The Magnificent Makers #5: Race Through Space

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Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp!
Pablo sucked an imaginary string of pasta through his lips.
“No way!” said Violet with squinted eyes. She tucked a few stray kinks of hair behind her ears and crossed her arms. “That’s impossible.”
“I promise! That’s what happens if you get too close to a black hole,” replied Pablo. “I read all about it. You get stretched like a looooooooooong piece of spaghetti.”
“Well… I’m glad there aren’t any black holes close to Earth,” said Violet. “I can’t become a scientist if I get turned into a noodle first.”
The two best friends giggled. They sat cross-legged in the center of the Newburg Meadow with tall grass and scattered flowers fluttering in the wind around them. The field was dotted with Newburg Elementary students and their families. This month’s field trip was outdoors, and everyone was waiting for the sun to go down. Tonight, they were going to watch one of the largest meteor showers ever recorded in New burg history!
“Did you know a meteor shower happens when lots of tiny bits of space rock come close to Earth and burn up?” asked Pablo in one long breath. “Some times people call them shooting stars. But they’re not even stars!” Pablo could hardly contain his excitement.
“Yes, you told me yesterday. And the day before that.” Violet laughed.
Pablo and Violet had been best friends since Pablo moved from Puerto Rico to Newburg in first grade. They’d play soccer together in the park after school or share a delicious pickle on their walk home. But this week, Pablo had spent all his free time in the library reading about meteors and other space objects. Both Pablo and Violet loved learning about science. But space was Pablo’s favorite. And he wanted to make sure he remembered everything for tonight’s field trip.
Pablo’s mom called from across the meadow. “It’s almost time!” She held her watch in the air and tapped it. “Only fifteen more minutes until sunset.”
Violet’s dad was standing next to Pablo’s mom. He gave Pablo and Violet two thumbs-up.
Pablo tilted his head back and looked at the deep-purple-and-pink sky. One day he was going to watch a meteor shower from the window of his very own space ship. That had been his dream ever since he could remember, even though some of his cousins would tease him about it. They said he was too forgetful to become an astronaut. But today he was prepared.
“Hi!” said a voice suddenly.
Pablo and Violet looked over their shoulders. It was their friend Deepak!
“Hey!” said Pablo. He eyed a pair of binoculars hanging around Deepak’s neck. “Where did you get those?”
“They belong to my mom. She let me borrow them for the meteor shower. They’re kind of heavy, though.” Deepak removed the binoculars and set them in the grass. Then he plopped down next to Pablo. “This is going to be so awesome!” Deepak rubbed the palms of his hands together.
“It won’t actually rain meteors tonight, right?” Violet asked. She bit her lip and looked up at the darkening sky.
“Nah!” replied Deepak. “Most meteors are too small. They just burn up.”
“That’s true. But did you know thou sands of meteors still hit Earth every year?” added Pablo. “I wouldn’t be surprised if tonight- Oh no! Look out!”
Violet yelped and covered her face with her hands. Nothing happened. She peeked through the cracks in her fingers and saw Pablo and Deepak smiling.
“Not funny, Pablo!” she said. Then she smiled, too.