Stuck on Earth Read online

  I WAITED UNTIL ALL THE LIGHTS

  WERE OUT AND EVERYONE

  WAS ASLEEP.

  Then I quietly got dressed and slipped out of my room. Nebula was waiting for me.

  I switched my data pad to 3-D mode, and a map of the United States floated before us.

  “Here’s where we are now,” I told her, pointing to a spot on the map just outside of New York City. “And here’s where we want to go.”

  My finger moved toward Cleveland, Ohio. Nebula did not look happy.

  “This is where the Thirty-Fourth Annual World Science Fair is being held,” I continued. “Tomorrow is my last chance to enter my Galaxy Glue.”

  Zenon’s stories are stellar!

  Look who says so …

  “Literate and funny.”

  —Denver Post

  “A fun read [with] an energetic heroine.”

  —School Library Journal

  “Zenon has a good chance of becoming the next hot, or, as they say on Space Station 9, ‘thermo,’ thing!”

  —Booklist

  Don’t miss these other Zenon stories!

  Now available:

  Book #1: Bobo Crazy

  Book #2: Zenon Kar: Spaceball Star

  Book #3: The Trouble with Fun

  Text copyright © 2002 by Marilyn Sadler

  Illustrations copyright © 2002 by Roger Bollen

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

  Published in the United States of America by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada

  by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Stuck on Earth / by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Roger Bollen.

  p. cm.—

  (Zenon, girl of the 21st century ; #4)

  “A stepping stone book.”

  SUMMARY: Zenon and Nebula, of Space Station 9, need help from an Earth boy

  when they sneak away from a class field trip to enter Zenon’s Galaxy Glue in the

  34th Annual World Science Fair in Cleveland.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-80022-0

  [1. Science—Exhibitions—Fiction. 2. School field trips—Fiction.

  3. Glue—Fiction. 4. Science fiction.]

  I. Bollen, Roger, ill. II. Title. III. Series. PZ7.S1239 St 2002 [Fic]—dc21 2001048976

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks and

  A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  v3.1

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  1. Galaxy Glue

  2. One-Train-Track Mind

  3. A Bark in the Dark

  4. Benny Gonzalez

  5. The Mystery Man

  6. Broken Dreams

  7. A Clue to the Glue

  8. The Glue’s in the News

  9. Science Triumphs

  10. A Microbe Moment

  11. Zenon’s Guide to Space Station Slang

  About the Creators

  1

  GALAXY GLUE

  “I have a surprise for you today, class!” said my teacher early one Monday morning.

  My best friend and I had just walked into our classroom at Quantum Elementary. A 3-D globe of Earth was spinning slowly in the middle of the room.

  What in the name of Neptune is Mr. Peres up to now? I wondered as Nebula and I slipped into our seats.

  I did not have to wait long for an answer.

  “We are traveling to Earth on a field trip!” cried Mr. Peres. “Pack your bags tonight, because we leave first thing in the morning!”

  I felt my face flare up like a Pandorian sunset. This was the inkiest thing he could have told us. I’d rather float in space without a jet-pack than go to Earth!

  Earth was a universe away from the Mars Malt, my favorite chill chamber on Space Station 9. Gravity was a scorch. It made me feel as heavy as a Lootar. And big skies and wide-open spaces made me dizzy.

  I was completely shivered out. But Mr. Peres didn’t seem to notice.

  “We will be traveling to a small town outside of New York City,” he continued. “My good friend teaches at a school there, and he has agreed to be our host. Then we will visit the United States capital, Washington, D.C.!”

  My classmates cheered as I slumped farther down in my seat. There I remained, in a Martian mist, for the rest of the day.

  That night, I sat down at my data pad to look up Earth. I needed to find at least one good reason to go on this inky field trip.

  I had just started my search when Nebula blasted into my room.

  “Thermo!” she said as a large picture of Earth appeared on my data pad screen.

  It did not take long to find a few good things about Earth. There was a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There were hyperspeed trains. There was the Moons of Jupiter amusement park. But other than that, there was nothing worth going quasar over.

  Then something caught my eye.

  It was an announcement. The Thirty-Fourth Annual World Science Fair was about to be held in Cleveland, Ohio. First prize was fifty thousand frackles.

  “Ceedus-Lupeedus!” I cried as I felt geezle bumps travel up my arms.

  You’re probably wondering why I got so excited about a science fair. Most girls my age think science is inky. Well, cool your boosters because I’m about to tell you.

  I, Zenon Kar, have always loved science.

  In fact, I had just won the Fifth Annual Quantum Elementary School Science Fair with an invention of mine called Galaxy Glue.

  I had been looking forward to the Fifth Annual Quantum Elementary School Science Fair ever since the Fourth Annual Quantum Elementary School Science Fair had ended.

  That was the year I lost to my friend Tad. He had invented a paint that changed colors when he told it to.

  “Stellar Yellow,” he had said to a painted white wall behind the judges.

  The judges gasped in surprise when the wall turned from white to yellow right before their eyes.

  After that, I wanted to dazzle the judges, too. So I began to work on my Galaxy Glue.

  At first, my glue was nothing more than your ordinary mucky paste. It caused paper to stick to paper. And paper to stick to metal or glass.

  As you well know, that is nothing new. I wanted my glue to cause things to stick together that had never stuck together before. And if you’ve never tried to do it, let me tell you, it isn’t easy making things stick together when they don’t want to be stuck.

  Then one night, I had a major breakthrough.

  I was working on my glue in my room. My robotic dog, Bobo, was asleep at my side. I had just taken a sip of a Whambama Smoothie. Then my dad knocked on my door.

  Bobo woke with a start. He knocked my smoothie out of my hand. It fell into my glue. And the glue began to bubble and foam.

  I tried to pick up the Zarkon metal cup that my Whambama Smoothie had been in. But it was stuck to my Calzon glass tabletop.

  Whambama was the missing ingredient. It was what I had been searching for!

  I added whambama to my formula. And suddenly my glue could make anything stick to anything! It was thermo beyond belief!

  When it was time for the science fair, I was the one to dazzle the judges. And I won first place.

  Now here I was, staring at my data-pad screen and the announcement for the Thirty-Fourth Annual World Science Fair. This was my chance to show my glue to the world!

  “That science fair is for adults,” said Nebula, bringing me back to reality. “Mr. Peres will say no.”

  It was true. Mr. Peres would neve
r let me enter my glue in an adult science fair.

  “So I just won’t ask him,” I decided.

  Nebula’s eyes lit up like solar flares.

  “You mean you would sneak off to the fair without permission?” asked Neb.

  That was exactly what I meant.

  “But the fair is in Cleveland, Ohio, Zee!” Nebula tried again. “We’re not going to Cleveland.”

  I did not see that this was a problem either. There were superfast trains on Earth.

  I punched up the hyperspeed-train schedule on my data pad.

  “Traveling to Cleveland from Washington, D.C., on a hyperspeed train takes two hours. That’s no more time than it takes to ride twice around Space Station 9,” I told Neb.

  But Neb did not want to hear it.

  “Something could go wrong,” she said. “You could get kidnapped or lost!”

  “You’re being a Plutar Blanchy!” I told her, shaking my head.

  But Neb still wasn’t listening.

  “Worse yet, you could get stuck on Earth!” was the last thing she said as she walked out the door.

  2

  ONE-TRAIN-TRACK MIND

  The next morning, my parents took me to the departure port. My class was already boarding the shuttle when we arrived.

  “Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!” I said, and hugged them both.

  They knew how scorched-out I was about traveling to Earth, so Mom gave me a few extra frackles for my trip.

  “Treat yourself to something special,” she whispered as she slipped the coins into my pocket.

  I found Nebula sitting by a window toward the back of the shuttle. I hurried over to join her.

  “Hey, Neb!” I said, and slid into the seat next to her.

  “Hey, Zee!” she cried with a quasar smile.

  She no longer seemed flared-up about the science fair. So I decided not to mention it.

  Once the flight took off, Mr. Peres began to lecture us. He didn’t even cool his boosters when the shuttle stewards served our lunch!

  “We live in an enclosed area on Space Station 9,” he said. “When you arrive on Earth, you may be uncomfortable with the big sky and the wide-open spaces.”

  Mr. Peres swept his hand out from his side when he said this. I guess he was making a point about the wide-open spaces. But he knocked my drink out of my hand and into my bowl of Jupiter Jell-O.

  “Ceedus-Lupeedus!” I whispered. He was driving me into hyperspace!

  I watched as my Pluto Punch swirled around in my Jell-O and began to bubble and foam. It made me think of the night my life was changed forever. The night I spilled the Whambama Smoothie into my Galaxy Glue.

  For the rest of the trip, I could not concentrate on Mr. Peres’s lecture. I imagined myself winning fifty thousand frackles at the Thirty-Fourth Annual World Science Fair.

  When we finally touched down on Earth, my classmates started to cheer. I sat there in silence, looking out the window. The sight of all those trees really scorched me out.

  I stepped off the ramp and the gravity hit me like a ton of Zarkon metal. I could barely lift my feet as I walked across the runway.

  The Earth shuttle port was much larger than the port on the space station. There were crowds of people everywhere! They looked strange in their silly hats and Earth clothing.

  We might as well have landed on Fenebula.

  Mr. Peres hurried us aboard a hyperspeed train. We sped out of the station and into the countryside. In no time, we arrived at the Shady Pines Inn, just outside of New York City.

  To my horror, there were pine trees every-where. They smelled funny, and their needles were all over the ground.

  “Jumping Jupiter!” I screamed when one of the needles poked through my space shoes. “If it weren’t for this stupid gravity, I’d be able to pick up my feet, instead of shuffling along like a Lootar!”

  The first few days of our trip, Mr. Peres kept us very busy. He took us to Lincoln Elementary School, where we sat in on some of the classes.

  I could not believe that the windows were open in every room.

  How were you supposed to concentrate?

  There were birds chirping outside. And the flowers and trees made half my class sneeze.

  It didn’t matter, though. I couldn’t focus on anything but my secret plans.

  The first chance I got, I slipped away from my classmates. In the Earth school’s library, I found a map of the United States. I charted the course to Cleveland. I stored the information on my data pad.

  That night, we went to a football game to watch the Tigers play the Falcons. I watched for a while, but I lost interest. It was nothing like my favorite game—spaceball. I mean, football is okay, but how can you get excited about a game played entirely on the ground?

  At halftime, Mr. Peres gave each of us a few frackles for refreshments.

  I didn’t buy any popcorn or peanuts. Instead, I shoved the coins deep in my pocket. Added to the extra frackles my mom had given me, they would be enough to buy two train tickets to Cleveland.

  While my classmates watched the end of the game, I searched the sky for Space Station 9. I thought I saw it. But Mr. Peres said I was looking at the North Star.

  I was happy when the game was finally over. It was too cold on Earth to be outside!

  The next day, Mr. Peres took us to a farm so we could see how food was produced.

  Farming on Earth is much harder than on the space station. On Space Station 9, we control our weather. But on Earth, it either rains too much or too little. It’s either too hot or too cold.

  The whole planet should be under a dome! I decided.

  After a tour of the fields and barns, the farmer’s wife served us ham sandwiches and corn. I helped myself to extra sandwiches. Then I hid them in my backpack for the trip to Cleveland!

  At the end of the day, I was feeling pretty thermo. All my secret plans were falling into place. I couldn’t wait to share them with Nebula.

  That night at dinner, Mr. Peres made an announcement.

  “Tomorrow, we will see what life is like in the city,” he said. “At eleven o’clock sharp, we will be taking the hyperspeed train from here to the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C.!”

  All my classmates cheered.

  After dinner, Mr. Peres lectured for hours about the history of Washington. He showed us a digital movie about the White House and the Capitol building. Finally, he dismissed us. All the kids were yawning. It was very late, almost midnight, and they were ready for bed.

  Me, I had a different idea.

  “Meet me in an hour behind the inn,” I whispered in Nebula’s ear.

  3

  A BARK IN THE DARK

  I waited until all the lights were out and everyone was asleep. Then I quietly got dressed and slipped out of my room.

  When I got to the back of the inn, Nebula was waiting for me. She was sitting at a picnic table under a large pine tree. Her eyes were as big as the moons of Jupiter.

  “What’s blasting?” she asked before I could sit down.

  I didn’t say a word as I switched my data pad to 3-D mode. Within seconds, a map of the United States appeared, floating before us.

  Nebula stared at it with a scorchy look on her face. I knew she was on to me.

  “Here’s where we are now,” I told her, pointing to a spot on the map just outside of New York City. “And here’s where we want to go.”

  My finger moved toward Cleveland, Ohio. I looked over at Nebula. She did not look happy.

  “This is where the Thirty-Fourth Annual World Science Fair is being held,” I said. “Tomorrow is my last chance to enter my Galaxy Glue.”

  I moved my hand away from the map and sat down. Nebula stared at Cleveland for a long time. Then, finally, she looked at me.

  “When do we leave?” she asked.

  I knew there was a reason Neb was my best friend!

  “According to my calculations, if we leave now, we’ll have more than enough time. First we’ll take
the hyperspeed train to Cleveland. Then we’ll enter my Galaxy Glue in the Science Fair at seven o’clock in the morning, when they open. And finally we’ll be back by ten in the morning to leave at eleven for Washington!”

  Nebula liked my plan. And there was a good chance that Mr. Peres wouldn’t even miss us.

  “So let’s blast out of here!” she said.

  Nebula followed me as I set out for the train station. We’d had to travel outside of the city to get to the Shady Pines Inn when we first arrived. So I thought I knew the way back into town.

  But before long, we were lost.

  I pointed my laser lamp down the dark path. Nothing looked familiar.

  It was so frustrating!

  On the space station, I could easily find my way around. The halls were named and numbered. But along a country lane on Earth, nothing was labeled. How in the name of Neptune were you supposed to tell one inky tree from another?

  Then, all of a sudden, there was a loud hooting sound. Nebula and I hit the ground and covered our heads with our hands.

  The noise was coming from one of the trees. I pointed my laser lamp in that direction. Sitting on a high limb was a bird with huge eyes.

  “I think that’s an owl,” whispered Nebula.

  “Are they dangerous?” I asked.

  Nebula did not know. She had seen a picture of an owl in the Earth school we had visited. But she had not learned anything about it.

  We decided to look it up on my data pad. So I punched in O-W-L and began to read.

  “… a night bird having a large head, large eyes, and a short, hooked beak. It feeds on children lost in the woods after dark.…”

  At that, Neb screamed at the top of her lungs and took off running!

  I did not have a chance to tell her that I had made a mistake. I had read a description from the movie Attack of the Killer Owls.

  When I caught up with Neb, she was hiding under a bush at the end of the road.