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giggled until he actually peed, and he had to go to the nurse’s office and wear the nurse’s donated office pants, and we just told everyone that he sat on a juice box, because that’s what friends do when a giggle-pee happens. You never know when a giggle-pee could happen to you.
    But somewhere around fourth grade, the rocket shipstarted to get uncool. And also a little small. And a group of kindergartners kept hanging around pretending to be hostile aliens, and we could never land, not even to pee.
    But my dad’s news the night before was rocket ship–worthy. I’d called Priya before I’d walked to Tripp’s house. I’d even talked into my cupped hand over the phone for authenticity. She didn’t giggle, so I felt stupid.
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Tripp asked, pulling a bacon-flavored toothpick out of his pants pocket, blowing a ball of lint off it, and stuffing it into his mouth. “Want one? I’m pretty sure I’ve got another one in here somewhere.”
    I shook my head. The thought of what he might have to blow off a toothpick found “in there somewhere” made my stomach squish. “I’ll tell you when we get there. And I thought your mom banned toothpicks from your house after Dodge sat on one and had to have it taken out in the emergency room with a pair of tweezers.”
    â€œShe did. I found some loose ones under my dresser this morning. Sure you don’t want one? They still have a little flavor left in ’em.”
    I made a face. “No thanks.”
    We walked to our old school, just like we’d done a million times, both of us talking about good old elementary school memories, and I wished more than anything that we could go back to that. Back to before middle school, when suddenly everybody was so worried about looking cool and playing sports and back when my dad had his job at the university observatory and it looked like things would stay that wayforever. Back to a time when leaving my best friends would have been the last thing on my mind.
    Priya was waiting for us when we got there. “Perchlorate,” she said.
    â€œHuh?” Tripp asked.
    â€œPerchlorate. It’s in the soil on Mars. My dad saw an article about it on the Internet. You know what that means.”
    We both looked at her, totally blank.
    â€œLife. It means there could have been life there. Which can only mean …” She got a very serious look on her face and we leaned forward. “Mars probably has face-eating zombies, too.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Boo!” she said, making her hands into claws and lunging toward Tripp.
    â€œHar har har, you’re so funny,” Tripp said, but he’d jumped just a little. I’d felt it.
    â€œI’m just teasing you, Tripp,” she said, bumping his shoulder with hers. “So, why the rocket ship meeting? More about the monster next door?”
    â€œYeah, what’s up with the undead behind Widow Feldman’s curtains?” Tripp asked.
    â€œI’m not here to talk about that,” I said. “Come on.” I knelt down in front of the opening of the rocket ship. It had gotten even smaller since the last time I saw it.
    â€œWe have to go in that thing?” Priya asked, scowling. “There are bugs in there.”
    Tripp and I froze. “Since when do you care about bugs?” Tripp asked. “You used to eat them.”
    She rolled her eyes at him. “I ate one grasshopper one time, to prove to you that they weren’t poisonous.”
    I leaned into Tripp, grinning. “Oh, that was so gross. Its leg got stuck in the corner of her mouth and it kept wiggling every time she talked and it was all hairy and you puked, remember, Tripp?”
    Tripp nodded, then gagged, his face turning red. “See?” he choked out. “You weren’t scared of bugs then. You were one of the guys.”
    â€œYeah, you were more of a