Chapter 5

I stared at Alex’s back as he hastened out the door of our office. I wanted to call out after him, “Wait! Alex, don’t go,” but I couldn’t. My former resolve to act on my feelings had vanished, blown away by this bewildering timidness that now governed my tongue. I couldn’t understand what was holding me back. I had never had a boyfriend before, and it was about time. I had been alone too long. And Alex was the perfect guy for me. Maybe too perfect. I thought. What if I don’t live up to his expectations? A sudden image appeared in my head of a man’s frowning face, his lip sneering as he mouthed the words, “You can’t do it Luna.”

I shook my head. That’s stupid. I am a smart, capable person. I can do anything I want, including ask Alex out. Heck, I can even make it to the moon! I’ll prove it!

I spun around in my chair, afire once more for my secret project. I unlocked the padlocked drawer on my desk and took out papers, notepads, and sketchbooks, all covered in scribbles. I took down a book from the shelf, and opened it to an earmarked page. I worked feverishly. Tonight I seemed to be making more progress than usual. When I finally looked up from my calculations, I could see by the red glow of the digital clock on Alex’s desk that it was almost 1 A.M. But I didn’t want to stop now. I was on the brink of a breakthrough. I wasn’t even sleepy; it must have been all that coffee. But my back ached, and my neck had a crick from being hunched over the desk for so long. I stood up stiffly. I would go outside and get some fresh air and then continue working.

As I wandered through the corridors of the National Academy for the Spy Association, I thought about all the exciting things that went on here. This place was so important to America. It produced spies that would keep our country safe from the Russians. And I was a part of it. I passed through a gateway lined with security lasers that I had invented and installed. The tiny beams of light glanced over my body, and then vanished.

I should feel satisfied, I told myself. I am using my talents for a good cause. But I wasn’t satisfied. And neither were the American people. Spies were all well and good, but they would always be backstage. What the people really wanted was the greatest feat of all time: landing a human on the moon. All the spies in the world couldn’t beat the Russians better than having an American flag planted in the ground of the final frontier.

I was in a courtyard somewhere within the NASA complex. The chill November wind nipped my face, and I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm. I looked up into the deep, dark expanse, and saw the almost full moon shining down at me, so tantalizing. Ever since I could remember it had been my dream to walk on the moon. As a child, I had imagined the moon to be a shiny silver world of fantasy, and I would pretend to fly up there and explore.

Under the huge midnight sky, in the middle of the deserted complex, I felt abruptly overwhelmed. I knew it was possible to reach the moon; it had to be. But even if I finished my plans, how could I possibly construct a rocket and all the necessary equipment alone? It was a daunting task. And on top of that I had to keep up with my other work, keeping up security measures at NASA, and my new project, stifling the doubts of the people that we had indeed landed on the moon. I sighed with frustration. I wish I had something real to show the people, not just a sham. I thought.

Then, the inklings of an idea began to form in my head. It wasn’t in a flash, like a light bulb, but gradually, like trickles of water slowly building up behind an obstruction til all of a sudden the stream bursts through, a rushing torrent.

THIS WAS IT!

The only thing that could convince the people that we really did build a rocket was to build a rocket and show it to them. But this wouldn’t be just a sham rocket, although Director Gooding and the rest of the NASA workers might think it would be. I would implement my plans and have our workers create a real, functioning rocket. They didn’t have to know what was going on. I could direct the building, and have each worker merely work on bits that weren’t too suspicion-raising. This way, I could use materials and workers from NASA to bring my plan to life!

I was hurrying back to my office now, anxious to finish my plans. It would be no good starting to build a rocket if I still didn’t know how it would work. I was bursting with excitement. Now I only had to talk it over with Alex, and then convince Director Gooding that this was a feasible plan.

Alex.

Should he be in on it? It would really be nice to have someone I could talk to about this. And with his intelligence, I’m sure he would be good to bounce ideas off of. Plus, with him being my office mate, it would be hard to hide from him. But I wasn’t sure if I was ready to entrust the safety of my life’s dream to someone else.

I plumped down in my chair, back in my office again. Calm down, Luna. I told myself. You don’t know if the Director will approve your plan anyway. Don’t get your hopes up. But my mind was racing with ideas, and I was smiling as I continued to scratch and scribble away long into the night.