11 WRITTEN IN THE STARS

CHAPTER 11 WRITTEN IN THE STARS The big lights overhead kept flickering as Alexander's class headed into the hall. "Huh?!" said Rip, stopping at the escalators. The escalators were running, but they were all going down. One by one, the students leaped onto the escalator, and ran up as fast as they could against the falling steps. "It's like... a treadmill," said Nikki, between breaths.

"This star show..." said Rip, "...had better be... awesome." "No... kidding," Alexander huffed. Finally, the panting students finished their climb. They were in a glass-walled room full of plants: the greenhouse. "Hey!" said Nikki. "This is where we fought the veogie monsters!" Alexander hunched over, gasping for breath. He was seeing stars! No, wait. Another lightning bug? He reached out to catch it and— BZZZT!— a tiny spark shot out, jolting his hand.

"OW!" Alexander yelped. "Did you see that?!" "Huh?" said Rip, "I just got zapped by that lightning bug!" said Alexander. He looked around, but the bug had flown off. "Very funny, weenie," said Rip. "Lightning bugs don't zap people." "Maybe not regular lightning bugs," said Alexander. "Come on, guys," said Nikki. "The planetarium is this way."

They followed their classmates up a twisty staircase. It led to a bubble-shaped room with recliner chairs along the walls. "Oh!" said Rip. "We're inside that little dome on top of our school!" Mr. Hoarsely sat at the control panel, turning knobs and pressing buttons. "Welcome to the Star Show," he said. "Have a seat. And don't be scared, even if it gets really"— he gulped— "dark!"

The lights dimmed. And hundreds of stars covered the ceiling. "Oooooh!" said everyone, They all stargazed in silence. But then, with a low hum, the stars began to move. They danced across the ceiling, forming pictures— like a giant dot-to-dot puzzle, "A winged horse!" said Nikki. "A crab!" said Rip. "A bear!" said Alexander. He leaned over to Mr. Hoarsely. "These stars are so cool!" "But I haven't turned on the star machine yet!" said Mr. Hoarsely, flipping switches.

BZZZT! The stars flickered, and began glowing neon green. "Huh?!" said Rip. "Green stars?!" whispered Nikki. Alexander sat boll upright. "They're not stars!" he said. "They're lightning bugs!" "Those guys really get around!" said Rip. The bugs flew every-which-way. Then they came together to spell a message. "Those bugs..." said Nikki, "they must be monsters!" The bugs vanished. The room went dark.