A Green Christmas!

by Ray O’Ryan

  Zack pulled out three sections of a big green plastic tree. Mom helped him snap the pieces together. When they finished, a big Christmas tree stood tall in the living room.

  “Now it . . .”

  “. . . looks like . . .”

  “Christmas!” the twins squealed with delight.

  “Hey, I found our stockings!” yelled Zack.

  He pulled six cloth stockings out of a box. Each one was trimmed with a gold ribbon and had a name stitched across the front. Every member of the family—including Luna—had one.

  “Charlotte, here’s your stocking,” Zack said, handing it to his sister. “And Cathy, here’s yours.”

  Luna barked happily and wagged her tail.

  Zack knelt down and showed Luna her stocking. “And look, Luna!” he exclaimed. “This is your stocking. I’ll bet there will be a new chew toy in there this year!”

  Luna barked again.

  Zack looked at his own stocking. He thought about past Christmases.

  “But, Mom, where are we going to hang them?” Zack asked. “We don’t have a fireplace here like we did on Earth. Here, Ira keeps the house warm.”

  “Excuse me, but I believe I can help,” said Ira.

  A panel slid open in the floor and a fireplace mantel rose into the room.

  “Thank you, Ira,” said Mom.

  “That’s amazing, Ira!” cried Zack. “It looks just like our old mantel back on Earth.”

  “I used the family photos you downloaded into my system as a reference guide,” Ira explained.

  Zack and his sisters hung all the stockings on the mantel.

  Next came the tree decorating. Zack and his sisters placed their favorite ornaments on the tree.

  Cathy hung a tiny silver angel on the highest branch she could reach. “This is the first ornament I ever got.”

  “Here’s my favorite,” said Zack. He placed an ornament shaped like a rocket ship on the tree. “Time for liftoff, Captain.”

  Just then everyone heard Dad’s car land in the garage. Zack could tell that something was wrong as soon as Dad rushed into the living room.

  “Bad news, gang,” said Dad. “Our equipment at the office showed that the storm is definitely going to hit Nebulon. It’s not safe to travel.”

  “On no!” said Mom.

  “What?” cried Zack.

  “I’m sorry,” said Dad. “But we have to cancel our trip to Earth.”

  Chapter 7

  A Change of Plans

  “I can’t believe we won’t be going to Earth for Christmas!” Zack said.

  “I know, honey,” said Mom. “We’re all disappointed.”

  “We really don’t know what to expect with this storm,” explained Dad. “No one is sure what will happen here on Nebulon, but we do know it will make space travel unsafe.”

  Dad stepped back outside. A moment later he returned with a tall box.

  “Since we are going to be spending Christmas on Nebulon, I thought I’d get a few of their traditional decorations,” he said.

  Dad opened the box and pulled out a series of glowing neon tubes. When he put them all together, they formed a Nebulon Christmas tree.

  “That’s weird,” said Zack.

  “It is kind of different,” Mom admitted. “But it’s nice to experience how the holiday is celebrated in our new home.”

  “I also got these,” Dad said. He opened a square box filled with Nebulon Christmas ornaments.

  Zack pulled a small ornament out of the box. It was a shiny piece of metal in a zigzag shape. He hung it on the neon tree.

  “Weird,” he said. “But kinda cool, I guess.”

  “Look at . . .”

  “. . . this crazy . . .”

  “. . . ornament,” said the twins.

  Cathy held up a round ornament. It had a tiny video screen on it that showed a bunch of flashing lights. Cathy hung the ornament on the neon tree.

  “Excuse me, but Master Drake is at the door,” Ira said suddenly.

  “Drake’s here,” said Zack. “Grape!”

  Drake Taylor was Zack’s best friend on Nebulon.

  “Hi, everyone,” said Drake.

  “Hello, Drake,” Mom said. “Nice to see you.”

  “Did you hear about the big storm heading right for Nebulon?” Drake asked.

  “Sure did,” said Dad.

  “Yeah, we had to cancel our trip back to Earth,” said Zack.

  “Too bad,” said Drake. “I know you were looking forward to it.”

  “Christmas on Earth is really great,” said Zack. “Every year we would go to my cousin’s house in Vermont. We always had a white Christmas.”

  “What is a white Christmas?” asked Drake.

  “The snow makes everything white,” Zack explained.

  “Oh, I have heard of snow,” said Drake. “I saw pictures in a sonic cell vid once. It looks pretty, but cold.”

  “You’re right—it is cold,” said Zack. “But once you are out playing in it, you don’t even feel the cold. You build snowmen. You go sledding. It’s really grape!”

  “So Christmas on Earth is pretty different, huh?” asked Drake.

  “You bet!” Zack replied. “Even the trees are different. Every year we would decorate our tree with ornaments we made ourselves. We hung strings of popcorn. We put on bright, flashing lights. And we placed a gold star at the very top.”

  “Speaking of homemade ornaments,” interrupted Mom, “look what I found!”

  Chapter 8

  Christmas Memories

  Mom put an old box on the table.

  “These are the first ornaments you ever made, Zack,” Mom said. “I think you were in kindergarten.”

  Mom pulled out an ornament made from uncooked elbow macaroni. Zack had glued the pieces of macaroni together to form a robot.

  “I remember that one!” said Zack.

  Mom also took out a paper snowflake from the box. It had been cut out and sprinkled with glitter. She hung both ornaments on the green Christmas tree the Nelsons had brought from Earth.

  “Wow!” exclaimed Drake. “Those are really nice, Zack. On Nebulon nobody makes homemade ornaments. We buy all of ours.”

  “It’s fun to make your own ornaments,” said Zack. “Then it’s fun to see them again each year when you hang them on the tree.”

  “On Earth, the memories of past Christmases make each new holiday that much more special,” explained Mom.

  “Look, Mom . . .”

  “. . . here are the fuzzy reindeer ornaments that . . .”

  “. . . we made last year!” said the twins.

  Cathy and Charlotte hung their felt reindeer ornaments on the tree.

  “What is a reindeer?” asked Drake.

  “It’s an animal on Earth,” explained Zack. “Flying reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh so he can deliver presents to kids all around the world.”

  “Oh,” said Drake. “Santa brings us presents too. But on Nebulon, he flies an atomic-powered jet sleigh.”

  “I don’t mean to rush you, Drake,” said Dad, “but the storm could hit at any time now. I want you to be safe at home with your family before it strikes.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Nelson,” said Drake. Then he jumped back on his bike and headed for home.

  How bad will this storm be? Zack wondered. I hope everyone will be all right.

  Chapter 9

  The Cosmic Storm

  Zack had trouble sleeping that night. Every few minutes he jumped out of bed and ran to the window. He kept checking to see if the storm had begun.

  He finally dozed off.

  When Zack woke up in the morning, the sky was filled with dark gray clouds. He joined his family at the kitchen table.

  “It’s kinda scary-looking out there,” said Zack.

  “I was just watching the sonic cell,” said Dad. “They expect the storm to hit at any moment.”

  After breakfast the Nelsons gathered in their living room. Mom and Dad sat on the couch. Cathy and Charlotte
curled up in their cozy blankets on the rug. Zack sat in his favorite chair. Luna stretched out on the floor.

  Suddenly the room got very dark. Zack looked out the big living room window. The sky had turned from gray to solid black. It looked more like midnight than morning. The whistling noise changed to a screech as the wind picked up. Zack saw the tall trees in front of the house shake and sway back and forth.

  “It’s starting,” Zack said softly.

  The house began to shake. Windows rattled. Pictures on the wall swung back and forth.

  A wind-blown tree scraped against the side of the house. Luna yelped and jumped up into Zack’s lap.

  “It’s okay, Luna,” said Zack, scratching her head. “It’s just a little wind.”

  But Zack was getting scared too.

  A few minutes later the wind died down. Things got weirdly quiet. Zack ran to the living room window and could not believe what he was seeing.

  “Dad—look!” he called. His mouth hung open in wonder.

  Tiny green flakes were falling from the sky.

  “I’m going out!” said Dad, grabbing his Nebulonics suit. “Wait here.”

  Zack watched through the window. The falling green flakes seemed to get bigger. Soon a curtain of green was falling from the sky. As they fell, the flakes stuck to the ground!

  Dad put out his hand. A few green flakes hit his glove . . . and melted! Dad hurried back into the house.

  “It’s snow!” cried Zack. “Green snow! We’re going to have snow at Christmas, after all! We can sled and build green snowmen and—”

  “Slow down a second, Zack,” said Dad. “I know it looks like green snow. But before I let anyone play in it, I need to know exactly what it is.”

  At that moment Dad’s hyperphone began buzzing.

  “Otto Nelson,” he said flipping the device open. “Yes, I’ll be right there.”

  Dad put his hyperphone away and headed for the garage.

  “That was Fred Stevens from Nebulonics,” Dad explained. “He’s calling the whole team together. No one has ever seen anything like this. We’ve got to figure out exactly what this green stuff is!”

  Chapter 10

  A Green Christmas!

  Zack paced back and forth in front of the living room window. Charlotte and Cathy followed his every step. Every minute seemed to take an hour.

  “What’s taking Dad so long?” he asked impatiently.

  “Honey, you heard your father,” Mom said. “No one knows what this green stuff is. They need to figure out whether or not it’s safe.”

  Zack watched as the green flakes began to pile higher and higher. He could hardly see the street anymore. Everything was green!

  Zack thought about all the great times he had playing with his cousins in Vermont. Christmas and snow just went together.

  He thought about the canceled trip to Earth. Now he waited to see if there’d be snow in his Christmas after all.

  Zack flipped on the sonic cell monitor. Every channel showed pictures of the mysterious green flakes piling up. Nervous Nebulites stared out their windows.

  An hour passed. Zack could hardly stand the wait.

  “Mr. Nelson has returned,” Ira announced finally.

  Dad walked into the living room. He shook green flakes from his coat.

  “Well, what are you guys sitting around for?” he asked. “Don’t you want to go out and play in the snow?”

  “It’s safe?” Mom asked cautiously.

  “Yup,” Dad replied. “We ran a full analysis. We’re not exactly sure why it’s green, but it’s probably because of the storm. It is definitely snow though. First time ever on Nebulon. And it is definitely safe!”

  “Yay!” Zack and the twins all shouted together.

  Everyone bundled up. Dad took some old boxes and metal railings and helped the kids build some sleds.

  Zack, his sisters, and Luna walked up to the highest point in their yard. They climbed onto their sleds and took turns zooming down the hill

  “Wheee!” cried Zack. “This is totally grape!”

  A few minutes later, Drake and his parents showed up.

  “I just heard on the sonic cell that this green stuff is safe,” Drake said.

  “I told you about snow,” Zack said. “And now you get to play in it!”

  Drake’s mom and dad watched as he climbed onto the sled with Zack. Both boys raced down the hill. They toppled into the snow and laughed.

  One by one, curious Nebulites came out. They were amazed at seeing snow for the very first time.

  Some Nebulites began building snowmen. Others flopped down and made green snow angels. Snowballs flew softly through the air as squeals of delight could be heard from kids and adults alike.

  “You know, Drake,” Zack said as they got ready for another ride. “A white Christmas would have been fun. But a green Christmas is the best!”

  “Good morning, everyone,” Drake said. “Thank you for inviting me on this trip.”

  “We’re glad you could make it,” replied Mom.

  “Okay—I’m ready!” Zack said, tossing his napkin onto his empty plate and jumping from his seat. “Let’s go!”

  “What about . . .”

  “. . . Luna?”

  “Can she come?” asked the twins.

  “It wouldn’t be a family trip without Luna!” said Dad. “Come on, girl!”

  Everyone piled into the family’s flying car and headed to the Creston City Spaceport. A short while later they climbed into a shuttle and took off.

  Zack smiled as stars and planets whizzed past him. Space travel always made him happy. Zack and Drake played games with their hyperphones until . . .

  “Look . . .”

  “. . . there it is . . .”

  “. . . Gluco!” cried the girls, pointing out the window.

  Zack peered out the shuttle’s window. Below he saw a bright blue planet that was shaped like a giant jelly bean in space.

  As the shuttle dropped down for its landing, it passed through what looked like a layer of clouds.

  “These clouds are made of cotton candy!” said Drake.

  “This is going to be great!” cried Zack.

  RAY O’RYAN has loved space stories ever since he watched the very first episode of Star Trek. He loves to imagine what traveling across the galaxy might be like, and is a bit jealous of Galaxy Zack in this regard. Ray lives in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of upstate New York with his wife and two lovable, zany cats named Stitch and The Way.

  COLIN JACK is originally from Vancouver, Canada, and has illustrated several children’s books. He currently works at DreamWorks Animation as a story artist and character designer and lives in the Bay Area with his wife and two sons.

  GalaxyZackBooks.com

  Meet the author and illustrator and get activities at

  KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Ray-O’Ryan

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Colin-Jack

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster

  New York

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Initial interior sketches by Andrew Murray

  Designed by Ciara Gay

  Jacket design by Nicholas Sciacca

  Jacket illustration by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  O’Ryan, Ray.

  A green Christmas! / by Ray O’Ryan ; illustrated by Colin Jack. — 1st edition.

  p. cm. — (Galaxy Zack ; 6)

  Summary: When a cosmic storm hits, stranding the Nelsons on their new home planet, Nebulon, Zack’s hopes of a white Christmas in Vermont are dashed, but Nebulon provides a surprising alternative.

  ISBN 978-1-4424-8224-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) —

  ISBN 978-1-4424-8225-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) —

  ISBN 978-1-4424-8226-5 (ebook : alk. paper)

  [1. Science fiction. 2. Snow—Fiction. 3. Christmas—Fiction. 4. Outer space—Fiction.] I. Jack, Colin, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.O7843Gre 2013

  [Fic]—dc23

  2012045337