Lily & Kosmo in Outer Outer Space by Jonathan Ashley

Author:Jonathan Ashley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Lily broke the stillness with a small nod of the distal phalange, and soon both thumbs were dipping and curling around each other, like two cobras daring each other to strike.

Lily swept low, grazing Donna’s thumb across the proximal phalange. Donna took the bait, slamming her thumb down toward Lily’s.

But this was just the move Lily was counting on. She ducked to the left, whipped back around, and pinned Donna just above the knuckle.

“One!” counted Juana, as Donna writhed to free herself. “Two!”

But Lily’s move was as clumsy as it was fast, and the full force of her grip wasn’t centered. The slickness of Donna’s fine scaly thumb didn’t help either. Donna’s thumb slipped free just before the count of three, and retreated, crushed but not beaten.

Then Donna’s thumb lunged, so quick and furious that it caught Lily off guard. It hooked Lily’s thumb, tackling it into the crook of her own folded index finger. Lily yanked and jerked, but couldn’t escape the force of Donna’s grip. Donna smiled with the corner of her mouth, and this time Lily was sure she saw sharp points at the ends of her teeth.

“One!” called Juana.

Lily bent at the middle knuckle, and pressed the tip of her thumb hard against her own hand. This gave her just enough leverage to shift the angle of Donna’s grip. . . .

“Two!”

Lily’s thumb rolled clear, and Donna’s thumb snapped down with full force. And before it could get up again, Lily’s thumb had already swirled back around, and hammered back down upon Donna’s, clamping it squarely below the middle knuckle.

“One!” called Juana. “Two!”

Try as Donna did to free herself, she and Lily both knew the count was a pure technicality.

“Three!”

Lily and Donna let go of each other’s hand. Donna stared in awe at her throbbing, defeated thumb.

Lily looked at Kosmo. Was that admiration she saw in his eyes? Or gratitude, even? Or was it just plain relief, for the bachelorhood that was nearly stolen by a fish maiden of the deep?

“What can I say?” said the skipper. “When you’re licked, you’re licked. You want this Spacetronaut, Specs? He’s all yours.” She raised Lily’s hand in the air, and the sisters applauded.

“You’re one salty dog, Specs. You sure you can’t stick around?”

“No, I got too much space to see,” said Lily.

“Suit yourself.” She tossed Lily the mirror sash. “Here, keep it. We’ll save you a seat.”

Lily put on the sash.

“Shirl, set a course for Gorgon’s Wharf,” said Donna. “We’ll drop these two off, and maybe even squeeze in a little shore leave, whadda ya say?”

The whole crew cheered.

But before Shirl could punch the coordinates into the dashboard—POING!! POING!!—a red blip appeared on the sonar screen, big and rectangular, with a fin on its back.

“Belay that!” Donna slid into her seat at the front, and took the helm. “Strap in, gang!” The sisters strapped themselves into their seats, and Lily and Kosmo strapped into the back row.

“What is that?” asked Lily.

“Beats me!” cried Donna. “I’ve never seen such

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.