated Sundays. Ronnie’s dad had declared Sundays "Family Days" and so Ronnie was trapped with her mom and dad doing family crap. Ronnie said it wasn’t too bad, and that she’d try to get her dad to let him come over sometime. Jim’s […]
Martian Adventures: Family Day
Ronnie leaned out over the fish tank. She’d brought Jim up onto the catwalks over the aquariums. Mom would flip if she saw them up here, but Ronnie liked looking down at the water. The algae tanks were okay, but the fish were the best. Their silver scales flickered as […]
Martian Adventures: The Fish Tanks
Jim didn’t like cafeterias. He’d had bad experiences in cafeterias. Of course, the adult scientists weren’t likely to dump chocolate milk on his lap or make fun of him for reading at recess, but he was still uneasy. He stuck close to Ronnie as she got in line. She was […]
Martian Adventures: Cafeteria Food
Ronnie loved running, and the forbidden greenhouse was her favorite place to do it. She dodged between trees and glanced back. Jim was following her, and they’d already lost Dr. Eric. Joy gave her feet wings. She didn’t slow down till she got to her hideout. When Jim finally caught […]
Martian Adventures: The Hideout
James–no, Jim, he had to start thinking of himself as Jim–couldn’t believe his luck. The only other kid on Mars was a cute girl. A cute, nice girl who was obviously excited about the idea of being his friend. No one had ever been excited to be his […]
Martian Adventures: Into the Greenhouse
Ronnie waited outside the new boy’s cryosleep pod, barely keeping herself from bouncing up and down. She wasn’t supposed to be here–Mom had told her to let the new settlers get settled before she started pestering them. But she couldn’t wait. She wanted to meet James P. Morgan. She traced […]