Pink Rocket to Mars
Yaya came out to the backyard with her big sun hat on. Gemma, Lola and Disco were playing by the frog pond. Disco was splashing a paw at a lily pad, and the frogs were not at all worried about it.
Gemma looked at The Rocket parked behind the flowers. She tilted her head and thought hard about how it worked. Then she pointed up at the sky. "Let's fly to Mars, Yaya!" she said.
"Mars? What a wonderful idea," said Yaya. She lifted Lola up and gave her a squeeze. Disco hopped in first and sat on the best seat, so everyone laughed and squeezed in around him.
Inside, the seats were soft and round, and the windows showed the green lawn. Gemma looked over the buttons. There was a big red one, and a pink helmet hung on a hook beside it.
Everyone looked at Gemma. Lola clapped her hands. Disco's tail wagged against the seat. Gemma reached out, one finger ready, and she had to choose which to do first.
Gemma pulled the pink helmet down over her head. It was a little too big, and it wobbled. She tapped the top of it twice, like a real pilot, and Yaya saluted her.
Lola wanted one too, so she put her hands on her head and made a helmet out of them. Disco tucked his ears flat. Now they were all ready.
"Count down with me," said Gemma. "Five, four, three, two, one, blast off!" The Rocket swooshed up past the flowers, over the fence, and high above the pond.
The sky turned dark blue, then black, and the stars came out like sprinkles. Gemma pressed her nose to the round window. Yaya pressed hers beside it.
Then there it was: Mars, big and orange and dusty. The Rocket looped around it in a slow, round orbit. "It looks like a giant pumpkin," said Yaya, and Lola said, "Pun-kin!"
Yaya held up her phone. Gemma, Lola and Disco squeezed in close with Mars shining behind them. Disco made his funniest face, and everyone smiled at once for the selfie.
Just then a silver UFO slid past the window, its green lights blinking. Two martians in yellow suits peeked out of its dome, and their antennae bounced. Gemma wondered how to say hello.
Gemma scooped up Disco and held him high at the window. "Say cheese!" she said. The martians leaned out of the UFO and grinned their big green grins.
Yaya held up the phone and pressed it. Disco, Gemma and the martians all fit in one picture. One martian's antenna poked Disco on the nose, and he sneezed.
Everyone burst out laughing, even Lola, even the martians. Gemma hugged Disco tight and said, "Best picture ever!" The UFO spun in a happy circle around The Rocket.
