The Asterfield siblings have never been more scared in their lives. Still staring out the dining room windows at the front of their father’s house, the realization hits them like a ton of bricks. Somehow, their house is floating in outer space.
Upon hearing their terrified screaming, their father comes into the dining room and asks, “Hey now, my young, frightened offspring! What’s with all the screaming and panicking and running around?”
“Have you seriously not noticed it yet, Dad?” Shawn inquires. “The house! The whole house is…it’s—”
The man approaches the kids calmly and cuts off his son with a big smile on his face upon realizing he hasn’t told them yet, “What? That the house is in outer space? Oh, yes, of course I know. That was all my doing.”
The two siblings look at each other in utter disbelief before angrily glaring at their father.
“You… you did this?!” Nash asks with a growl in his voice.
“You bet I did.” Ashton nods, all proud of himself.
“Wow! You’ve really outdone yourself this time, Dad.” Tricia says mockingly while slowly clapping her hands.
“Gee, you think so?” Ashton asks, a smile beaming on his face.
“I was being sarcastic!” Tricia almost bursts into a tantrum by stomping and flailing her fists in the air. “Do you have any idea how crazy this is?! Who even knows how long we can survive up here! What the heck were you thinking, old man?!”
“First of all, I am only thirty-nine years of age, so I’m not that old. Second, what I was thinking was…” Ashton crouches down to meet his children’s eye level, “I’ve been watching you kids your whole lives, and I’ve noticed some strong animosity between the two of you. Family shouldn’t fight as much as you do, and it’s about time you reconciled with each other. Problem is, you’re never willing to be near each other for any longer than an hour at a time. You won’t even eat dinner next to each other at the table sometimes. So, I’ve come up with the perfect ingenious plan to get you kids to finally see eye to eye.”
“And your plan is to have us float aimlessly in space?!” Nash questions the man’s theory.
“Oh, we are far from being aimless, my eldest boy child. I’ve reconstructed the entire house into a spacecraft, and we’re going where no other human beings have gone before: exploring new worlds and galaxies.” There is a glint of light in the doctor’s goggles that conceal his eyes. “We’ve got plenty of food, water, and other supplies to last us the whole trip. I’ve already programed the house with one of those GPS systems; although, this one is far more advanced, designed specifically for our outer space expedition. You’re even welcome to bring some souvenirs back to Earth.”
“You can’t be serious, Dad.” Tricia pouts.
“Trust me. By the end of the summer, you two will be thanking me.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying this is going to last our whole summer vacation?” Shawn asks.
“Exactly.”
“Dad, how could you do this?!” Nash cannot contain his rage. “I have plans with my friends later today. Plus, how do you expect me to get along with the girl who’s done nothing but make my life a living nightmare with her attitude and senseless pranks?”
“Look who’s talking!” Tricia says. “But that goes ditto for me. There’s no way I’m going to be all chummy with this moron,” she then turns to Shawn, “Or the little nerd who still reads his favorite baby book before bed.”
“At least I don’t still wet the bed.” Nash taunts his sister.
“Well, it’s better than faking grades your last report card.”
“It couldn’t be any worse than sneaking out after dark that one time,” Shawn says.
Tricia is ready to throw a punch at Shawn’s face. “Why you little—!”
“Okay, that is enough.” Ashton pats each of his children on the back before straightening his posture and then immediately changing the subject, “Now that explanations are resolved, let’s go eat breakfast already. I’m going to have to reheat it now after having this conversation. Come along now, my tiny and irritably lovable offspring.”
Seeing as going outside to escape this situation is out of the question since the vacuum of space will suffocate them, the kids follow their father back into the kitchen and sit at the table while the man microwaves their food.
When he sets their plates back down on the placemats, the kids notice that the food looks wrong. It is not pancakes or sunny side up eggs and bacon. This is some kind of crusty sausage patty with scrambled egg whites that aren’t fluffy but crunchy, a side of steamed broccoli, untoasted bread slices, and a packet of concentrated orange drink mix powder next to a glass of water.
“Um, Dad, is this supposed to be breakfast?” Nash asks just as the father sits down in his chair.
“Ah yes, I guess I forgot to mention what types of food I have stored for us this summer.”
“I’m assuming it’s more of this crud that looks worse than any frozen dinner I’ve ever seen?” Shawn asks, poking his food with his fork.
“Trust me. It may look unappetizing, but it’s got all the vitamins and daily essentials you’ll need to have energy for our journey, your new chores, and—”
“Wait, what new chores?” Tricia inquires, dropping her fork.
“Well, maintaining our spacecraft home is going to be a big job,” Dr. Asterfield begins, “There’s the matter of fuel drainage and cleaning the exhaust pipes. Checking and measuring the amount of fuel we have each day as well as how much oxygen is in the air tanks ventilating this place. The navigation systems have to be checked for defects. And let’s not forget the plants out on the dome deck; they provide us with extra oxygen.”
“Wait, what do you mean by ‘the dome deck’?” Shawn asks after spitting out a bite of the chewy sausage patty into his napkin.
“I’ve installed a clear glass dome over the front deck filled with plants and vegetations should we need to grow our own food this summer.”
“Ugh. Well, I guess fresh vegetables are better than eating this junk.” Nash says, beginning to think of different recipes he can cook with whatever veggies they’ll have.
“I’ll show it to you children, but only if you clean your plates. You’re going to need your strength.” Ashton nags.
The kids sigh loudly in unison and end up shoveling forkfuls of their disgusting breakfast into their mouths before following their father to the front door of the house. They open the door and see that their front porch is covered in thick green plants.
Some are hanging from chains on the wooden awning. Others are in pots placed in rows like a grid and organized by whether they grow flowers or fruits and veggies. There are even a few small fruit trees just as tall as Ashton at almost six feet on either side of the deck. At the center is a garden bed about five feet wide already sprouting several kinds of bean and lettuce plants.
The whole area is enveloped by a rounded-triangular glass dome allowing the sunlight to seep in and enrich the plants. Walking out onto the pathways in between the plant columns, Nash, Tricia, and Shawn examine and lightly touch each of their little leafy new friends.
Then there is the view of outer space from the dome deck. It is awe-inspiring. It may be the same scene from outside their bedroom windows, but through the dome’s glass barrier, it seems more impressive. Unlike earlier when Nash, Tricia, and Shawn were panicking about it, the sight from here practically makes them forget all their troubles.
A few comets fly across the sky, streaking a rainbow of colors in their paths. The stars shine and twinkle like countless little dots of hope. Even as the Earth is getting smaller and smaller with each move they make, the three siblings can’t help but feel eager and giddy just by being out on the dome deck and looking out into the awe-inspiring wonders of space.
A beeping sound comes from Ashton’s wristwatch and he looks at it, knowing precisely what it indicates. “Ah, excellent timing!”
“What is it now, dare I ask?” Nash inquires.
“We’re approaching our first destination, my three small yet appropriately sized offspring,” Ashton says and ushers for his children to follow him to the basement, “Come along now and let’s get into the spacesuits I’ve made for us because we’re going to start this summer by being the first humans to ever walk on the surface of Mars.”
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and then Add to home screen.