Read Online Californium by R. Dean Johnson - Free Book Online Page A

We’re just getting to the Clash, which actually sounds like real music, when Treat’s mom says it’s time to go. They’re heading to Treat’s grandma’s house in LA.
    If we still lived in Jersey, I’d run home to catch the Saturday
Game of the Week
. My dad would be waiting for me, trying to get Brendan to sit down for an inning or two and trying to convince Colleen the reason some balls are called foul balls is because of the funny way they fly through the air, like chickens. But my dad’s at work, so me and Keith stop in the park to practice some new moves for the Berlin Wall game.
    I’ve been reaching the wall three steps before Keith, slamming my back against the blocks, dropping my hands down, and locking my fingers just as Keith gets to me. His right foot lands in my hands and I pull up hard, launching Keith to the top of the wall. It’s about our tenth try and Keith finally makes it to the top without dangling and needing a second push. He reachesback to pull me up, just the way we planned. But as Mr. Krueger said on our first lab day, “If everything worked out the way we had it in our heads, we wouldn’t need to experiment.” Right as our palms slap together, Keith slides off the wall, landing in the grass next to me and going into a crouch.
    â€œDid they shoot you?” I laugh. “We’re done for!”
    Keith gives me a
shush,
his finger pressed to his lips until we both hear the voices on the other side of the wall. Some guy says, “I don’t think this will work even with an extension cord.”
    â€œYou’re right,” says a girl. Astrid. “The patio’s the best spot.”
    Keith grins like we’re real spies now. I’m wondering where Astrid was about five minutes ago when I fell off the wall like I’d been shot and screamed, “Freedom!”
    â€œYeah,” the guy says. “That’ll guarantee everything is level.”
    It stays quiet until we hear Astrid’s glass sliding door thud and click shut.
    Keith looks up at the wall. “Astrid’s having a party.”
    â€œHow’d you get that?”
    â€œWhat do you think she was talking to that guy about?” Keith bobs his head. “She’s having a party. Tonight.”
    I look up at the wall, three inches of scratchy cinder block between my yard and hers, between both our yards and the park. “Do you think she saw us?”
    â€œNo way,” Keith says. “I dropped as soon as I heard the door.” He smacks my chest. “My instincts are trained for that stuff.”
    â€œWell then, did she hear us?”
    â€œWho cares,” Keith says. “She’s having a party. We can spy on it tonight and see how cheerleaders get down.” He hops up thewall without any help from me, first time ever. “Treat is going to be so bummed, hanging at his grandma’s while we hang with cheerleaders.”
    I hop up onto the wall next to Keith. “You mean gawk at them.”
    Keith taps his lips with his finger, fake serious. “Observe. We’ll observe their behavior.”
    â€œIf by ‘observe’ you mean slobber on ourselves while watching Astrid and her friends, then okay, we’ll observe them.”
    .
    Keith shows up at my house after dinner with his backpack on. We say we’re going to study for the periodic table test that’s coming up, which is partly true. We are having a test; we just don’t know when. Mr. Krueger says not knowing when you’ll be tested is the best way to learn. “Anybody can memorize something for one big day,” he said. “You have to live it if you really want to learn it.” He spun around in his chair like he was surrounded by it. Our first quiz hadn’t gone so good. “Come on, people,” he said. “Live it. I know it’s hard when you’ve got to know it to live it, but you can’t start living it if you