Read Demeter for Free Online Page B

on. I would like to assure you that there is nothing to worry about. We will be aboard the Pegasus for the equivalent of five Earth days, and then we will arrive at our destination. As promised, you will have a year of extraordinary educational and service opportunities.”
    “You’re kidnapping us,” Athena snapped.
    Athena tried to get out of her restraints, but the release button had sunk into the arm panel and was inaccessible. Ryder could hear two or three others struggling with their restraints.
    “That won’t be necessary,” Mr. Small said. “The restraints will be released in a few minutes. But we want to explain what is happening first.”
    “You lied to us,” Randy barked. “Why should we listen to anything you have to say?”
    “When did we lie to you?” Miss Li inquired.
    “You said we were going to Europe to study for a year abroad. This ain’t the way to Europe.” Randy sounded like he was ready to explode.
    “Isn’t,” Miss Li corrected. “And we did not lie to you.”
    “What do you mean you didn’t lie to us?” Ryder challenged. “It doesn’t sound to me like we are headed to Europe.”
    “We are going to Europe,” Mr. Small interjected. “Europe is the name of the complex you’ll be staying in.”
    “What?” Randy yelled. “You tricked us! We thought we were going to Europe—you know, France, Spain, Italy.”
    “Did we ever say that we were going to France, Spain, or Italy?” Miss Li asked.
    Ryder pondered her words. Every time the question of itinerary had been brought up, Miss Li or Mr. Small would divert the discussion to the exciting things the children would be doing. They had been so excited to be going, and without any real costs, they hadn’t thought to go back to the question about their itinerary. “Wait a minute. You said that we’d have a chance to go mountain climbing, boating, and,” he paused, “sightseeing.”
    “Well,” Mr. Small said smiling, “look out the window. Now there is a sight many travelers would spend millions to see. Also, where we are going you can do all of those things, even more so than on the continent of Europe on Earth.”
    Ryder and his companions were distracted for a moment as they looked out their windows. The earth was beautiful. Ryder wasn’t sure how far up they were, but the earth looked about the size of a basketball. He started to get a little woozy. The vessel was rotating in such a manner that both sides of the aisle could get a fifteen to twenty second view of the earth. Somewhere on the other side of the aisle, Debbie sighed at the splendor of the blue and green illuminated ball. He felt like doing the same thing.
    Ryder turned back to Miss Li. “Okay, what’s the deal? Are you aliens? Are going to dissect us? Run all sorts of tests to see how our nervous systems work?”
    Mr. Small snorted, and Miss Li actually laughed. “No, William, we are not aliens. I’m actually from Los Angeles, and my parents are from Malaysia. Roger is from Havana, Illinois. No, we are not going to dissect you. You may have some assessments, or ‘tests’ as you call them, but not to see how your nervous system works.”
    Debbie piped up. “Can I fly the plane?”
    Debbie's enthusiasm was mitigated by Athena who had fallen into silence with her arms tightly folded.
    Miss Li smiled again. “We’ll see. But first I must tell you a story. That, however, will be after dinner.” She pressed a button, and the chairs started to shift to the interior perimeter of the ship. A panel in the floor opened and a round table emerged. On the table were several plates of hamburgers, and French fries, and milk shakes. Ryder decided to start with the milkshake, which turned out to be his favorite flavor: caramel marshmallow. It was very creamy, as opposed to those frosty ones that the fast food restaurants sold. Tastes like they went for the high fat ice cream, he thought, feeling better about the trip already.
    When they finished eating, the scraps