The Nebula Secret

The Nebula Secret is the first book in the Explorer Academy series. Written by Trudi Trueit, and illustrated by Scott Plumbe, it released on September 4th 2018, by Under the Stars.

Quote:
“Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything.” —Nellie Bly (1864-1922)

The Story
Cruz was surfing in the Hanalei Bay at Hawaii when a scuba diver grabbed his foot and pulled him underwater. Thinking it was a shark, he kicked it and tried to swim to the surface. His foot hit the diver’s breathing pipe and dislodged it. The diver then let go of Cruz’s foot to set the pipe. Cruz got out of the water to see the diver swimming away.

Later, in his father’s surf equipment shop named Goofy Foot, he realized that the diver had cut his ankle. He knew his father was reluctant to let him go to Explorer Academy and was sure to change his mind if Cruz was in danger, so he lied, saying he snagged it on a coral.

Earlier, his friend Leilani Kealoha (or Lani, as Cruz calls her) had applied to Explorer Academy. Out of all the applicants, the Academy would choose only 24 students. The Academy sent him a letter saying that he had been chosen as part of the 24 students. However, they did not accept Lani. Cruz and Lani had planned to go to the Academy together, but only Cruz could. Lani had been disappointed, but she supported Cruz’s decision to go alone.

Back at the shop, Cruz’s father said that Lani had been by. She had left a package. Opening it, Cruz found a note from her saying that she had made “it” and now Cruz could control Mell anytime and at a range of 4000 feet. The package contained “it”, which turned out to be a honeycomb pin.

Mell was Cruz’s honeybee MAV drone. It was a gift from his father when Cruz had gotten hurt and couldn’t surf, so that Cruz could see the bay even if he couldn’t surf. Clipping the pin on his shirt, Cruz said, “Mell, on,”. Mell’s drone eyes flashed from black to gold, indicating it was now on. The pin was a voice command remote for Mell.

Afterwards, Cruz's father came into his room, holding an envelope that contained a letter from Cruz's late mother, Petra Coronado, which was supposed to be given on his thirteenth birthday. The letter wished Cruz a very happy birthday, and that he could do anything he set his mind to. Cruz then opened a holo-dome video which showed a day at the beach with his mother, his father behind the camera. It usually comforted Cruz, but that night, it hurt.

The next day, Cruz's flight landed in Washington, D.C., after thirteen hours, and he met his Aunt Marisol, and they discussed the coded postcard Aunt Marisol mailed to him. Cruz also met Emmett Lu, his new roommate, and the two hit it off, talking about Mell's upgrades, a time machine, the North Star award, and Emmett's emoto-glasses and Lumagine fabric, among others.

When they met Sailor York, their supposed third roommate, Aunt Marisol pointed out a glitch in the setup, and then they headed outside, but Emmett expressed his concern about a man wearing snakeskin-print boots following the group to Cruz. Cruz, worried, mentioned to Emmett that it may have been a simple coincidence.

The group entered Explorer Academy, with Cruz taken aback by the imposing building. While Emmett and Sailor left to go to their dorms, Aunt Marisol told Cruz that he'd love the Academy, and that he'd fit right in with everyone. After she left, a guy wearing a red T-shirt that said 'I'm Kind of a Big Deal' asked Cruz if Dr. Coronado (Aunt Marisol) was his aunt. When the guy mentioned to some other explorers around the table that the 'newbies' could kiss the North Star award goodbye, a gangly Dugan intimidated him and said that he would have his name spelled right on top of the North Star award. But the desk adviser Taryn stopped him, saying that everyone had an input in selecting the candidate for the North Star. The students then met Hubbard, Taryn's pet dog. She then talked to Cruz to see if he was alright, and introduced herself and the academy, and remarked about Cruz's double helix birthmark, as well as gave him his school tablet and OS band. She then called for him to wait, and before he left, she said, "Welcome to the Academy."

To be continued...