1 Arctic alert

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Chapter One ARCTIC ALERT Kiki put down the wrench and wiped her forehead. It was hot in the schoolyard, and the Ghanaian sun was beating down on her shoulders. She had almost fixed her friend's bike, but the gears still weren't moving smoothly. "Is it working now?" asked her friend. Abina.

"It just needs a little oil," Kiki explained. She turned to her tools, laid out neatly on the upturned box beside her. Picking up the small can of oil, she angled the spout into the bike chain and squirted a few drops among the cogs. Then she turned the pedals and listened to the gentle clicking of the chain. "It should work better now," she said. "They're not squeaking at all," exclaimed Abina. "You are an engineering queen, Kiki." Kiki felt a rush of pride. Working on machinery was her favorite thing. She planned to be an engineer when she was older, fixing things and making people smile the way that Abina was smiling at her now. She waved as Abina cycled away down the dusty road toward her house. As she tucked her wrench and screwdriver into the

special side pocket on her schoolbag, a glow of light caught her eye. She looked up. Shining on the pale blue schoolroom door was a symbol that Kiki knew well. With a cry of delight, she touched the matching badge on her school uniform. The compass sign of the Secret Explorers! The letters N, S, E, and W gleamed around its edges. It meant there was a mission! Kiki zipped her bag shut and ran up the steps toward the schoolroom door, reaching for the symbol with her hand. As her fingers touched the glowing compass, the door swung open. She walked through, screwing her eyes shut in the blinding white light. A blast of cool wind rippled through her hair. The light dimmed and the wind quietened. Kiki opened her eyes and grinned at the familiar surroundings of the

Exploration Station, with its black stone walls and computer monitors set around the room. In the center of the floor was a map of the world, and a shimmering image of the Milky Way was on the domed ceiling. Glass cases displayed the objects that the Secret Explorers had collected on their missions, including fossils, meteorites, and feathers.

Kiki ran her fingers over the computer keyboards on her way toward the comfy sofas at the end of the room. "Kiki—here!" she announced. "Tamiko—here!" A girl with a Stegosaurus clip in her hair came into the room. Tamiko was the Dinosaur Explorer. Next to arrive was a tall girl brushing mud from her hands. "Leah—here!" she said. Leah was the Biology Explorer, full of knowledge about plants and animals. "Ollie—here!" said a red-haired boy in a green T-shirt with a parrot on it. He was the Rainforest Explorer. Next was a boy with dark curly hair. "Gustavo—here!" he said with a cheerful wave. Gustavo was from Brazil, and he was the History Explorer of the group. "Cheng—here!" said a dark-haired boy