Okay, I have a confession to make. When I signed up for the “Students in Space” program at NASA, I thought we’d take meet a few astronauts and maybe eat some freeze-dried ice cream. I didn’t think they’d stick me on a rocket ship and send me out in space! My name is Jupie Terr, and this is my story, the story of how I discovered a whole new solar system.
My camp counselors told me and my fellow campers that we had been hand-selected to be the next generation of space explorers. Space explorers? No way! The counselors warned us that we would face some challenges along the way, and it would be very dangerous. I ignored that part. What could possibly go wrong, I mean we were just a bunch of elementary-schoolers going into outer-space.
The day the launch came, and I was so nervous. I had never even left the state of Florida, and now I was leaving the solar system! Suddenly, everyone began counting down. Once I left the Earth’s atmosphere, I was in awe—everything is so much more beautiful from space. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise, and my ship jolted backwards. I had been so focused on admiring Earth that I completely forgot about the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter!
It was too late to escape the onslaught of space rock and debris. I shut my eyes and hoped for the best. Suddenly I heard a ‘clunk’ and opened my eyes and realized I wasn’t alone anymore!
“Who are you?” I screamed, flailing my arms in the air.
The green thing in front of me mirrored my actions. He had scales, six long, thin arms, four beady eyes, two stubby legs, and terrifyingly sharp teeth. “Ah! I’m Gorax! Who are you?”
I lowered my arms. “Jupie Terr, space explorer. Why are you on my ship?”
Lowering his arms, all six of them. “I crashed into you when I got stuck in the asteroid storm, and my whole ship was torn to pieces. I had no where else to go, so I teleported on board. If you want to get rid of me, I understand. You can drop me off on the nearest planet in the Rasol system.”
I shrug. “Eh, I could use a copilot. I might get lonely otherwise. Where’s the Rasol system, again?”
TO BE CONTINUED…
Read the second part in the December issue of The Match!