by Jack Cheng
6M 3S
We’re still stopped. And it’s been—aye yai yai, it’s been almost two hours already! I think I’m getting ants in my pants, except I don’t REALLY have ants in my pants. It’s just an expression.
After our train stopped, one of the workers opened the doors and he said we could all get off the train if we want, we’re going to be here for a while, so I took Carl Sagan out to pee and poop. And that’s when I saw the ambulance.
We started walking over to see what happened, and a few other people who got off the train went over to look too. The paramedics in the back of the ambulance were talking to whoever was sick or maybe dying, and Carl Sagan and I got closer and the person was wearing an oxygen mask on his face and he was nodding and shaking his head at whatever the paramedics were asking him, and then we got even closer and I saw his face more clearly, and I saw his blue bandanna—it was the older kid!
I got a weird feeling in my stomach when I saw that it was him. It was almost like when I eat too much ice cream and my stomach hurts, I get stomach freeze, and then I don’t feel like eating anything for the rest of the day. It was like that. And I think Carl Sagan had a weird feeling or maybe stomach freeze also because he was crying and hiding behind my legs even more than usual.
There was a train worker by the ambulance and I asked, What happened? Did he have a heart attack? But the train worker told me to give them some room and go back to my parents. I looked at the older kid and he looked really tired, and he looked at me but then he looked back down, I don’t think he recognized me. I wanted to tell him that I figured out what he meant when he said he hopes I find what I’m looking for, but then I realized I didn’t even know his name because I forgot to ask him earlier. And then the train worker told me to move back again.
So I walked backwards to give them more room but I was still watching the older kid and I wasn’t paying attention, and I rammed right into someone! I said, Oops! Sorry! And I turned around and it was the martial arts master, except he was a lot shorter than I thought because before when I saw him he was sitting down. His name’s Zed but I didn’t know that yet, I just said Namaste again, and he reached in his robe and he took out a chalkboard that was the size of an iPad, it was his chalkpad, and he wrote on it, Your Brother? and he pointed at the ambulance.
I looked at the older kid again and then I looked back at Zed, and he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would give me any trouble because martial arts masters only fight if they have no other choice. So I told him No, that’s not my brother. He erased his chalkpad and wrote on it, Traveling Alone? And I said I’m not, I’m traveling with Carl Sagan, and then we both looked down at Carl Sagan who was hiding behind my legs.
Zed crouched down and I thought he was going to do some crouching-tiger kick but he was just saying hello to Carl Sagan, and Carl Sagan went up and sniffed Zed’s hand and then he went back behind my legs. I asked Zed, Why do you use a chalkpad to talk, did you lose your voice? and he wrote on it, Vow Of Silence. I asked him what’s his name and he wrote on it, Zed.
We watched the ambulance paramedics take the older kid’s blood pressure and shine a small flashlight into his eyes, they were giving him a checkup like my doctor in Rockview, Dr. Turner, gives me every year. After that they took off the kid’s oxygen mask, and Zed wrote on his chalkpad, Good Sign, but then they put the kid’s backpack in the ambulance too, so I wasn’t sure if it was a good sign after all. Then the train worker told us he should be fine but they’re taking him to the hospital anyway, just in case.
Even though the ambulance drove away already and we’re all back on the train now, we still haven’t moved yet. I don’t know what’s taking so long . . . Shouldn’t we be—
What is it, Zed?
[chalkpad sounds]
Zed just wrote, Is Everything OK?
Sorry Zed, I just—I have ants in my pants because Carl Sagan and I are going to SHARF in New Mexico to launch my Golden iPod into space. We’re supposed to carpool with people from Rocketforum.org and they’re going to be waiting at Blake’s Lottaburger near the train station, but I don’t know if they’ll still be there when we get there.
[chalkpad sounds]
You too? Wait, YOU’RE going to SHARF? I thought you were a martial arts master!
[Zed laughing]
What’s your name on Rocketforum? And where’s your rocket!
[chalkpad sounds]
Zed just wrote, Don’t Use Internet. And underneath it he wrote, Friends’ Rocket.
Then does that mean you don’t have a cellphone either?
Zed just nodded.
But what if we get there really late and your friend and the other carpoolers think we’re not coming and they leave without us because nobody called them?
[chalkpad sounds]
Zed says we’ll figure out a way.
I don’t know, Zed. I really hope so . . .
I still don’t get why we’re not moving yet though . . .
[chalkpad sounds]
Oh, no, I HAVEN’T seen the sightseer car. But this girl Lacey said it was all made of glass so maybe we should go look. Maybe we can see why we’re not moving! Great idea, Zed!
[Zed laughing]
NEW RECORDING 8
5M 27S
We’re FINALLY moving again. We were stopped for so long! Me and Zed are here in the sightseer car now except it isn’t all glass like Lacey said, it’s more like half glass, but the windows really ARE huge though. They curve up all the way to the ceiling and there are chairs that face the windows, so you can watch the scenery go by like you’re watching TV.
Once the train started moving finally everything outside went from flat desert to hilly desert, and Zed watched the scenery and I was watching Zed, and his eyeballs would move back and forth really quick when he looked at the rocks and brown bushes going by. Zed kind of reminds me of my science teacher Mr. Fogerty who’s really fat and has gray hair, except Zed’s not as old and he’s a little smaller and he has no hair. He’s like a bald Hobbit version of Mr. Fogerty—
[loud laughter]
That’s Zed laughing again. I only just met him and he already laughs more than anyone I know. And when he laughs his whole body gets smaller and then bigger like blowing up a balloon.
[Zed laughing]
It’s happening again!
I told Zed I still can’t believe he doesn’t use the internet. I said, How can you not have internet! and I told him I don’t know what I’d do without internet because then I definitely couldn’t learn new stuff as fast. I couldn’t go on Rocketforum or YouTube and I never would’ve found out about SHARF or how to build a rocket, and I couldn’t have Ancestry.com be my Dad Scene Investigator. Zed wrote on his chalkpad, Tell Me More, so I told him that one of the things that Ancestry.com found for my dad was a license to practice civil engineering, and I googled what’s a civil engineer and it said it’s someone who designs roads and bridges and things like that.
Zed held up his chalkpad again and it still said Tell Me More, so I told him that after I found out, I called Ronnie and asked him, Hey Ronnie, did you know our dad was a civil engineer? And Ronnie said, Forget about Dad, it doesn’t do any good to dig up the past, and I told Ronnie I can’t really forget because I have nothing to remember in the first place! And then the whole time Zed’s chalkpad still said Tell Me More, so I told him about Benji and Carl Sagan and my mom and my school and I kept telling him more and more, I told him SO much about everything. Zed’s a great listener, I guess because he doesn’t talk.
[Zed laughing]
What’s so funny, Zed?
Hey Zed, why did you make a vow of silence in the first place?
[chalkpad sounds]
Really? How much did you talk if you talked too much?
[chalkpad sounds]
I don’t know if I’d like not talking. Can we try it?
[chalkpad sounds]
[Alex laughing]
[chalkpad sounds]
[Zed laughing]
[chalkpad sounds]
[both laughing]
Hey Zed, I have a question—are you in love with anyone? I’m trying to record the sounds of a man in love on my Golden iPod.
Zed? Did you hear me?
[train clattering]
[Zed laughing]
Zed just shrugged his shoulders again.
You mean you don’t know? How can you not know? Isn’t it easy to tell when you’re in love with someone? Do you have a wife, or girlfriend?
[chalkpad sounds]
Zed just wrote Ex-wife. I guess that means you’re not in love anymore, Zed.
[Zed laughing]
Hey Zed, you know you’re breaking your vow of silence when you laugh like that. Maybe you should do a vow of not talking instead, that would be more accurate.
[Zed laughing]
I wonder, do you guys have vow of silences where you are?
Do you guys even talk?
Maybe you communicate with pheromones like ants, or you make symbols in the air like sign language.
Maybe you have ten senses instead of five and you use one of the other senses to talk but you don’t call it talking, you call it something else, or you don’t call it at all, you something else it.
Or maybe your whole language is laughing and you have laughs that mean you’re happy and laughs that mean you’re hungry or that you haven’t seen your brother in a long time and you miss him. How do you laugh the words, I’m so excited for SHARF? Ha ha HA hee HA? Ha HA hee ho ho HA ha?
[Zed laughing]
NEW RECORDING 9
7M 4S
We weren’t two hours late to Albuquerque. We were two and a HALF hours late. When we finally got there the sun was already starting to set and the sky was light yellow, and there were a lot of people and cars. Zed helped me carry down my wagon from the train and I said let’s hurry up and go to Blake’s Lottaburger, but then Zed’s friend was already waiting at the train station!
His name is Steve in real life and SteveO on Rocket-forum, and I found out he’s roommates with Zed and they live in LA, which is an acronym for Los Angeles. I said, Hey Zed, why didn’t you tell me Steve was going to be waiting at the station and why didn’t you tell me you live in LA? and Zed just shrugged like, You didn’t ask! And then I asked him and Steve do they know my brother Ronnie because Ronnie lives in LA too and he’s an agent and everyone calls him RJ. Steve said they don’t know him.
Steve is a little older than Ronnie but not as old as Zed. He’s more regular height too, and he has light brown hair and a goatee except it’s not that thick yet so it’s just a kidtee—
[Zed laughing]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, I just started growing it!
ALEX: That’s why I said it’s a kidtee, Steve! It’s not all the way grown yet.
[Zed laughing]
STEVE: Yeah, whatever.
ALEX: Anyway, when Steve saw Zed, he said it’s about time, he can’t believe the train got delayed for so long, and when he saw me he said, Wait, you’re the one carpooling with us? And I said, I am?
ALEX: What happened was that everyone else at Blake’s Lottaburger went ahead but Calexico told Steve I was on the train too, and since he was waiting for Zed anyway, Steve said he could drive me. He didn’t know I was a kid though, and I told him I’m eleven but at least thirteen in responsibility years, and he asked me where are my parents and I told him my mom’s at home and my dad died when I was really little. And then Steve looked at Zed and Zed shrugged like he was saying, Some people just grow up without dads. Even though Zed doesn’t talk, I think I’m starting to understand him.
STEVE: I didn’t know you were going to have a dog with you either and—hey, can you make sure he doesn’t slobber all over the window back there?
ALEX: OK. Come here, boy! Come sit down next to me again. You can look at the desert later.
[dog collar tinkling]
STEVE: Thanks. And careful with the seat too. My girlfriend’s going to be mad if the seat’s all dirty. She’s always nagging at me about how I need to get my car washed and the inside vacuumed.
ALEX: It sounds like cleanliness is really important to her.
[Zed laughing]
STEVE: Yeah, I suppose . . .
ALEX: I guess that’s why you wanted us to finish our fries before we got in the car, huh Steve?
ALEX: Steve got us some fries from Blake’s Lottaburger before he came to the station.
STEVE: Yeah. I would’ve gotten you a burger too but I wasn’t sure if you were vegan like Zed. See, Zed? This is exactly why I’m always telling you that you should get a cellphone again.
ALEX: But how is Zed supposed to talk on the phone if he has a vow of silence?
STEVE: He can send texts at least.
ALEX: Hey Steve, what was that thing wrapped in bubble wrap in your trunk? Was that your guys’s rocket? It looked huge!
STEVE: Yeah, I’ll show it to you after we—
[phone ringing]
STEVE: Hang on.
[headset beeping]
STEVE: Hi honey, what’s up?
STEVE: Sorry, I was going to call—
STEVE: I know that’s what I said. Zed’s train was late, and we’re also giving a ride to this kid who—
STEVE: I said I’m sorry.
ALEX (whispering): Hey Zed, who’s Steve talking to?
STEVE: It’s just the weekend, yeah. We’ll be back Monday afternoon, we’re stopping in—
[chalkpad sounds]
STEVE: I’m not, it’s just I already said we’d be gone for the weekend.
STEVE: Two weeks ago.
STEVE: What is it?
STEVE: Look, I’m sorry. But I did tell you—
ALEX: His girlfriend sounds mean.
[Zed laughing]
STEVE: That was nothing. Just Zed.
STEVE: Look, can we talk about this when I’m back? I’m sorry I wasn’t—
STEVE: OK. Bye.
[headset beeping]
[car passing]
ALEX: That was Steve talking to his girlfriend. He has a headset, which is a thing you put in your ear that lets you drive and talk at—
STEVE: Hey Alan, can you—
ALEX: My name’s Alex.
STEVE: Sorry—Alex. Can you not do that right now? I just want to listen to music.
ALEX: OK.
NEW RECORDING 10
9M 46S
It was halfway dark when we got to the SHARF site. And now it’s all the way dark, and if my voice sounds quiet to you guys, it’s because I’m whispering. I think most people are asleep.
We haven’t had time to meet anyone yet. Calexico and the other carpoolers were already in their tents and RVs, which is an acronym for Recreational Vehicles. The site here is just really flat desert with wide mountains in the distance, and when I first saw the tents and RVs on our way in, it felt like we were driving toward a colony on Mars, except instead of being red and orange it was gold and brown and a little purple.
I really should’ve practiced setting up my tent before I came. Steve parked his car in front of where our tents were going to go and he kept on his headlights so we could see, and I was watching him and Zed set up their tent and trying to do what they were doing. But it’s harder than it looks. Also, Carl Sagan kept standing on our tent and I know he was just trying to help but it wasn’t making things any easier, so I started yelling at him to get off and he started crying.
I didn’t mean to get mad at him, I was just frustrated because the guys had their tent set up already and ours was still two-dimensional.
I guess Zed heard my yelling or Carl
Sagan’s crying because he came over, and I held on to Carl Sagan’s leash while Zed set up my tent. He almost had to stand on his tippy-toes to reach over to hook the middle hooks onto the wobbly poles, but he got it finally and then my tent wasn’t two-dimensional anymore. It could stand by itself. I put Carl Sagan inside and then we staked everything to the ground with the tent stakes, which look like upside-down letter L’s, they don’t look anything like stakes you use to kill vampires.
Steve turned off his car lights and put on his headlamp, which is a flashlight you wear on your forehead and it shines wherever your head’s looking. It’s SO cool. We moved all our stuff into our tents and then Zed pointed at him and Steve’s tent like, Do you want to come hang out?
I told him thanks for the invitation but maybe later because I have to finish gluing my rocket. I said I brought my rocket in sections because otherwise it wouldn’t fit in my duffel bag, so I still have to glue the sections before the launch tomorrow because the glue needs time to dry.
Zed stood there for a second and then he gave me a thumbs-up, and then he went into him and Steve’s tent and I went in mine and glued my rocket. I had to hold my flashlight with my feet while I glued the sections, I wish I had two extra arms or at least a headlamp, and it took me FOREVER to glue everything. Except not really forever because that would mean I’m still gluing them. It took like an hour. By the time I finished, Carl Sagan was already asleep, and I looked outside at the guys’s tent and it was still glowing.
I went over and I said, Are you guys still awake? and Zed unzipped the tent door and let me in, and him and Steve’s tent was even bigger than it looked from the outside, it was SO huge. Except not as huge as the Quidditch World Cup tent in Harry Potter because that’s just a movie and it’s special effects. The guys’s tent could probably hold like seven people.
I sat down on Zed’s sleeping bag because Zed had a round pillow he was sitting on, and Steve was sitting on his own sleeping bag. His headlamp was hanging from a clip in the ceiling like a chandelier and he was holding a small can of something, and I said, Hey Steve, are you drinking Red Bull?