“I can’t believe what I’m hearing! It’s not fair to you? What about Doug? It doesn’t sound like you’re thinking about him at all. Wow. I never knew you were this self-absorbed.”

“SELF-ABSORBED? Says the girl who can’t be away from a mirror for more than five minutes.”

Zoe gets up and brushes dust off herself. “Fine. Don’t listen to me.” She goes over and begins helping Doug with his collection.

I stare up at the earth. And for some reason, Mr. Dooley’s words pop into my brain.

ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION WHEN YOU ARE BEING TESTED!

Is this a test? If so, I’m not doing so well.

As soon as that thought hits me, something else almost does. It shoots in from outer space, looking like a small meteorite. “Watch out, Zoe!” I push her out of the way, just as the burning object lands at my feet.

“It’s the token,” I whisper in shock and disbelief.

Zoe and I stand there, staring at the smoldering piece of gold. “Guess it’s time to go,” she says. There’s not an ounce of excitement in her voice. She begins to glide-walk back to the elevator.

Doug approaches me with a smile. “I got what I need.” He leaps over to the elevator.

I pick up the token, and it immediately burns a hole in my space glove. I glide-run as fast as I can back to the elevator, where the golden coin slot is waiting. Zoe is looking down at the ground, her arms crossed. I throw the token in.

Chapter 20
Burning Through the Atmosphere

“Here, I got you a moon rock!” Doug holds out a gray lump and drops it in my hand. “And I got me one too.” He winks. “It’ll be our little secret.”

Okay, this is cool.

“And I got one more.” He holds it out for me to look at.

“Who’s that one for?”

“It’s for Gram. Can you give it to her for me? I’m really going to miss her.”

Of course, you will. Hey, wait a minute . . .

“How can they take you away from your grandma? She needs to see you on a regular basis. It will be good for her health. And you need to see her too. That would be the best thing for both of you.”

Doug rolls his rock around in his palm. “Well, sure, but how are we going to convince—”

I put my hand out. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out. I’ll talk to my parents. They’ll have some ideas. Maybe they can talk to your social worker. Or maybe . . . hey! I got it! I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before.”

“Think of what before?” Zoe asks.

“We can adopt Doug. He can live with us! And then he can see his grandma whenever he wants.”