Reaching Beyond the Sky | Chapter 8

 

Chapter 8: A Setback Among Stars

The big day arrived. The field behind the school buzzed with students, parents, teachers, and judges. Toby’s team set up their launch pad, triple-checked the connections.

Zara gave Toby the honor of pressing the launch button. His hand trembled as he counted down.

“Three… two… one… liftoff!”

But instead of soaring, the rocket sputtered. Smoke puffed out. A piece of the engine fizzled. The rocket tipped over and fell — a sad, scorched mess.

Toby’s stomach dropped. The old voice came roaring back: See? Told you. Back to the couch. Give it up.

But then Zara clapped him on the back. “Hey. We’ll fix it. That’s what real explorers do.”

He looked around — the whole team was nodding. No one blamed him. No one gave up.

And for the first time, neither did Toby.

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