Free Time Benders by Gary Paulsen Page A

passengers. “Sorry.”
    “No problem.” A tall kid about his age grinned at him.
    Zack couldn’t help smiling back. Then he turned and walked off the plane in search of the baggage carousel.
    Twenty minutes later he was sitting near the baggage claim waiting for someone from the Institute of American Science to pick him up. The tall boy from the plane stood nearby, noisily bouncing a basketball while he listened to his CD player.
    Thirty more minutes passed. The waiting area had cleared out except for an elderly couple, a family of four, and the two boys.
    “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of sitting here.” The tall boy had taken off his earphones and was standing beside Zack. “Want to split a taxi?”
    Zack scratched his head. “Uh, sure. I guess so. Looks like my ride’s forgotten me. I’m supposedto be staying at the Fairmont. How about you?”
    “Hey, that’s where I’m staying too. Cool. Say, you aren’t one of the ner—I mean genius types who won a trip here because of some dopey test, are you?”
    “Afraid so. You?”
    “It’s a long story, but yeah, that’s why I’m here too. I’m Jeff. Jeff Brown from L.A.”
    “Zack Griffin, Denver.”
    “Great. Need any help with your stuff?” Jeff offered.
    Zack shook his head. “I can handle it.”
    “Okay then. Let’s get out of here.” Jeff led the way through the lobby. “If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll spot a video arcade on the way to the hotel.”

C HAPTER 3
    “How did you do that? Nobody scores that high playing Super Body Crushers on their first try.” Jeff lifted his suitcase out of the trunk of the taxi.
    Zack shrugged. “I just watched you play and then figured out the game’s program. It wasn’t much of a challenge.”
    “Are you kidding me? That’s the toughest game there is.”
    Zack balanced the duffel under his arm and picked up his other bag. “If you say so.”
    Jeff followed his new friend inside the hotel. “Does everything come that easy to you?”
    “Some things don’t.” Zack stopped a few feet from the registration desk. He eyed Jeff’s basketball. “I’m not very good at sports.”
    “That’s too bad.” Jeff gave him a sympathetic look.
    “There you are!” A short, balding man rushed over to them. “We’ve been frantic. Our driver somehow missed your flight. I’m Cummings from the Institute. The rest of the group has already left for the laboratory. Let’s get you two registered and we’ll be on our way.”
    “Wait,” Jeff said. “Don’t we get to go up to check out our rooms first and get settled in?”
    Mr. Cummings rolled his eyes. “Young man, I already explained that we’re late for the tour. Which means we’ll also be late for the presentation and the dinner if we don’t get a move on.”
    “But what about our stuff?” Zack asked.
    “Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll leave it with the desk clerk and he’ll have a bellhop take it up to your room.”
    “There’s no way I’m leaving my CD player or this ball with strangers. The disk player is brand new and the ball is signed by Charles Barkley.”
    “And I can’t leave this bag. The things in it are too valuable.” Zack clutched it to his chest.
    “Oh, very well. Keep them if you must.” Mr. Cummings moved to the desk to make the arrangements. In a few moments he returned to the boys and rubbed his hands together. “We’re all set. Shall we go?” He hurried toward the door without waiting for an answer.
    Zack looked at Jeff. “Are you as excited about this as I am?”
    Jeff spun his basketball on one finger. “Maybe we can ditch the little guy and go back to Video World. You can show me how to beat that game.”
    “On one condition.” Zack smiled. “You have to show me how you do that.” He pointed at the spinning ball.
    “Deal.”

C HAPTER 4
    “And this wing houses some of our most important projects.” A tall gray-haired man wearing a white lab coat led the group down a long hall. He opened a door.