Zoey. She would have to do the legwork and dig up some dirt on Katsu’s and Ivan’s scientific specialties. Zoey loved a good mystery. Plus, it involved DNA and genetic code. Anything sciency got her excited.
Zoey,
Need assistance. Research mammoth DNA and genetic code? Also, look into Dr. Katsu Takahashi and Dr. Ivan Petrov. Something is up. Secret room. Eyes everywhere. Pictures attached.
Later,
Maya
P. S. Adventure boy on premises!
Then I opened a new blank message and wrote an e-mail to Mom.
Katsu kept talking. Now he was speaking in a normal voice and I could hear what he was saying. “It was good to speak with you … Yes, I will keep you posted on our progress here at the station,” he said. Then he hung up the phone with a loud clunk.
He glared at me the way a crocodile eyes its prey from right below the surface of the water. He eased closer. His face went neutral, calm as a pool. He leaned on the desk. His sweater was made of knobby green wool—the color of a reptile.
“I see you have been taking pictures.” Katsu motioned to my camera.
“For a school project and my friend back home. I’m photographing the station.” My throat was dry.
“I see. Very studious of you.”
“What are you doing today?” I asked. I tried to read his expression, but his face was too carefully blank. Crocodiles are emotionless creatures. “Working on something secret?” I pried, tiptoeing near the water’s edge.
Katsu blinked slowly but didn’t take the bait. “No, just some boring business. My work begins when the mammoth is brought back.”
“What will you do with it?”
Katsu’s teeth looked small and sharp when he grinned.He reached over to collect his papers. “I will study it in great detail. Just like your father.”
I may not have known what he was up to, but he was nothing like my father. He watched me from the corner of his eye as he left the room, and I wondered if he realized that I was watching him, too.
My stomach rumbled. All this sneaking around was making me hungry. I decided to head for the mess to see what there was to eat.
When I got there, Kyle was digging through one of the cabinets. He had a grease stain on his sweatshirt and a spot on the tip of his nose that made me smile.
“Hey, I found freeze-dried chili. Want some?” Kyle asked. “No one’s here, so I think we’re on our own as far as lunch goes.”
“Sure,” I said. “That sounds great.” Actually, it didn’t. Zoey and I had done an experiment a few years back where we ate nothing but freeze-dried food for a whole week, trying to acclimate our bodies for space travel. (That was a long story, and it involved Zoey’s failed application to space camp.) All the freeze-dried meals came in shiny metallic pouches and
sounded
great from the description. But dried beans and meat weren’t tasty, especially after the water was added. I didn’t tell Kyle that, however.
Once we had reconstituted the chili and heated it up in the microwave, we poured it into mugs and sat down at thetable. I toasted some rolls that I found in a cabinet, but it was hard to focus on the food.
“Is something wrong?” Kyle asked. “You seem sort of jumpy.”
I pushed my chili around in my mug. “It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t sound like nothing.”
I really wanted to confide in Kyle, tell him what I had heard and ask him what he thought. But I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. What if it was nothing? What if I was overreacting? If I told him and it turned out that Katsu was fine, I didn’t want to get Dad in trouble. I decided to change the subject. “I’m just acclimating.” I took a bite of my roll.
“I know how it can be. It’s tough being away from home, especially your first time on an expedition.”
“It’s not that. Though I guess I do miss my mom and my best friend,” I said. Kyle seemed really nice, and of all the people here, he would understand, but I hesitated. “Have you met lots of other kids on expeditions?”
Zoey,
Need assistance. Research mammoth DNA and genetic code? Also, look into Dr. Katsu Takahashi and Dr. Ivan Petrov. Something is up. Secret room. Eyes everywhere. Pictures attached.
Later,
Maya
P. S. Adventure boy on premises!
Then I opened a new blank message and wrote an e-mail to Mom.
Katsu kept talking. Now he was speaking in a normal voice and I could hear what he was saying. “It was good to speak with you … Yes, I will keep you posted on our progress here at the station,” he said. Then he hung up the phone with a loud clunk.
He glared at me the way a crocodile eyes its prey from right below the surface of the water. He eased closer. His face went neutral, calm as a pool. He leaned on the desk. His sweater was made of knobby green wool—the color of a reptile.
“I see you have been taking pictures.” Katsu motioned to my camera.
“For a school project and my friend back home. I’m photographing the station.” My throat was dry.
“I see. Very studious of you.”
“What are you doing today?” I asked. I tried to read his expression, but his face was too carefully blank. Crocodiles are emotionless creatures. “Working on something secret?” I pried, tiptoeing near the water’s edge.
Katsu blinked slowly but didn’t take the bait. “No, just some boring business. My work begins when the mammoth is brought back.”
“What will you do with it?”
Katsu’s teeth looked small and sharp when he grinned.He reached over to collect his papers. “I will study it in great detail. Just like your father.”
I may not have known what he was up to, but he was nothing like my father. He watched me from the corner of his eye as he left the room, and I wondered if he realized that I was watching him, too.
My stomach rumbled. All this sneaking around was making me hungry. I decided to head for the mess to see what there was to eat.
When I got there, Kyle was digging through one of the cabinets. He had a grease stain on his sweatshirt and a spot on the tip of his nose that made me smile.
“Hey, I found freeze-dried chili. Want some?” Kyle asked. “No one’s here, so I think we’re on our own as far as lunch goes.”
“Sure,” I said. “That sounds great.” Actually, it didn’t. Zoey and I had done an experiment a few years back where we ate nothing but freeze-dried food for a whole week, trying to acclimate our bodies for space travel. (That was a long story, and it involved Zoey’s failed application to space camp.) All the freeze-dried meals came in shiny metallic pouches and
sounded
great from the description. But dried beans and meat weren’t tasty, especially after the water was added. I didn’t tell Kyle that, however.
Once we had reconstituted the chili and heated it up in the microwave, we poured it into mugs and sat down at thetable. I toasted some rolls that I found in a cabinet, but it was hard to focus on the food.
“Is something wrong?” Kyle asked. “You seem sort of jumpy.”
I pushed my chili around in my mug. “It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t sound like nothing.”
I really wanted to confide in Kyle, tell him what I had heard and ask him what he thought. But I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. What if it was nothing? What if I was overreacting? If I told him and it turned out that Katsu was fine, I didn’t want to get Dad in trouble. I decided to change the subject. “I’m just acclimating.” I took a bite of my roll.
“I know how it can be. It’s tough being away from home, especially your first time on an expedition.”
“It’s not that. Though I guess I do miss my mom and my best friend,” I said. Kyle seemed really nice, and of all the people here, he would understand, but I hesitated. “Have you met lots of other kids on expeditions?”
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