Clues to the Universe by Christina Li

Author:Christina Li
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Published: 2020-11-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Benji

IF RO’S GARAGE hadn’t been a mad scientist’s lab before, it sure was now. Because now Ro didn’t just want to build any rocket: she wanted to build the most perfect rocket of all time. She was dead set on her numbers working out. We went straight to the garage, and Ro stayed there after I went home. She stared at her drawings and her tools for hours. If this had been a comic book, sparks would be practically flying from her goggles.

She even started falling asleep in class, and I had to be the one to poke her awake.

What had this world come to?

Ro Geraghty was going bonkers.

“This has to work,” Ro said, right before we launched the Expedition IV. “We’re on our second and last rocket motor, so we can’t launch anything else. I triple-checked everything. I made the fins lighter. I even took out the bolts and glued everything down with extra-double-strength epoxy so it would weigh less.” She looked up at me. “You’re positive there’s nothing else I could have forgotten?”

I nodded. “We just have to go for it.”

Ro took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell button. I counted down silently. Please, please work.

Three. Two. One—

The Expedition IV launched straight up, trailing a clear line of smoke. Second by second, I clenched my fists tighter, waiting for any hint of a wobble. Nothing. The rocket cleared a clean arc through the sky. The walkie-talkie beeped steadily. Twenty seconds. Thirty, forty. It kept flying. My heart rose to my throat. And then—

The nose cone popped off, and the parachute billowed out.

I pumped my fist in the air. “Yes!”

Finally. There was not a single thing wrong with this launch.

I ran across the field to retrieve the rocket, unable to stop grinning. Man, I understood why people did this for fun now. I would have hugged this rocket if I could. “We did it!” I said, leaning over the parachute. I straightened up for a high five.

Ro’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said.

“Something’s bugging you,” I said. “What is it?”

“Eleven hundred feet,” she mumbled.

She couldn’t be serious. I dropped my arms. “Ro, come on.”

“It was our last launch,” she said. “And it only got to eleven hundred feet.”

“So what if it doesn’t get to sixteen hundred and fifteen—”

“Twenty!”

“Fine, twenty!” I pointed at the rocket. “Can we just forget about those numbers for a second? It went almost perfectly this time. The rocket launched exactly like it was supposed to! It didn’t crash or anything. You even got your radio signals. Isn’t that good enough?”

It seemed like it was good enough to get extra credit. At least, I hoped so.

“We can’t just forget about the numbers,” Ro burst out. “This is how high our rocket was supposed to fly.”

Why couldn’t she be happy with what she’d accomplished?

“Then what’s enough for you?” I shot back. “What, are you going to launch a million rockets until one finally works? Why do we have to get this to this crazy height in the first place? You already built this all by yourself, Ro.

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