DESTINATION, MARS by Bubble
Nora stood by the lake looking out at the murky water. It was the only place were she could stand and look at the sunset without seeing a blunt building with puffs of grey smoke coming from the chimney. Nora sighed. She wish she could go fishing, but even if she did, she would not catch anything because people had polluted the water so all the fish had died.
Suddenly, her mother called, and she ran down the road to her house. As she went inside she could smell the sent of chocolate chip cookies coming out of the oven. “Mmmmmmm,” Nora said.
Her mother set the tray on the counter and said, “I thought you might like to bring these to school tomorrow for your 11th birthday.”
Nora thanked her mother and sat down at the table to eat one. Her dad was sitting at the table reading a newspaper while listening to the radio.
The news began, “We will now interrupt this program to inform you that on December 4th there will be a space shuttle leaving for Mars. Scientists have been working for years to prepare the planet for life ever since signs of water and atmosphere were found thirteen years ago. The space shuttle will be transporting one billion people to the planet over the next four weeks. If you want to be on it you must sign up in the next two weeks. There will be more information on this subject in the next flyer that is sent out. To get on the mailing list go to www.lifeonmars.com and register to receive the mailing.”
Nora’s dad turned off the radio and said “There sure is a lot on the radio about the space shuttle to Mars.”
Nora’s mom said “I have heard lots about it as well. They have been planting trees and bringing animals there. Scientists have found a new species of animal. I think they are called Looparoons.”
Nora said “Yeah, they have purple antennae, look really fuzzy and have long tails.”
“And just where did you hear that?” her mother said.
“A scientist came to our school and spoke about life on Mars.” Nora said.
“Well,” her father said “I am going to feed the cat.” Zoe jumped on the counter and purred as Nora scratched her furry head.
As Nora went to bed that night, she thought about what it might be like to live on planet Mars. Zoe hopped on to Nora’s bed and licked her black velvet paws. Then she curled up next to Nora and fell asleep. Nora was quick to follow.
Nora woke up with a start. She heard a loud bang downstairs. So she slipped out of bed and ran down to see what the matter was.
Nora’s mother had made a large pot of oatmeal and had put it on the counter. Now, there was a large pile of oatmeal on the kitchen floor, with her mom’s best pot shattered and Zoe up on the kitchen counter meowing. “Zoe!” Her mother yelled.
Seeing Nora, her mom said “Happy birthday, honey! I made you some oatmeal for breakfast but as you can see, Zoe was using it as a scratching post, and knocked it on the floor! Why don’t you get a bowl of cereal for breakfast? We will celebrate your birthday when you get home from school. Here are your cookies for school.” Nora ate her breakfast, got dressed, took her cookies and got on the bus.
After the bus ride home, Nora opened the front door. “Mom, I’m home!” As she stepped in the door she saw the floor was covered with boxes. “Mom? What on Earth are you doing?” she said.
Her mother came into the kitchen and said “You mean, What on Mars am I doing? We are moving to Mars!”
“What?” Nora said.
“I got on the mailing list and signed us up!” Her mom said.
“Cool! Where is dad?” Nora said.
“He is in the cellar packing boxes.” Her mom said.
She got herself a PB&J sandwich for a snack, and they got in the car with their belongings and drove to Cape Canaveral. They put their baggage on the shuttle, sat down and got strapped in. Soon, the countdown began!
10, 9, 8, 7,6, 5, 4, 3… Her heart was pounding so hard she swore one could hear it from miles away! …2, 1, BLASTOFF! Nora heard a loud noise, sort of like a rumbling sound, and then they took off into flight.
Soon everyone on the shuttle was talking and eating things out of tubes. “Mom?” she said. “What are they eating?”
“They are eating from packages filled with different foods. You have to eat out of tubes so your food does not float away. In space, there is no gravity.” Her mother said.
Nora tried to eat from one of the packages. It tasted like vanilla pudding. Then she drank some water. She spilled some and it floated around until she caught it in her mouth. It was fun because it looked like bubbles of water, floating around in the air. Then she looked out the window and saw Mars ahead. It looked green with life.
Suddenly, it got quiet. The engine had stopped. A voice came over the loudspeaker. “We have now landed on Mars! Please take your belongings and follow the escort out of the space shuttle.”
Nora was so excited she could hardly believe it. With her mom and dad she followed the escort out of the shuttle and into a small forest.
The escort said to them “While you are here, you must treat Mars well. Do not pollute it, treat the animals and plants with respect, and live off the land. Then the escort said “goodbye” and went back on to the shuttle. The crown dispersed into the forest to find a place to begin their lives.
Nora’s family watched the shuttle as it took off. Then they walked through the forest and found a quiet place by a stream. They set up a teepee that they made from tree branches and pine boughs.
Then Nora saw something hopping in the grass. As she looked she saw a fuzzy little ball with purple antennae and a long tail. It was a Looparoon! She picked it up and put it in her coat pocket. It snuggled up inside. “Mom?” She said. “Can I keep it?”
“Sure.” Her mom said. “As long as you take care of it.”
After they ate dinner they all went to bed. As Nora went to sleep she could not imagine she was actually going to live on Mars for the rest of her life. She thought about all the adventures she would have on this new planet. Her Looparoon cuddled up next to her, and she fell asleep.
“Nora!” Her mom yelled. “You’ll be late for school! I made a pot of oatmeal for you. Happy birthday, honey!”
Nora got out of bed. Could this all really have been just a dream? As she got ready to leave for school she felt in her coat pocket.
Friday, March 9, 2007
