The Monster Weekly

(Inspired by Kora, the Human Astronaut)

Delilah wanted to be the first monster astronaut.
To boldly go where no monster had gone before.

To be an astronaut, she thought, you had to know about stars and planets.
You had to like bubble gum machines enough to wear one on your head.
You had to be exceptionally courageous.
Delilah met all of these requirements. But there was one more:

“You have to be human, Delilah,” said her dad.

In spite of that one hiccup, Delilah decided to sign herself up for space camp.
She was determined to be the first monster to attend.
She raised all the funds herself, gathering pocket change from
couch cushions and relatives.
She collected old bottles to turn in for a nickel apiece and had a bake sale with Monster cookies that flew off the shelf like monster hot cakes.

In the end Delilah made one thousand and three hundred dollars –
The exact amount she needed to go.

She called Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama to register.
They had one spot left in the last week of August.
She took it.
To prepare, she spent all summer making flashcards to learn more about galaxies and black holes and stuff.
She tried some space ice cream, just to make sure she liked it.
She did.
She marked each day that went by with a giant X on her calendar so she could see how close she was to the big adventure.
Finally the last week of August came and Delilah set off…

It. Was. Radical.

When she got there no one even mentioned that she was a monster.
She fit right in with her fellow astronauts-in-training.
She got to be a mission specialist, inside an actual shuttle.
She spun around in the Multi-Axis Trainer until she felt sick- Awesome!
Then on the last day she confronted a near disaster when a power outage prevented her team from communicating with mission control. All of the human kids freaked out, but Delilah shouted to her team:
“Full speed ahead!
Be brave fellow flyers, fellow gravitational defyers!
We are bound for greatness!”

At the end of the week, Delilah received the “Astro Award,” and when she got home, her picture was in The Monster Weekly along with an article about dreaming big.

As her dad tucked her in that night, she told him that when she grew up she would become an astronaut.
Or a doctor –
Because doctors can be astronauts too.

1 Comment

• 

  Maria McCullough

  May 2, 2013 at 5:21 pm // Reply

  This is still one of my all time favorites