Golden Secrets of Summer ✰ Rafe Cameron,

Hermes 24

Treasure Treehouse, 9:56 A.M.

I sat on the branches of the tree, looking up into the crystal clear skies. Where was he?

"Sorry." Rafe said, making his way up the hill.

I heard him climb up the tree and take a seat next to me. I turned to face him, ready to make a joke about his lateness. Even though he wasn't looking back at me, he looked glum. His eyes looked a little red and glossy.

"You don't ever have to be sorry."

I saw a faint smile appear on his face.

"What should we do today?" he asked.

"We should build a rocket." I answered.

"Let's do it."

We got on our bikes and rode to the library. We stood by the librarian's desk, checking out a few books on physics, rockets, rocket science, and whatever else would help us make the science project of the century.

At the checkout desk stood a woman who appeared to be in her mid-sixties. Her eyes were a warm brown, and her hair was white and short, growing out a little bit from the sides, but not long enough to reach her neck. It was neatly curled, like the way people used to curl their hair. Her skin wrinkled around her mouth and eyes. She wore a white undershirt, paired with a light pink blazer.

"Are you two doing a science project?" the elderly lady smiled.

"Nah, we just want to build a rocket." Rafe shrugged.

"Little scientists, aren't you guys?" she chuckled.

"That we are." I agreed.

"How old are you two?"

"12." we said at the same time.

"When I was your age," she paused, as if she was recalling a memory that was so close, but so far, at the same time, "The president talked about sending a man to the moon."

"That's awesome." Rafe said, his eyes growing in amazement.

"It is." she smiled. "Have a great day kids."

"You too Ms." we said simultaneously.

Rafe's Backyard, 2:56 P.M.

We had spent hours doing our research and reading our books. We worked diligently on our rocket in the sanctuary of Rafe's backyard. The array of kitchen supplies laid on a table as we tried making different potions that would give us the desired power.

"How'd they do this at NASA?" Rafe asked, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

He was mixing baking soda and vinegar together.

"They had millions of dollars."

"Oh." he remembered. "Yeah."

I carefully cut triangular pieces of cardboard, making sure they all had the same dimensions.

"No way, elephants are the best animals ever." I argued.

"It has to be blue-whales."

"Elephants literally have super strong memories. Whales just swim a lot."

"Whales see parts of the ocean we can't."

"So what? I see parts of the world whales can't."

"You don't get it; blue-whales are the best. They're so cool!" he continued.

"The only reason you're even saying that is because your favorite color is blue." I laughed.

"Maybe." he responded, trying his best not to laugh.

It didn't work, he ended up laughing.

6:35 P.M.

There it was, in all of its glory. The rocket. It was about a foot and a half tall, painted a bright blue with a window. The wings towards the end were yellow and the top was bright red.

"Time for Mission-what's our mission name?" I asked.

"Apollo 11?"
"Rafe, that is so unoriginal."

"Fine, Hermes 24."

"Hermes 24, preparing for take-off."

It was time for the first launch. Rafe poured vinegar into our engine and ran ten feet back to where I was.

"3...2...1..." he counted.

Nothing.

"C'mon." he urged.

After a minute of waiting, nothing happened.

"Add more vinegar in."

Rafe added in another few millimeters.

"Nothing's happening." I said.

I went to the back and grabbed baking soda. I dumped some more in. We waited for a moment, but there was no sign of take-off.

We did this at least fifteen more times, because the sun was beginning to set. Finally, Rafe came up with a stellar idea.

"Why don't we just add everything in?" he asked.

"Great idea. I don't know why we didn't do that sooner."

Rafe poured in an entire bottle of vinegar and I dumped the entire box of baking soda. For good luck, we added lemon juice on top.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the rocket shot twenty feet upwards. We both jumped back.

"Woah!" he said.

It faded into the clear sky before coming back down and hitting the ground.

"Success!" I jumped.

We cheered at the height of our rocket before picking it back up.

"Finally!" he smiled. "That took forever."

"And all we had to do was add in all of the baking soda and vinegar." I laughed.

We cleaned up and went inside. It was cold, in comparison to the heat we had been working in for the last couple of hours. We shared some apple juice.

"Rafe, I'm gonna head home now."

"Aw, okay." he said, walking me to the front door of his huge house. "Bye Gigi."

"Bye!" I smiled, getting on my bike.

"Call me when you get home!"

"I will!"

Home. 7:27 P.M.

I placed my bike against the garage door and went inside. Grandpa was watching TV and Grandma was reading a magazine.

"Hey kiddo." Grandpa greeted me.

"'Sup?" I responded.

I made my way to the phone in the kitchen, and I dialed in Rafe's house phone. A few seconds later, somebody picked up.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey Rafe, I just got home." I informed.

"Okay, awesome." he said. "My parents just got home."

I heard a voice call in the back.

"Rafe, where's all of the vinegar!"

I laughed. He was laughing too.

"I don't know!" he shouted back loudly. "We must've ran out a while back!"

♫ Chapter 11 Theme Song: Island in the Sun - Wheezer ♫

↳ hey guys!! i hope you enjoyed this chapter! anyways pls don't hate on me for my lack of knowledge in rocket science. it's been a minute since i updated, but i hope you guys liked it. as always, leave your comments and feedback, i'd love to hear from y'all. see you guys next chapter! <3