Astrotwins — Project Blastoff by Mark Kelly Page A

grown-ups. If they also got great jobs like astronaut and test pilot, then maybe the two of them should start working harder in school?
    There was time to think about that one. It was still summer, after all.
    The arcade was dim and cavelike, not so popular on a beautiful day. There were plenty of pinball machinesto go around, and Tommy organized the kids into a tournament.
    The merry mechanized music and flashing lights improved everyone’s mood—especially Scott’s and Mark’s, because they were good at pinball. At the end of the first game, Mark, Scott, and Lisa were victorious. Since Mark and Scott had the high point totals, they each played Lisa, setting up the championship match between Mark and Scott.
    â€œPinball is good for two things,” Tommy explained. “First, it’s a way to gauge reaction times, and you have to react quickly in a spacecraft. Second, a good pinball player has to have solid hand-eye coordination, and so does a pilot.”
    Pinball turned out to be fun to watch, and there was a lot of fist pumping, yelling, and excitement. The last game went on for a long time, though, and Barry and Howard wandered away to check out a new kind of game played on a screen like a TV’s. In it, you used lines that acted like Ping-Pong paddles to bat a white dot back and forth. It wasn’t as interesting as pinball, but Barry and Howard still liked it. What could possibly be better, after all? The combination of a game and TV!
    By the time they returned, Mark was clasping his hands over his head like a boxing champ, and the Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four” was playing. Scott scowled. Hehated to lose—especially to his brother. Anyway, it was a dumb game—just luck and buttons.
    Now it was time for lunch, and the kids made their way back to Main Street, where they were supposed to meet Grandpa. Only when they got to the benches under the trees, Grandpa was nowhere to be found . . . .

CHAPTER 22
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    â€œIsn’t this where he said he’d be?” Mark looked around at the benches beneath the shade trees at the end of Main Street.
    â€œI have an idea,” said Tommy. “Let’s make finding Mr. McAvoy part of the game. Whoever does gets a point—whether it’s for an individual or a group. Meet back here”—he looked at his watch—“in twenty minutes, at one o’clock.”
    â€œCome on, Howard,” Egg said. “You’re with me.”
    â€œWhat?” Howard said. “Oh. All right.”
    Mark heard his stomach growl. All the kids had spent the morning running around with nothing to eat, and only the occasional stop at a water fountain. He was hotand tired and hungry.
    Scott said to Mark, “Since he’s our grandpa, let’s stick together.”
    â€œDeal,” said Mark. Together they took off at a jog, determined to cover maximum territory no matter how hot and sweaty they were. From Main Street to the Ferris wheel to the carousel they ran, dodging teetering toddlers. Twice they thought they saw him, once in line for lemonade and once at a hamburger stand, but both times it turned out to be only a grandpa look-alike.
    No luck. Twenty minutes more exhausted, hungry, sweaty, and thirsty than before, they were back at the rendezvous, where they were astonished to find Grandpa there already.
    From the smug expressions on Egg’s and Howard’s faces, the twins could tell they must have been the ones who found him.
    Scott and Mark were glad to see their grandfather, but equally mad that they hadn’t gotten the points.
    â€œWhere were you?” Mark asked.
    â€œHow did you find him?” Scott asked Egg and Howard.
    â€œI’m fine; thanks for asking,” Grandpa said.
    â€œSorry, Grandpa,” Scott and Mark chorused.
    â€œI got a bit warm outside and went into the soda fountain.” Grandpa pointed.
    â€œAnd we found him by asking people if