The Adventure of a Lifetime by Ravina Thakkar Page B

dangerous missions. She would keep them alive.
    Right?
    â€œAsk me one question. Then I’m leaving, and either you come with me or not.”
    Betty tried to think of the one question she wanted answered really badly.
    â€œOh! I got it!” Betty paused. Any question, Amber had said. But would this question upset Amber? She didn’t want that, especially when Amber was taking her along on the adventure, too. Very gently, Betty asked, “Do you have any parents?” Betty asked. It was a question that Betty had never really gotten an answer to in the Amber series; a topic they hadn’t covered. All she knew was that they went to sea when Amber was young. Now that she was really with Amber, it felt like a good time to ask.
    â€œWell, I don’t really know. My mom and dad went to sea and never came back. I don’t know if they’re dead or alive,” Amber said, apparently only knowing as much as Betty did. Of course , Betty thought. Lana Mungo was writing, and the only things Amber supposedly knew was what she had written. It was a bit sad though—not to know your past.
    Betty realized that Amber didn’t know who she was. She thought she was a real person, yet Amber was really a character. Betty debated with herself—should she tell Amber who she was? But one glance at Amber sent all thoughts of saying anything flying from Betty’s head. Amber was tough. She was always ready to fight. If Betty told Amber the truth, her new friend might lose her concentration and break her arm.
    Betty was not satisfied with Amber’s answer, but the young heroine had gone back to the arlyers. Amber took out two pairs of batteries from the box. She inserted one pair in the battery pack of her arlyers. After that, she put the other pair in Betty’s arlyers.
    Both girls—Betty, rather reluctantly—strapped on the wings and soon they were ready to take off. The wings flew high into the air; Betty extended an arm to touch the clouds. She looked down—it was like being in an airplane. The forest was a sea of green; the houses beyond that were tiny specks. It was cold up in the sky; Betty shivered even though she was the one who lived in the windy city. Apparently she was wrong. Clutching onto the straps, she looked ahead. Amber was gaining speed. How was she doing that?
    â€œHey! Amber! Wait for me!” Betty yelled.
    Amber yelled something to Betty that sounded like “lean mutton.”
    Lean mutton? What does that mean? But then Betty looked at the inside of her wing harness and saw a green button. A-ha!
    Betty started pressing the green button on her arlyers until her thumb hurt.
    And soon it was a race to catch up with Amber. But no matter how many times Betty pushed the green button on her arlyers, she never got close. Suddenly Betty realized Amber was lowering herself. Now, how was she doing that ? These arlyers really needed an instruction manual!
    â€œHow are you doing that?” Betty yelled.
    â€œBar!” Amber called, before she floated down and hit the ground. Betty was still hovering in the sky.
    Bar? Betty thought, and she checked the arlyers’ wings until she found a yellow bar. Pressing down, Betty soon descended too. She hit the ground with a thump. They had landed in a village, just as Amber had said. Betty looked over at Amber, who was closing her arlyers. Betty took her arlyers off too, and closed them into the ball.
    The village had large factories that each puffed green smoke. It smelled rancid, like a baby’s diaper. Betty took shallow breaths to avoid inhaling too much of the toxic air. And then there was the sound! The town looked deserted, yet the noise made her eardrums pound. A heavy clunk clunk and clank clank from the factories reached her ears. Ugh! It was annoying, but Betty couldn’t do anything except plug her ears. Even then, the noise was still loud. Not wanting to get lost, Betty looked for Amber, who was nowhere to be