George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt Read Online Free PDF Page B

George.
    â€œI’ll never like another pig as much as Freddy,” declared Annie. “He’s my best pig ever!”
    â€œAnnie!” they heard Susan calling through the house. “Annie, we have to go!”
    â€œFreddy thinks you’re the best,” said George. “And he’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”
    â€œBye, George,” said Annie.
    â€œBye, Annie,” said George. “See you in space.”
    Annie walked slowly away. George climbed into the pigsty and sat on the warm straw. “It’s just you and me now, Freddy, my cosmic pig,” he said sadly. “Just like it was before.”
    Â 
    After Eric, Susan, and Annie had left, it seemed horribly quiet in the backyard. The days stretched on and on, each one pretty much the same as the last. There was nothing particularly wrong with George’s life these days. The horrible Dr. Reeper had left the school, and now that George had won the big science competition, he had found some friends to spend his lunch breaks with. The bullies who had given him such a hard time when Dr. Reeper was around tended to leave him alone these days. At home, George had his computer, so he could find out interesting stuff for his homework—or about science in general, in which he was more and more interested—and send e-mails to his friends. He regularly logged on to the various space sites to read about all the new discoveries. Heloved looking at the pictures taken by space-based observatories, like the Hubble Space Telescope, and reading accounts of space journeys by astronauts.
    But although this was all really fascinating, it wasn’t the same without Annie and her family to share these discoveries with. Each night, George looked up into the sky with the hope of seeing a shooting star fall toward Earth, as a sign that his cosmic adventures were not yet over. But one never came.
    Then one day, just as he had given up hope, he got a very surprising e-mail from Annie. He’d written to her lots of times, and in return received rambling messages full of long, boring stories about kids he’d never met.

    But this message was different. It read:
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    George, Mom and Dad have written to your parents to ask you to come and stay over summer vacation. YOU MUST COME! The fact is, I need you. Have COSMIC mission! Do not chicken out!! Elderly loons are useless, so say nothing of space adventures to them. Even Dad says NO, which is situation serious. So pretend is normal trip. SPACE SUITS AT THE READY! YRS IN THE UNIVERSE, xxx A
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    George e-mailed her right back.
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    What?? When?? Where??
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    But her reply was short.
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    Can say no more for now. Make plans to come. Raid bank for ticket and get here, xx A
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    George just sat there, staring at the screen, in shock. There was nothing he wanted more than to go and see Annie and her family in Florida. He would go in a heartbeat even if there wasn’t an adventure. But how? How would he get there? What if his parents said no? Would he have to run away from home and hide on an ocean liner to get there? Or sneak onto an airplane when no one was looking? He’d slipped out into space through a computer-generated portal when he wasn’t supposed to. But getting to America suddenly seemed far more complicated than fishing someone out of a black hole. Life on Earth…, he thought. Much trickier than life in space.
    Then he had a good idea. Gran. That’s who I need . He e-mailed her.
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    Dear Gran. Must go to America. Have been invited to stay with a friend but need to go SOON! Is very very important. Sorry can’t explain. Can you help me?
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    The answer pinged back in just a few seconds.
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    On my way over, George. Sit tight, all will be well. Love Gran
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    Sure enough, just an hour later, there was a ferocious banging on the front door. George’s dad went to open it, but as soon as he did, he was barged out of the way by his