As soon as she was inside her small spaceship, Maris checked the control panel. Then she turned on the radio and tested it. “This is Number 34, Maris, representing Earth,” she reported to the control tower.
Maris looked out the window of the minicraft and waved at the spectators far across the field. She knew, of course, that they couldn’t see her. But it made her feel good to know that her parents, brother, and friends from Earth were in the crowd. She smiled when she thought about how proud they would be when she won the medal.
But first she had to win it!