In the middle of the classroom, Mr. Vern steadies his star pupil by the belt as he reaches for the very top of the rocket. With his fingers stretched, Gonzalo places a hollow balsa wood nose cone right on the tip.
The rocket is fantastic: slender and smooth, painted in red and gray school colors, with four thick black rubber fins at the bottom. Long connecting wires extend from the base to a crude junction box—and from there to the back of the ancient Dell computer, which sits precariously on a nearby desk.
It may be the first suborbital vehicle in history constructed from a muffler pipe and mud flaps—but it’s got a functioning altimeter and radio control. And to the kids in the room, it’s just about the coolest thing they’ve ever seen.
As everybody cheers, Gonzalo looks hopefully toward the door. Where is Tyler Bron? Why isn’t he here? It’s been a whole week. He just… disappeared.
After the first day Bron didn’t show up, Gonzalo got his abuelo to open the door to his room at the motel. Everything was still there, including the shorts and T-shirts Gonzalo found for him. He’d be back. Right? Nobody just walks off in the middle of a project. Not a project this important.
Vern follows Gonzalo’s gaze and tries to distract him with a little cheerleading, raising his voice so the whole room can hear.
“Hey. You guys all did a terrific job. This is first-class. Really impressive.”
“The telemetry still isn’t right,” Gonzalo says, climbing down from the chair. He taps a few keys on the computer and brings up a sample pattern. To Vern, it looks like his latest EKG. At this point, the kids know more than he does. And no wonder. They were taught by a master.
“We’ve got only two days,” says Gonzalo. “We need to get this done.”
The other kids are right with him. As the younger ones run their fingers over the rocket’s smooth fuselage, Gonzalo’s classmates and some of the older kids huddle around the computer and break out their calculators and notepads. A mini mission control.
Failure is not an option.
The truth is, Vern and every other teacher in the room has given up on this terrific project’s making one whit of difference. They’ve all got their résumés ready, just marking time until the final bell of the final day.
But Gonzalo hasn’t given up. Not by a long shot.
Chapter 43
Two nights later
Showtime.
The whole town is gathered on the plateau—the exact spot where Bron gave his astronomy lecture. But tonight, there’s a cloud cover. The sky looks like black velvet.
Vern fires up the generator. The computer comes to life. A mild cheer from the crowd. So far, so good.
A red Mazda Miata rolls slowly across the sandy pathway to the launch site. Luke and Timo high-five everybody from the car windows as they inch toward the front row for the best possible view.
As Vern and a couple of the other teachers secure the launch platform, Gonzalo scans the dark desert.
At first, nothing. Then… two yellowish dots in the distance.
Headlights! It could be him!
Gonzalo runs to the edge of the plateau and watches the vehicle on its climb up the winding dirt road.
The car reaches the top and stops at the far end of the crowd. A gray sedan.
It’s not Bron. It’s the Department of Education.
The driver’s side door opens. Ellie Cabot steps out. Business casual wardrobe tonight. After a few seconds, the passenger side door opens. It’s Baynes, her boss. Still wearing a damn suit. At least he left his tie in the car.
Ellie waves. Gonzalo waves back. His invitation worked. But now what? The angels of doom have arrived to witness his science project and pass judgment on the whole school. And his mentor is MIA.
No pressure.
As Vern holds up his hands to quiet the crowd, Gonzalo and his crew review their calculations and procedure one last time. They hardly hear what their teacher is saying in the background…
“Thank you all for coming tonight. We are here to see something truly amazing. A self-propelled rocket designed and built by your children.” Beat. “Without much help from me!” Laughs and polite applause.
“Now, I’d like to ask Gonzalo Alvarez and his team to unveil their project.”
Gonzalo steps to the launch platform and takes one corner of the drop cloth covering the rocket. He nods to three other kids. They each take hold of one length of the plastic, just like they practiced. On Gonzalo’s signal, they yank the cover down to reveal their handiwork—dramatically lit by the headlights on Grandpa’s pickup.
There’s a huge roar from the crowd. So loud it almost covers the sound coming from the sky—thunka, thunka, thunka—getting louder and louder…
A piercing spotlight beam lights up the scene from above. Sand swirls as a sleek helicopter circles and lands on the far edge of the plateau. As the rotors wind down, the lone passenger steps out.
The kids all turn and run toward the chopper like a pack of puppies. But Gonzalo gets there first.
He buries his face in Tyler Bron’s chest.
Chapter 44
FLIGHT CONTROL, begin the countdown!” Bron stands in the middle of the crowd of kids as all eyes shift to the launch pad.
Gonzalo shouts out as his finger hovers over the designated launch key: V for “Vern.”
“Ten… Nine… Eight… “and so on… “Three… Two… One! Ignition!
Gonzalo presses the button. Nothing.
A huge groan rises from the crowd. Baynes gives Ellie a sideways “I told you so” glance. Kids bite their lips and put their hands over their faces.
Bron steps forward and wiggles the connections. He taps at a few more keys.
“Hold it!” A woman’s voice comes from the crowd.
The front line of spectators parts for Willow. Short skirt. Bare feet. She walks right up to the back of the computer table. She does a quick mental measurement of the computer case… and then whacks it on the left side with her flat hand. Really hard.
The digits on the monitor screen blink twice, then hold steady.
Willow looks at Bron. “Sometimes you just need to hit it over the head.”
Bron folds his hands together and gives her a half bow. “Namaste.” Wrong use of the word, but she gets the idea. Bron turns back to the kids.
“Flight Control, repeat the countdown.”
Gonzalo starts again, his heart pounding. “Ten… Nine…”
At eight, the crowd picks up the cadence and counts along.
At four, Gonzalo looks up at Bron.
Bron says, “Wait. Hold the countdown.”
Gonzalo looks up, puzzled. What now? Bron leans over and whispers, “I just need a minute.”
Bron pulls a Sharpie marker from his pocket and walks to the launch platform. He leans over and christens the rocket with a name, writing on the fuselage in clear block letters:
SUNNY-1
He turns to Gonzalo and calls out. “Flight Control… proceed!”
Gonzalo yells, “Three… Two… One! He presses the V key. “Ignition!”
Instantly, a stream of red-yellow flame shoots out of the base of the rocket, along with a belch of gray smoke. The slender cylinder seems to tremble on the platform and then, it doesn’t just lift off… it BLASTS off!
In one second it’s a hundred feet in the air, then two hundred. A stream of smoke marks the path into the sky until it disappears. The computer screen lights up with a tracking arc—a quick upward curve, then a smooth taper downward.
At exactly one minute and thirty seconds into the flight, the screen blinks the words: “Parachute Deployed.” A cheer goes up from the kids around the computer. From somewhere in the crowd, a rooster crows with gusto.
Two miles away in the dark desert, a red-and-gray rocket floats gently to the ground. In the morning, it will be retrieved by a bunch of deliriously happy kids. But for now, mission accomplished!
It actually happened! The flight team is thrilled. Bouncing. Hugging. Laughing. It all worked! The fuel. The flight. The tracking. Everything!
Gonzalo looks at Ellie, standing at the edge of the crowd. Ellie looks at Baynes, who stands next to her with his arms folded. Baynes looks over at Delgado—and nods.