Earthling Ambassador (Space Brigade 1)

"Shimlara, you mustn't talk to your father in that tone of voice," began Mully.

Shimlara was outraged. "Mom! This is about justice!"

"Georgio, you really shouldn't have been reading her mind," said Mully. "It's not setting a very good example."

"It was for the good of the mission, Mully," snapped Georgio. Nicola could tell he was feeling sheepish. "Sometimes I have to make difficult decisions."

"Oh, that's just a whole lot of garbage!" said Mully.

"Yes, garbage," said Georgio. "May I remind you all that that's what this whole mission is about? Nicola's planet could be covered in garbage! Earthling lives are at stake!"

"Well, I was just trying to help the mission, too!" said Shimlara.

"That's different," said Georgio.

"How?" asked Shimlara.

"Yes, how?" asked Mully.

"Hungry," announced Squid, who was obviously bored by the whole discussion. "I'm a hungry Squid!"

He began to chant over and over. "Mom, where's my dinner? Mom, where's my dinner? Mom, where's my dinner?"

"BE QUIET, SQUID!" roared Shimlara, Mully, and Georgio in unison.

Realizing that nobody was taking much notice of her, Nicola picked up her knife and fork and began to eat her delicious lasagna.

Aside from the fact that she was on another planet with remarkably tall people who could read minds and cook by mental telepathy, this was just like any normal family dinner at home in Honeyville, Sydney, Australia, Earth.

CHAPTER 11

Oh no, Mrs. Zucchini's math test, thought Nicola before she opened her eyes the next day. That means sardines.

Every time she had a test or an exam, Nicola's mother tried to give her sardines for breakfast. She'd read somewhere that sardines were "brain food" and she was convinced if she could just get Nicola to eat them before she took the test, then she'd be guaranteed to get better grades. Nicola hated sardines, so her mom always tried to sneak them into her breakfast. She would smear them on toast hidden under peanut butter, or she'd chop them up into tiny pieces and put them in scrambled eggs and serve them to Nicola with an innocent expression on her face. If she managed to trick Nicola into eating just one mouthful of sardines, she'd run around the kitchen with her arms over her head as if she'd won the Olympics.

Yuck. Sardines and math. Not a good day.

But then she heard a strange voice. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

Nicola opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the yellow countdown watch on her wrist. It said:

Good morning! Only TWO days to go! Out of bed, sleepy-head.

Everything that had happened yesterday flooded through Nicola's head. Oh, that's right. She didn't have a math test today. She just had a mission to save the world.

Shimlara was sitting up in her bed on the opposite side of the room, stretching and yawning. Her black hair was sticking up all over the place. She was wearing a bright orange fluffy button-up suit. Nicola decided not to tell Shimlara that, on Earth, only tiny babies wore pajamas like that.

"I slept really well," said Nicola, surprised. When she had seen her bed last night she'd been sure that she wouldn't sleep a wink. Instead of a normal mattress, it was just a long box filled with hundreds of tiny colored balls, like soft foam golf balls.

"It's weird.These little balls were really comfortable to lie on." Nicola picked one up and squished it between her fingers.

"It's just a normal bed," yawned Shimlara. She sighed. "I've got a galactic geography test today."

"I should be taking a math test," said Nicola. "I'm so nervous about meeting Princess Petronella, I almost wish I was back on Earth taking the test."

Last night, after dinner, Nicola had picked the present for the princess (a globe of the Earth--she hoped it wouldn't be too obvious of a hint) and Georgio and Mully had explained exactly what would be happening the next day. Georgio would drive her to the Rainbow Palace, but he wouldn't be able to come past the palace gates, because the appointment was only for Nicola.There would be lots of people waiting to see the princess, so when it was time for her appointment, she would need to talk fast.

"You'll need to be firm and authoritative, but at the same time polite and humble," said Georgio as if that was perfectly easy.