Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 "This is amazing!" a well-rested Merle exclaimed the next morning, inspecting the sleek drone resting on the wooden floor of Michael's bedroom. "You didn't seem to care at all about it last night," Pearl said from her tiny dressing room in their squirrel mansion.

"I was trying to sleep while you two were droning on about 'drone this and drone that,'" Merle replied, proudly smiling at his pun. "I never imagined it would be so spectacular! What does it do?" "It flies." Michael pointed to the four blades atop the drone. "These propellers spin around really fast, and it lifts off the ground. You control it with this remote." Michael showed Merle the drone remote control that Larry the squirrel had retrieved from the yard. "Like a bird?" Merle asked in wonder. "Yup. Just like a bird." Michael clicked on the remote, and the propellers started up. Merle jumped back in surprise as the drone rose off the ground. With two swipes of the joystick, the drone lurched forward, stopped short of hitting the wall, then zipped back in the opposite direction toward the door.

Merle laughed like a four-year-old opening a gift on Christmas. "Can I try?" "Sure. But try not to run into anything," Michael said as the door opened and Justin walked in, the drone hovering near his face. "Cool drone," Justin commented. "Where'd you get it?" "Captured it from Edgar last night," Michael said. "He was using it to TP our house." "That was going to be my next question," Justin said. "Your house looks so flow-y."

Pearl gazed out the window at the billowing strands of white. "I think it's pretty." "I think cleaning it up is gonna stink," Michael replied. "Come on, Justin." He and Justin headed off to school, waving goodbye to Merle and Pearl. With the family cat, Mr. Nemesis, safely locked in Michael's sister, Jane's, room, Merle spent most of the morning flying the drone around the house. He managed not to break anything as he was getting the hang of the remote, but he did bump into a few things, including the on button of the television. "Glaucomys volans, or the Southern flying squirrel, can jump from tree tops and glide like a bird on the wind," the nature documentary announcer said in his buttery English accent, as a flying squirrel leaped off a branch and sailed through the treetops. Merle couldn't believe his eyes. "Pearl! Look at this!" Merle yelled, the drone hovering above his head.

"I had no idea we had flying cousins!" As it turns out, flying squirrels can be found in many different parts of the world, just not the part Merle and Pearl were from. "Would you look at that...," Pearl marveled. "It's more of a glide than a fly, though." "It's still amazing! I wonder if I've got any flying squirrel blood in me?" Merle wondered, eyeing the drone. "Don't get any silly ideas," Pearl warned. "Too late," Merle said.