Read an Excerpt
Out of Remote Control
“Is it Saturday yet?” Cesar asked his friends as they walked to Dr. Bunsen’s lab.
Olive shook her head. “Not yet.”
Cesar waited a moment. “Is it Saturday yet?”
Olive giggled. “Stop it, Cesar.You’re giving me déjà vu!”
Cesar looked confused. “Daze-ya voo?”
“Great phrase, Olive!” cheered Gabe. “Déjà vu is a feeling you get when it seems like you have already done something before.”
“Well, I feel like this week is moving in slow motion.” Cesar groaned. “When is it going to be Saturday?”
The DATA Set needed to finish their invention for the Newtonburg Science Fest on Saturday.
Laura nudged Cesar forward. “Come on, slowpoke. The Water Zapper is only our best invention yet if we make sure it works.”
“Can you imagine turning water into a laser beam?” Olive asked. “There could be farms in the desert, or clean water all around the world, or even on Mars!”
“If we get it to work,” Gabe reminded them.
Grrr-ROAR-ble! Cesar’s stomach made a loud rumble. “Whoa-kay, tummy, I hear you!” As Cesar dug through his pockets for a snack, a big dog bounded out of the bushes.
“RUFF! RUFF!”
“Whoa!” cried Cesar. He dropped his granola bar on the ground.
CHOMP! The dog snatched up the treat and ran off.
“Hey, you furry thief!” Cesar yelled. “That was a string cheese peanut butter granola bar, not a doggie treat!”
“Peanut butter granola and cheese . . . together?” asked Gabe.
The other kids looked disgusted.
“It actually sounds more like a dog treat than a human treat,” Olive said. “Maybe Dr. B. will have some normal food for you.”
Then the group laughed. Normal was the last thing anyone expected from Dr. Bunsen.
When they arrived at Bunsen’s lab, the place was a mess. There were tools and toilet paper everywhere. A half-eaten lunch sat on a countertop next to a bubbling beaker while a cowboy movie blared on the TV. Odd machines buzzed around them.
Laura pinched her nose to block a stinky smell. “Whoa, Dr. B., what happened in here?”
“The life of a traveling scientist, I’m afraid.” Dr. Bunsen opened a large suitcase. “I’m speaking before the International Science Council tomorrow.”
Then the doctor went into his storage room and returned wearing his x-ray goggles.
“Hey, isn’t that where scientists who win the Nobel Prize present their work?” Gabe asked.
But Dr. Bunsen could not hear him over the loud TV. “What did you say?”
“Cesar, can you turn down the volume?” asked Laura.
Cesar grabbed the closest remote control and fumbled with the buttons. All of a sudden, a strange bright glow surrounded the kids and they went zap!