Astrid Maxxim and Her Amazing Hoverbike (17 page)

“
Dad, that would be amazing
,”
said Astrid.
 “
You know with your engines and my new Astridium, we might be able to build a horizontally launched space plane
.
”

“
That would cost a lot of money to develop
,”
said Dr. Maxxim.

“
But if we could build it, it would bring in all kinds of government and corporate contracts
,”
Astrid replied.
 “
Even as a ferry to the International Space Station we could recoup our development costs.  There are already a dozen companies working on launch vehicles and spacecraft.  Should
n’
t Maxxim be in there too
?
”

Dr. Maxxim smiled.

“
I would need a lot of help on this
,”
he said.

“
I
t’
s only two months till summer vacation
,”
said Astrid.

That Saturday was the last day of March.  Joyland, Maxxim Cit
y’
s local amusement park opened.  Each year, the tow
n’
s kids and adults poured through the gates each weekend in March, April, and May; and then the park opened every day all summer long before going back to a weekend only schedule in September and then closing for winter in October.  This first day was crowded but Astrid and her friends made their traditional first day pilgrimage.  They rode the Screaming Pterodactyl and Texas Twister roller coasters, played miniature golf, and ate deep fried Twinkies.  Toby even won an extra large teddy bear for Astrid by knocking down all six milk bottles, something Astrid had long ago decided had been rigged so as not to ever happen.  All in all, it was a wonderful day, but Astrid did
n’
t enjoy it as much as she could have.  She still worried about Austin.

Though her mother kept her informed on Austi
n’
s improving condition, the fact that he was in a far away city meant that none of the gang could go visit him.  He did
n’
t return to Maxxim City until Friday April sixth.  The next morning his grandmother drove him to the Maxxim home, where he was greeted with shouts o
f“
surprise
!”
when he entered the front door.  Austin looked fully recovered.  The doctors in Phoenix had saved his hand.  While he was in the hospital, he had lost about ten pounds and did
n’
t seem quite as ungainly as he had before.

Astrid, Toby, Denise, the two Valeries, Christopher, all their parents and Tob
y’
s great aunt, as well as Austin and his grandmother ate cake and ice cream, sang songs, and played silly games until almost eleven.  Then Astrid called her friends together.

“
Come on out back
,”
she said, giving Mr. Brown a wink.
 “
I want to show you something
.
”

They went through the family room and out into the yard, the adults all following.  Sitting neatly in a row just in front of the swimming pools were seven hoverbikes.  The first was Astri
d’
s original orange, which she had modified to hold a second battery.  The other bikes looked nothing like hers.  They were sleek and ultra-modern and looked like they were ready for an air race.

“
There are seven of them
,”
said Astrid.
 “
One for each of us
.
”

The kids all whooped.

“
What do you think, Austin
?”
she asked.

“
The orange one is kind of old-fashioned
,”
he said.
 “
I guess that on
e’
s mine
.
”

“
Do
n’
t be silly
,”
she replied.
 “
Tha
t’
s mine.  Yours is the blue one
.
”

“
But tha
t’
s the coolest one
!”
he said, excitedly.

“
I picked each one out special for you
,”
continued Astrid.
 “
Denise, yours is yellow, of course
.
”

“
Of course
,”
said Denise.

“
Christophe
r’
s is green
.
”

“
Because my favorite color is green
,”
said Christopher.

“
Right.  Valeri
e…
I mean Regular Valerie, yours is purple, and Robot Valerie, yours is purple with a metallic stripe
.
”

“
The
y’
re beautiful
,”
said the two Valeries at the same time.

“
And Toby, yours is blac
k
…”

“
Because I do
n’
t have a favorite color
,”
Toby completed.

“
Because i
t’
s cool
,”
said Astrid.

“
And they all have matching helmets
,”
said Dr. Maxxim.
 “
Those are from me, and I do
n’
t want to see any of you kids riding without one
.
”

The seven friends ran to the hoverbikes, jumped on, and began putting on their helmets.

“
You also all need to sign these release forms
,”
said Mrs. Maxxim.

“
They can do that later
,”
said her husband.

She did
n’
t reply but did
n’
t look any too happy either.

Once she had her helmet firmly in place, Astrid pressed the power button and felt the hoverbike hum to life as it slowly lifted off the ground.  She could hear the sounds of the other bikes, along with peals of laughter from her friends.  Pulling back on the controls as she pressed her foot down on the throttle, she guided the hoverbike upward.  Looking behind her, she watched as one after the other, her friends followed her as she shot up into the sky.

The End

Wesley Allison is a teacher and author living in Henderson, Nevada with his wife Victoria and his two grown children Becky and John.  For more information about the author and upcoming books visit the City of Amathar Blog at
http://wesleyallison.com
, the Author Wesley Allison page on Facebook, or follow @Wesley_Allison on Twitter.

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