Chapter 6

6 Pablo, Violet, and Deepak got to work. First, they had to attach the two pieces of wood to the plastic bottle using rubber bands. Violet bit her lip. "I have an idea. Give me a hand!" she said to Pablo and Deepak. They laid the two pieces of wood on the ground and rolled the giant bottle on top. Some of the wood stuck out behind the bottle. "That's where the motor has to go," said Violet, looking at the instructions. Pablo picked up one of the bands. "Are these going to be big enough?" he asked. The rubber

bands were big, but not that big. Dr. Crisp slid into a yoga position. "Looks like you'll have to give them a stretch!" she said, arching her back in cobra pose. Pablo pulled the band a few times to loosen it up. "Somebody will need to climb on top to help get the rubber band over the bottle," he said. "I'll do it!" said Deepak. "Are you sure? You might fall. SPLAT!" said Pablo, clapping his hands together loudly. "Pablo!" Violet frowned. Deepak focused on the bottle. Then he ran and jumped as high as he could. He landed smack on

the side and started to slip. "Be careful!" shouted Violet. Deepak gripped the bottle tightly. He slithered up the side and made his way to the top. "Jumping bell jars!" cheered Dr. Crisp. "You did it, Deepak!" said Violet. Pablo kicked at some rocks on the ground. "It wasn't even that high," he mumbled. Violet turned to Pablo. "Then why didn't you go up there? How will you make it to space if you won't even jump off the ground?" "I'll use my spaceship!" Pablo yelled back. But Violet was already heading toward the bottle. "Come on!" she said over her shoulder. Pablo and Violet were able to get the rubber band around the free ends of wood without any trouble. Violet squatted down and gripped the rubber band. "Now get on my shoulders," she said to Pablo. "Huh?" he replied. "Hurry!" she said.

Pablo climbed onto Violet. "Hey!" she screamed. "Watch out for my hair!" "Sorry, jeez," he said. Violet pulled the rubber band up over her head and passed it to Pablo. "You have to stretch it enough so Deepak can grab it," she told him. Deepak lay over the edge of the bottle and reached toward Pablo. Pablo stretched the band as much as he could.

"This thing is going to snap!" he grunted. "Keep trying!" said Violet. Pablo pulled even harder. Somehow he managed to get the rubber band into Deepak's hands. Thank goodness Violet was so tall! Pablo hopped off her shoulders. They helped roll the rubber band around the bottle. "Way to band together, Makers!" said Dr. Crisp. The trio did the same for the second rubber band. "Now we have to make the motor," said Pablo. He grabbed the big two spoons. "Come on down, Deepak!" yelled Violet. Violet and Deepak broke off the curved spoon heads. They glued them together with one facing up and the other facing down. Pablo tied the last rubber band tightly around the loose edges of the wood. Then they glued the spoon-head motor to the middle of the band.

RING, DING, DONG! "Now, that's how you build a boat!" said Dr. Crisp. "All aboard, Makers!" The trio ran to the bottle. Deepak climbed up easily. He turned around and pulled Violet up next to him. He tried to help Pablo up, too. "I can do it by myself!" said Pablo as he made his way on top of the boat.