Amelia Earhart: Lady Lindy by Ann Hood

Author:Ann Hood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

STARGAZING

Maisie gazed up at an inky sky filled with twinkling stars. She had landed on soft grass and, from what she could tell, in someone’s backyard. To her right stood a white house, to her left a shed, and, all around everything, a picket fence.

Crickets chirped. From somewhere nearby came the quiet laughter of children followed by deeper, adult tones. Even though she couldn’t see anything clearly, this place felt homey and familiar.

Felix’s voice cut through the warm night air.

“I feel like we’ve landed smack in the middle of America,” he said.

Squinting, Maisie could see that the lump across the lawn was actually her brother.

“Me, too,” she said. “It feels nice here.”

The children grew excited, and Maisie stood and moved toward the shed, Felix close behind her.

“Up there,” Maisie whispered, pointing to the roof.

Two girls sat perched on the roof with their parents, all of them gazing at the starry sky.

“Are you sure we’ll see one?” one of the girls demanded.

“If you’re patient and keep still,” her mother said.

“Just don’t fall off the roof, Meelie,” her father said, and the other little girl laughed.

“It’s not funny!” the girl called Meelie said.

“Your sister was inspired by that roller coaster in St. Louis,” the father said.

“St. Louis!” Maisie blurted.

Felix clapped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

“I applaud your spirit of adventure, Meelie,” the mother said kindly. “You know that.”

“I do, too,” the other girl said. “You built that ramp all by yourself, and you were brave enough to get in that wooden box and ride it right off the roof—and you didn’t even kill yourself!”

“Not bad for such an exhilarating experience,” their father said.

Meelie sighed. “It felt just like flying,” she said wistfully.

Felix tugged at Maisie’s arm and pulled her around the corner of the shed.

“That’s the same family we saw at the World’s Fair!” he whispered.

“What? You mean that bratty kid with the cotton candy?”

“Yes. I remember her name was Meelie because that’s such a funny name. And the sister is called Pidge,” Felix said.

Maisie nodded. “That’s right.”

They both turned their gaze upward.

“That means one of those kids is who we need to give the compass to,” Felix said, disappointed.

“No, Charles Lindbergh,” Maisie agreed. “Or any of my aviatrixes for that matter.”

“There’s nobody named Pidge or Meelie in Mom’s room, is there?” Felix asked.

“Not that I know of.”

Meelie and Pidge began to shout.

“Look! Look!”

Maisie and Felix stepped away from the shed to get a better view of the sky. Something bright white appeared in the sky, and just like the fireworks on the Fourth of July it seemed to explode and then fall toward them.

“Oh no!” Felix shouted. “Is it a meteor? Is it crashing?”

He ducked his head and covered it with his arms, as if that might actually protect him. Hadn’t a meteor destroyed all of the dinosaurs?

With all of the excitement, the family on the roof didn’t seem to hear him. They were all too busy shouting and jumping up and down.

Maisie grabbed Felix’s arms and pulled them away from his face.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.