Minesweeper, page 12
When we were back out, not yet dry but at least safe on the deck of the destroyer, we all counted down together. It sounded like the greatest Christmas carol ever croaked.
“Three! Two! One!”
Nothing happened. I nearly choked on my own tongue.
“Will we try TWO again?” Baccala called out, and as we yelled “TWO!” the biggest—no the BIGGEST, biggest—most glorious Christmas light show of all time exploded right there across our vision. Everything in the port of Hungnam shattered and burnt into history.
I knew then what smithereens were.
* * *
They sent us back to Japan for some well-earned rest. And after the holidays, they sent us to Pearl Harbor to teach the rest of the world what we knew.
And to do some surfing. The surfing in Hawaii was a dream.
Well. To be honest, it wasn’t that much better than the surfing in my own backyard.
Then a couple of months later, they sent us back to my own backyard. Coronado, California.
You know, Duke, I did what you said. I saw the world.
And I am happy to say, the world was still waiting for me, right here. Right where we started it all.
Chris Lynch is the author of numerous acclaimed books for middle-grade and teen readers, including the Cyberia series and the National Book Award finalist Inexcusable. He teaches in the Lesley University creative writing MFA program, and divides his time between Massachusetts and Scotland.
Copyright © 2019 by Chris Lynch
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
First edition, December 2019
Jacket art © 2019 by Larry Rostant
Jacket design by Christopher Stengel
e-ISBN 978-0-545-86166-3
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Chris Lynch, Minesweeper
