Stink_ Solar System Superhero - Megan Mcdonald [3]
“There’s a real saying for the dwarf planets,” said Riley. “A girl made it up and won a contest, and it isn’t about a mystery car or police. It’s, My Very Excellent Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants.”
“Thanks for letting us know, Riley. That’s very creative. Stink and Skunk came up with a creative sentence, too.”
Riley shrugged and made a sour-ball face.
“Boys, come see me after class,” said Mrs. D. “and see what we can do about those red Xs.”
The next day, Stink was sitting at his own desk minding his own business when Riley Rottenberger waltzed past, showing off her new T-shirt. It did not say SPACE CADET. It did not say SPACE OUT AT SPACE CAMP. It said PLUTO IS DEAD.
“Who is that?” asked Skunk.
“Rotten Riley Rottenberger, aka Miss Know-It-All.”
Riley turned around. She fake-smiled at Stink and Skunk. “When is a planet not a planet?” she asked them.
“When it’s Grumpy?” said Stink.
“When it’s Sneezy?” said Skunk.
“No, when it’s PLUTO!” said Riley, cackling all the way to her desk.
“Pluto is SO a planet,” said Stink. “A dwarf planet.”
He turned to Skunk. “She thinks she’s so great ’cause she got to go to Space Camp.”
“For your information, Pluto is not a planet anymore,” said Riley. “Don’t you guys know anything? Oh, I forgot. You never went to Space Camp!”
Riley was right. Stink had never been to Space Camp. He had never tried on a space suit (except one made out of aluminum foil in preschool). And he never got to see inside a spaceship (except the cardboard-box kind).
“Did you get to ride in the gravity chair?” Skunk asked Riley.
“And the Five Degrees of Freedom Chair,” said Riley. “It floats on air.” Stink wished he had Five Degrees of Freedom from Riley Rottenberger.
“Don’t ask her questions,” Stink warned, “or she’ll never, ever stop.”
“Why didn’t Saturn want to sit next to Jupiter?” Skunk asked anyway.
“Why?” asked Riley.
“Because Jupiter had a lot of gas,” said Skunk, holding his nose.
“Hey, no fart jokes in class,” said Miss Know-It-All. “Mrs. D. said.”
“I have one,” said Stink. He couldn’t help himself. “Why didn’t Saturn’s mom want him to take a bath?”
“Why?” said Skunk.
“Because he always left rings in the bathtub!”
“Good one!” said Skunk. Riley ignored them.
“Time to get into groups,” said Mrs. D. Stink was on a team with Webster and Sophie of the Elves. He asked Skunk to join them. Each team was making a model of the solar system.
Stink and his team were using Styrofoam balls for the planets. They dipped hunks of raw wool in soapy water. Once the wool was stretchy, they shaped it around each ball to form the outer surface of the planet.
Riley’s team was making planets out of fancy clay.
Riley leaned over and pointed to the tiny ball in Stink’s hand. “What’s that?”
“What does it look like? It’s the planet Pluto. ”
“Stink Moody,” said Riley, “how many times do I have to tell you? THERE IS NO PLANET PLUTO.”
“Is too,” said Stink.
“Is not.”
“Is so too.”
“Riley, turn around,” Webster said. “You’re not even on our team.”
“I don’t see why everybody’s so down on Pluto,” mumbled Stink, adding a touch of purple-gray to his planet. “Pluto’s cool. It might be small, but it doesn’t just do what all the other planets do. It has its own orbit.”
“Yeah,” said Skunk. “I don’t get why they voted to take it away.”
“Because Pluto’s puny like a dwarf,” Riley butted in. “Pluto gets its butt kicked by all the other planets. If an asteroid came, Pluto would be all ‘Aah! I’m scared,’ and shrink away.”
“Nah-uh!” said Stink.
“Yah-huh. Ask anybody. I learned it at Space Camp.”
“Space Camp, Space Camp, Space Camp!” said Stink. “People should boycott Space Camp for telling lies about Pluto.”
“Stink! Riley!” Mrs. D. said sharply. “What’s going on back there? You’re supposed to be working on your Science.”
Riley’s hand shot up into the air. “This is Science,” she said. “That’s what we were fighting about.”
Mrs. D. came over to their tables. “What seems to be the problem?”
“Riley says there’s no Pluto,” said Stink, “and I say there is.”
“Riley,