Against All Odds Read Online Free

ignition.”
    Squeak wiped the dust from his goggles and stared back in confusion. “What happened to your hair?”
    Boney ran his hand over his head. “You should talk. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
    The two boys turned to Itchy. His hair was even more clownlike than usual.
    “What?” He looked at his watch. “Hey! It’s ten after five. We’d better get this over with because I’m starving.”
    Squeak raised his eyebrows. “You said it was only ten
to
five.”
    “Did I?” Itchy took his watch off, shook it, and held it to his ear. “It’s still ticking …”
    “Something’s not right,” Squeak said.
    Itchy licked his lips and spat. “Man, it’s dusty out here. I’m going to die of thirst.”
    “Seriously … there’s something really unusual going on,” Squeak said.
    Boney held up the airplane manual. “Is anybody at all interested in the test run?”
    “Uh, yes, of course, in a minute …” Squeak dug his telescope from his bag and raised it to his eye to scan the surroundings one more time, then abruptly lowered it, cleaning the lens with the corner of his T-shirt. “I can’t see a thing.”
    Itchy looked over his shoulder. “Does anyone else feel strange?”
    “Strange how?” Squeak asked.
    “Stranger than usual. I feel like I have a big hole in my stomach.”
    Squeak frowned. “But you always have a hole in your stomach.”
    “Can we get on with it?” Boney said. He blew the dust off the manual and looked for the proper page. “Are we ready?
    Squeak nodded.
    “Ignition.”
    Squeak engaged the switch on the black control box and the
StarSweeper
roared to life. The jet engines whined, creating small tornadoes of swirling dust behind the plane.
    “Lights,” Boney called out over the noise of the engines.
    Squeak flicked another switch and a set of small lights appeared along the length of the plane, with several red lights on the tail and one large white light at the front.
    “Flaps.”
    Squeak moved a lever back and forth. The flaps on the wings responded with small waving movements. “Prepare for takeoff.”
    The plane lurched forward, engines whining loudly as it slowly rolled toward the edge of the cliff. Squeak taxied the plane to within ten feet of the edge, then turned to Boney. Boney drew in his breath.
    “Takeoff!”
    Squeak pushed the throttle. The engines began to sing, and the
StarSweeper
skipped along the ground, wheels bouncing over the gravel as the plane picked up speed. It streaked toward the edge of the cliff, dropped over the side, and was gone in a puff of dust. Boney and Itchy gasped. Seconds later, the plane reappeared, rising in the air, and tearing across the sky like a supersonic dragonfly.
    “You did it!” Boney and Itchy cheered, jumping up and down.
    Squeak smiled as he worked the controls, the plane arcing in a wide circle around the sun.
    “Do a loop-de-loop!” Itchy said.
    Squeak’s fingers moved easily over the buttons. The plane shot into the air, engines surging louder as it climbed, then slowly curved back, scribing a perfect loop as it lassoed the clouds. Squeak pushed the plane harder, the craft twisting like a corkscrew until he let it drop in a spiral free fall.
    Itchy clutched his hair. “It’s going to crash!”
    The plane suddenly powered back to life and zipped across the sky. Itchy applauded. Squeak smiled. He flew the plane around, testing its maximum velocity and control for several minutes before bringing it in for a landing. Its wings dipped up and down as it navigatedtoward the cliff. Hitting the parched ground, the plane jounced across the gravel, its engines winding down until it came to a stop in front of the boys.
    “Amazing!” Boney shouted.
    Squeak beamed. “Gentlemen, our test flight was a success.”
    “You’re definitely going to win the grand prize,” Boney said, clapping him on the back.
    “Yeah, that was great,” Itchy agreed. “But can we go home and have supper now? We’re going to be