Catching Stardust Read Online Free Page A

tried resisting the lure of his own private telescope on his rooftop access, but after some TV and attempting to sleep, he still couldn’t shake the notion that there was something going on in the sky tonight.
    He didn’t want to find out what it was. He had to find out what it was.
    Ignoring something like a possible missing star went against his very DNA. Investigating this phenomenon or anomaly was the only way to get any peace. And at some point he needed to get some sleep so he wouldn’t be a total zombie tomorrow for his guest lecture.
    So really, pursuing this interesting star—whatever it turned out to be—was the only choice he had.
    Zander skimmed the notes he’d scribbled for the last hour. The numbers and words swirled like chicken scratch on the page. He slipped his fingers under his glasses to massage his eyes, which now felt as if they were coated in a layer of sandpaper. Nothing had changed since they’d first noticed the missing star in the park. He had to face facts—the Maia star of the constellation Pleiades was gone.
    Now he needed to figure out where the hell it went. Had it suddenly burned out after millions of years in the sky? Was it hidden by something else he couldn’t yet see?
    He flopped back onto the padded outdoor furniture and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Dialing his brother’s number, he stifled a yawn. What time was it anyway?
    “Hello?” grumbled a sleepy voice on the other end of the line.
    Must be later than he thought. Zander peeked at his watch. Midnight. Shit. His brother would be pissed, but it was too late to hang up now.
    “Hello,” the voice said again more forcefully this time.
    “Hey, Asher. How’s it going?”
    “It would be better if my annoying little brother hadn’t called and woken me up.”
    “I did it,” Zander said triumphantly, ignoring the sound of his bother yawning. “I really think I did it this time.”
    “Did what?”
    “Found something that’s never been found before.”
    Asher groaned into the phone. “Not again, Zander. It’s too late to deal with your shit tonight.”
    “I mean it. Just hear me out.” His words spilled out faster than usual, matching his excitement. “Tonight in the park I noticed something unusual during the Stargazers Club.”
    “What? You finally looked around and realized you were spending yet another night with a bunch of kids instead of with some foxy chick in a warm bed somewhere?”
    Zander had plenty of dates with women and spending one night a week with the kids in the Stargazers Club wasn’t a big deal. “I’m serious. Tonight a star went missing. It should have been there, but it wasn’t and I can’t find information on my usual websites about anything strange happening tonight. I think it’s an unexplainable phenomenon. Which means, I have to figure out a way to explain it because we can’t just have stars go missing for no reason, now can we?”
    There was silence on the line while Zander caught his breath. His mind flashed like a strobe light with possible scenarios, none of which he could back up with actual evidence. Yet.
    “Do you hear yourself right now?” His brother’s voice sounded weary.
    “Yes, of course I do. Now if you’d hear me out, you’ll understand.”
    “No. Don’t tell me anything else about it. I can’t listen to you go off on another wild goose chase for no good reason. Enough already.”
    “You don’t get it. Just go look out your damn window and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”
    Asher sighed. “I love you little bro, but you can’t do this to us again. Last time you went off half-cocked over some big discovery, it almost cost us our family name, your career…everything. You can’t risk it all again. You can’t. Arius Industries can’t handle another blow to our credibility either. The last time almost put us off the radar completely. If we’re going to stay afloat in astronautics development we can’t have any more bad press about the