Tj and the Rockets (8 page)

“Mr. Wilson really knows his stuff,” Gabe explained. “He didn't do the project for me either. In fact, I think we were wrong about him doing kids' projects for them. He's just had so much experience he knows how to pass it along. I might end up being a science teacher like Mr. Wilson when I'm done being a famous hockey player.”

Good grief.

The principal gave out five other awards, but none of them went to our class. That was okay. We'd done way better than we'd expected. Ms. K. had risen to the challenge in her quiet, witchy manner, and we hadn't let her down. For the first time in the history of the school there were great science projects on
both
sides of the gym.

“Let's go look at your invention again, Seymour,” said Gran.

The Ping-Pong ball machine looked pretty much the same as it did when Seymour had first brought it over to my house. It worked the same too. Seymour had tried to use the hinges from the store to make it always fire just one ball at a time. Whenever he got one part of it under control, however, something else would give and—
boom—
it would explode balls everywhere. The cats got so they wouldn't go anywhere near the thing.

That's when Seymour had his true brain wave. He decided it wasn't something for cats to play with at all. It was something
to keep cats away. He renamed it The Cat-Astrophe and set it by the china cabinet. Alaska hadn't gone anywhere near Mom's special ornaments ever since.

“You know, Seymour, if you don't mind, I think I'll steal your idea next year.”

We turned to find Ms. K. and Amanda standing behind us.

“My idea for the Cat-Astrophe machine?” asked Seymour.

“No, no,” said Ms. K. quickly. “I mean the idea of inventing something. I'll suggest it to my students next year. I think it's an idea that might really take off. We might even get more awards than Mr. Wilson's class by encouraging students to let their imaginations take flight.”

Seymour looked at me meaningfully. So did Amanda. What was going on?

“Take off,” said Seymour.

“Take flight,” repeated Amanda.

They looked at me. They looked at my rocket. I figured it out. So did Ms. K.

“Does your rocket fly, TJ?” asked Ms. K. “I thought it was just a model.”

Gran was smiling, but she didn't say a word.

“It does fly,” I said, “but sometimes things go wrong and it flies crooked. Sometimes I forget to put wadding in and the plastic streamers melt.”

I'd finally figured out what that black sticky stuff was.

“Would you like to try?” asked Ms. K. “The prizes have already been awarded. You won't be docked if something goes wrong.”

It wasn't the prizes I cared about. I looked around the room. Mr. Wilson was talking to Gabe, Mia and some of the other kids in our class. He was actually interested in their projects. Maybe next year, now that he knew he wasn't the only teacher who was good at getting kids enthusiastic about science, he'd share some of his fancy equipment. I didn't want to ruin that for other kids.

And there was something else too. I'd done it. I'd figured out how to play it safe around Mr. Wilson. I'd set up my rocket and then I'd sat in one place beside it.
I'd spent the entire afternoon in the gym without anything going wrong. It was time to quit while I was ahead.

I looked at Ms. K. and shook my head. She nodded and began to talk with Gran about some of the other projects nearby.

That's when I felt it. That sick feeling again. How could I feel sick? Everything had gone great. Everything had gone super.

But at that moment I realized something I hadn't understood before. By playing it safe I wouldn't have to worry about things going wrong, but I'd also lose the chance to do something I
really did want to try
.

“Wait!” I said. “I've changed my mind. I think.”

The next moment Seymour and Amanda were helping me pack everything outside before I could change my mind back again.

“Being nervous is okay so long as you use it to do a good job. I'm scared silly every time I try something in front of people,” said Amanda.

I didn't know the smartest kid in class got stage fright.

“It's going to work this time, TJ,” said Seymour. “I discussed all this with Alaska and T-Rex last night when I was showing them the Cat-Astrophe machine.”

Which was ridiculous, but I knew it was Seymour's way of saying he was behind me too.

I went over everything in my head. I knew now that while it was true that model rockets were safe, they were also very finicky. Everything had to be exactly right if you wanted to have a perfect launch, and a perfect launch also meant bringing the rocket back to earth undamaged again.

The body type and engine size had to match. The fins had to be firm and perfectly lined up. The parachute had to be folded properly, not just shoved in. There had to be fireproof wadding between the engine and the streamers or the parachute to keep the heat of the engine from melting the plastic.

It's a good thing I had lots to think about because somehow word had spread and the entire school was now filing onto the side of the playing field to watch.

Gabe was there with his borrowed radar gun to see if he could measure how fast the rocket travelled. Mr. Wilson had hurried down to his laboratory and come back with something that would measure how high it flew. I knew these things were happening because kids were calling across the field, but I tried not to hear. I tried to concentrate on setting up the rocket exactly as it needed to be set up.

At last everything was ready. I nodded to Seymour to begin the countdown.

“Ten, nine…”

His voice was clear and steady on the afternoon air.

“Eight, seven…”

The other kids in our class began to count too.

“Six, five…”

More kids were counting.

“Four, three…”

More and more voices.

“Two…”

It sounded like the entire school.

“One…”

I took a single slow, wonderful breath. The entire school was watching, but the truth is I forgot all about them. It felt like just me and the rocket.

“Blastoff!” called Seymour

FSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS…

It must have been the longest second in history. This was a much larger and heavier rocket, and for two complete heartbeats there was a lot of smoke and sound but no upward motion. It just seemed to sit there on the brink, quivering. Oh no! It really was going to fall apart right on the launchpad!

And then…

Swooo…

ooooo…

oooosh!

It was off! It rose into the air smooth and sleek and eager as if it was born to fly. Up and up and up—sure and strong with a glorious rushing sound both powerful and sweet.

“Yahoo!” shouted Seymour.

The thrust stage was over and momentum alone was carrying it upward against gravity. I could see it slowing. It was wonderfully high in the air.

“One, one thousand. Two, one thousand.”

I was counting under my breath. This time it would be five full seconds before the smaller charge would,
I hoped
, pop the nose cone and I'd find out if the launch was really a success.

“Three, one thousand. Four, one thousand.”

The rocket had reached maximum height. It seemed to hang in the air.

“Five, one thousa…”

And then it happened. A perfect circle of red and white appeared round and full and beautiful against the blue of the sky.

The parachute had opened.

My brave little rocket was returning safely home.

My name is TJ Barnes—rocket man.

The books where Seymour found his facts
about inventions:

Brockman, John (editor).
The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years
. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000.

Caney, Steven.
The Invention Book
. New York: Workman Publishing Co., 1985.

Gardner, Robert.
Experimenting with Inventions
. New York: Franklin Watts, 1990.

Hopper, Meredith.
I for Invention
—
Stories and Facts about Everyday Inventions
. London: Pan Macmillan Children's Books, 1992.

Jones, Charlotte Foltz.
Mistakes that Worked
. New York: Doubleday, 1991.

Platt, Richard.
The Macmillan Visual Timeline of Inventions
. Toronto: Macmillan Canada, 1994.

Vare, Ethlie Ann and Greg Ptacke.
Patently Female—Stories of Women Inventors and Their Breakthrough Ideas
. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002.

Wulffson, Don L.
The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle
. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1997.

Wulffson, Don L.
Toys! Amazing Stories Behind Some Great Inventions
. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2000.

Hazel Hutchins is a prolific, award-winning author for children who knows how to make her readers laugh and cry while keeping them on the edge of their seats. Hazel was captivated by rockets when her son bought a kit at a garage sale when he was ten. He helped her with the technical details for her story. Hazel lives in Canmore, Alberta.