“We’ll find a way back home if it’s the last thing we do!” he had said.
“I’ve found a way!” Junior jumped up. Senior had startled him. “Come here!” Junior followed him back into the building. Mr. DaLoiff was fuming in a corner. When he saw Senior back inside, he jumped up.
“Can I tell you...?” he began. Senior didn’t listen. Junior stopped running and looked back at him. Senior was so anxious to get home that he didn’t let Junior listen either. He grabbed him by the arm and ran to the Earth section, still malfunctioning and just static was displayed. Senior instructed Junior on what to do.
“When I say ‘go,’ you jump at the screen, and I’ll be right behind you.” Senior stood on the cylinders. It took a couple of seconds, then they spun clockwise and simultaneously moved downward until they were the same height. “GO!” screamed Senior, and Junior jumped. But instead of going through the screen, he bounced off of it and landed in front of Senior’s feet. Senior was confused. “What happened, sir? How come he didn’t go through?”
“Well, it only works if you jump through a working screen. Since this one has static, it’s not working. I’m afraid you’re stuck here.”
“NOW you tell me!” shouted Senior.
“I’m bored,” said Junior. “What can I do?”
“Do you want to play Postball?”
“What-ball?” said Senior.
“Postball!” said Mr. DaLoiff. He led them to a grassy field outside. There was a large triangular section marked off by a fence. Next to it was a floppy swing attached to the tallest branch on a high tree. The swing had a headrest, like a chair. On the swing was a bright yellow volleyball.
“How do you play?” asked Junior.
“Well, it’s very simple. You take the ball and sit on the swing. Then you kick the ball into the field. If it touches the fence, you get a point. Then you keep playing until one person gets 20 points. If you don’t kick the ball into the field, or if it doesn’t touch the fence, you don’t get a point, but you don’t lose any points, either,” explained Mr. DaLoiff.
“So, who goes first?” asked Junior.
“I think you should go first,” said Senior. Junior ran over to the swing. He grabbed the ball, and then he saw just how floppy the swing was. He hesitated a moment, and then sat down. A seat belt appeared and strapped him in, making Junior gasp in surprise. Then the swing started to swing itself. Junior felt like he was about to fall off, but the seat belt held him in. It went very high. Junior looked down at Mr. DaLoiff and Senior. They looked like ants!
“Just kick the ball,” Junior thought. He decided the easiest way to do it was to drop-kick it, so he did that. Because of the extra speed of the swing, the ball went really fast. Pretty soon it was so far away, Junior could barely see it! When it stopped, a green check mark appeared where the ball had stopped rolling. The swing started to slow down, and it stopped. Mr. DaLoiff was clapping.
“Way to go! On the very first try, too! Did you know that is one of the hardest things for us to do?”
“Uhhh, yeah?” said Junior. “Y-your turn, Dad.” Senior sat down and the seat belt strapped him in. When the swing was at its highest point, Junior could not see his father. Suddenly he saw a yellow dot emerge from the swing. It landed in the field, and a big red X appeared where the ball stopped rolling. Senior stopped swinging, and he looked disappointed.
“I’ll keep track,” said Mrs. Hyken. She wrote the score on the sidewalk using tally marks: # of rounds: 1; Junior, 1; Senior, 0.
Then it was Junior’s turn again. He sat down in the swing and drop-kicked the ball. A green check appeared. Then Senior kicked it and a red X appeared. Then Junior kicked it and another red X appeared.
By the end of the game the score was # of rounds: 26; Junior, 20; Senior, 19. Junior had beaten his own father by one point!
TO BE CONTINUED
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