Astrotwins — Project Blastoff Read Online Free Page A

someplace called the Hanoi Hilton. It sounds like a hotel, but I guess it wasn’t so nice.”
    â€œCome on”—Mark jumped on his bike—“where are we goin’ today?”

CHAPTER 8
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    The three boys cruised around town, racing one another, shooting Russian missiles out of the sky, and popping wheelies till they were too hot and sweaty to continue.
    â€œA root beer float would taste pretty good about now,” Mark said as they coasted past the Dairy Queen on Pleasant Valley Way.
    â€œToo bad we’re still payin’ Dad back for the calculator,” Scott said.
    â€œI’ve got money,” said Barry. “You can owe me.”
    â€œNo lie?” Mark made a sharp right so Barry couldn’t change his mind.
    The boys parked their bikes by the restaurant door and locked them together.
    â€œMy mom pays me to balance her checkbook,” Barry explained.
    â€œI knew you were good at math,” Scott said as they walked inside, “but I didn’t know you were that good.”
    â€œBalancing a checkbook is arithmetic, not math,” said Barry.
    â€œThere’s a difference?” Mark said.
    â€œArithmetic is just keeping track of figures like what an adding machine can do,” Barry said. “Math is more like a language to help you work with anything numbers describe.”
    Scott raised his eyes to heaven. “Help!” he cried. “I’m surrounded by know-it-alls!”
    Mark slapped his brother on the back. “You’re probably good at something. And someday, if you’re lucky, we’ll find out what.”
    Scott slugged his brother’s arm, and Barry laughed.
    The root beer floats were forty-five cents. Barry ordered three and paid for them. Then the boys sat down at a table inside so they could enjoy the air-conditioning. When Barry asked about Greenwood Lake, the twins told him they’d done a whole lot of chores for their grandpa.
    â€œSounds brutal. Didn’t you have any fun?” Barry asked.
    â€œWe’re going back next week, and then we’ll have fun. We’ve got this project we’re working on,” said Mark.
    â€œWhat project?” Barry asked at the same time Scott was signaling, What gives? It’s a secret!
    â€œOh yeah,” Mark responded to his brother. “Never mind,” he told Barry.
    â€œHey—no fair,” said Barry. “Didn’t I just lend you guys money?”
    â€œHe’s got a point,” Mark said to his brother, who was slurping the last of his melted ice cream.
    â€œPlus we’re planning to tell Egg,” Scott said.
    â€œYou’ve got a friend named Egg?” Barry said. “Weird.”
    â€œWorse yet, she’s a girl,” said Mark.
    â€œDouble weird,” said Barry. “But what’s the secret?”
    Mark and Scott took turns explaining, and were annoyed when Barry’s response was to laugh so uncontrollably that everyone else at the Dairy Queen looked over to see if he was having a fit.
    â€œDo you have any idea how hard that would be?” Barry asked after he had calmed down. “It took NASA four years to put a man in space, and they had millions of dollars and hundreds of scientists and engineers.”
    â€œThat’s the point,” said Mark. “NASA already figured out how. All we have to do is copy. Same as Scott does in school.”
    Scott ignored the insult. Barry shook his head. “As my grandmother would say, Oy vey! You guys have a lot to learn.”
    Listening, Scott momentarily felt like an idiot. Maybe he and his brother were crazy. Maybe they should just give up and build a go-kart. But then he had another thought.
    â€œMark and I don’t know that much about math. But you do. How about if you come with us to Grandpa’s and help?”
    â€œHey, yeah!” Mark said. “Grandpa wouldn’t mind. And there’s plenty of room in Twin