The Middle Man in. . . .
The Science Fair
Once there was a boy name Mike Middle. He was always in the middle. He was in the middle of his family; he sat in the middle of the classroom, he even was in the middle of his life. His best friends were Aaron Archer, who was twelve and Zeke Zany who was ten. Mike was eleven.
One day, Mike Middle was in the middle of a situation. He was trying to be first in the science fair. There were ten winners and the first winner wins a trip to Florida! So he went to work. He jotted down his ideas: Baking soda volcano, how gravity works, static electricity, how many old people have nice cars, and how long does it take for a dog to bark. He called Zeke and Aaron and asked if they could help.
Once Aaron and Zeke arrived, Mike told them his ideas. “I like static electricity,” stated Zeke. “I want the old people and nice cars idea,” replied Aaron. “Aw, I wanted to do the baking soda volcano,” groaned Mike. “I have an idea!” exclaimed Zeke. “We can do all of the projects on our own and then meet on Friday and see who’s turned out best,” said Zeke. “Works for me,” replied Aaron. “Okay!” agreed Mike. The boys started research right away by reading.
At Mike’s House on Thursday morning. . . .
Mike wanted his volcano to have red lava, so first, he asked his mother for food coloring. Then, he watched a video online. Once he printed out instructions, and tried the experiment himself, all he had to do was paint the volcano. He walked to Penny’s paints and bought some nice vibrant colors for the volcano. His sister and brother helped. Finally, he painted the masterpiece and voila! It was the best baking soda volcano in the universe!
At Aaron’s house on Thursday afternoon. . .
First, Aaron walked across the street to the “Staying Sweet” Retirement home. He asked all the old ladies and gentlemen to go to the parking lot and stand by their car. Then, he tallied all who had fancy cars, and all who had satisfied cars in an okay shape. Then, he went to the Dollar Store and bought a poster board and some markers. Next, he pasted down pictures and data about his experiment. With mom’s approval and a few tweaks, it was finally finished.
At Zeke’s house on Friday morning. . .
First, Zeke wanted to make the world of static electricity pop. He bought many balloons and socks and conducted many experiments. Next, he made a presentation on his mom’s laptop. After more research and a few comments from his Uncle Billy, he was finished. He wore his manly pink t-shirt and headed for Mike’s house.
On Friday, they all met at Mike’s house. Aaron went first. He pulled out his poster board to find. . . His little sister Anna drew all over it! Lollipops covered the total amount of tallies and a big princess covered up a picture of a granny in a hot rod. “Anna!” screamed Aaron angrily.
Then, Mike went. He started to put in baking soda. Then, he poured in the vinegar to find. . . It wasn’t a bottle of vinegar, but his mother’s conditioner bottle. Now his volcano was a dripping, conditioned, mess. “Mom!” yelled Mike angrily.
Then, Zeke went. He handed his friends each a balloon and told them to blow them up. Aaron and Mike tried to blow up the balloons for fifteen minutes, only to find . . . his older brother Luke had poked holes in them! And the presentation was erased. “Luke!” yelled Zeke angrily. “None of this stuff works,” mumbled Mike sadly. “So I visited old people for nothing!?” asked Aaron. “So I wasted fifteen dollars on balloons for nothing?!” asked Zeke.
“I got it!” exclaimed Mike. “We could conduct an experiment about how I’m always in the middle!” suggested Mike. “I love it,” commented Zeke. “Let’s get cracking,” screamed Aaron. That night, the boys worked very hard on the project. They hid it under Mike’s bed for protection too. They had to work hard if they wanted to finish it by two days.
The next day, Mike brought the things to the fair and Aaron and Zeke met him there, all dressed up nicely. By the time the judges came to Mike’s presentation, they were sick and tired of science projects. They flopped on the chairs and watched Mike and his friends. “Go on,” yawned the judges. “For some reason, I’m always in the middle,” started Mike. “I’m always first” said Aaron. “And I’m last,” complained Zeke. As they went on, the judges became more concerned. At the end, the judges had enough. “Mike Middle! I cannot believe what you did! That was unexplainable!” scolded the first judge. “I can’t imagine you!” yelled the other with a very mean look. Mike frowned, “I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry!? Sorry!? Ben, the boy thinks we’re yelling at him,” laughed the first judge. “We aren’t scolding you, we’re praising you! You are first place!” And they celebrated in Florida the next day.
The End.
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Mike Middle has a problem. He’s always in the middle. Middle of the family, middle of the classroom. . . Even worse, he’s in the middle of a situation! He wants to win the science fair. He knows he’s going to be in the middle , so he needs to up his game! With the help of his friends, he is confident he will win.
Dedicated to my Daddy-yo, thanks so much for the inspiration in writing this book. Your ideas helped so much with making Mike come alive into these pages!
