The year was 2043,

And Camila trotted down

The school halls with glee.

A smile stretched across her face

When she spotted her classroom door.

She had always dreamed of going to space

And wanted to learn about it even more.

She waved to her friends

When she entered her class,

And took a seat on the colored carpet

Listening carefully to Mrs. Bass.

“What do you want to do when you grow up?”,

Asked Mrs. Bass.

A bunch of little hands were raised

As she scanned the class.

Camila was filled with excitement

When the teacher tapped her head,

So she quickly stood up,

And loud and proud she said,

“I want to go to Mars!”

Camila stood tall with pride.

But the whole class laughed at her

As she looked down and cried.

“But you’re a girl!”

Laughed naughty Nate.

Mrs. Bass scowled at him

And he didn't feel too great.

Camila stormed out of the room

And wiped her wet tears clean.

Mrs. Bass arrived to comfort her

And escorted her back to the scene.

“We should all encourage Camila”,

The teacher advised with concern.

Her classmates soon apologized,

But they did not seem to learn.

Terrible Tom noticed Camila,

And stopped her in the hall.

“You’re a big cry baby.

You can’t do anything at all.”

Camila ignored Terrible Tom

And asked Mrs. Bass for advice.

“No one believes I can go to Mars,” she complained,

“And I don’t think that is very nice.”

“You have to prove you can go to Mars first,”

Mrs. Bass explained with a smile.

“You can demonstrate at the science fair tomorrow

By showing your classmates a trial.”

Now with high spirits,

Camila dashed off the bus to her mom.

“I’m going to build a rocket,” she said,

“and show that terrible Tom.”

Camila burst through her front door

and searched for materials in her room.

Her mom happily entered with a supply box.

"Camila, you better get working soon!"

Off to her garage she went

And searched for something sturdy.

She finally found some brown colored pipes

And attached them together in a hurry.

She had the base done

With the brown pipes connected to make a square,

And a long tube up the middle.

There was much more to prepare.

Working her way up,

She started on the rocket's fins,

So she cut out some cardboard,

Sticking it to the tube with pins.

Next came the middle

Looking plain and red as ever.

So, she painted some designs

And signed her name in the center.

She placed a cone on the tip of the rocket

And painted it bright blue.

The rocket was finally complete,

And now it was time to snooze.

The very next morning,

Camila rushed to get ready,

But when she spotted the air pump in her garage,

She realized that it was extremely heavy.

Moving the pump was a big struggle,

And the clock was ticking to get to school.

So she found a lever made out of wood,

Before realizing she needed another tool.

The lever alone was not enough.

She needed an object to fit the center.

So she pushed a triangular shaped object,

And placed it under the lever.

When the lever and pulley

Seemed to be aligned just right,

Camila dropped a heavy box on one side.

The pump was so light!

She said her goodbyes to her lovely mother,

and off to the bus stop she went.

She took a seat with the rocket right by her side,

Extra careful not to make a dent.

With her rocket gleaming and in great condition,

Camila entered the doors to her school.

Her whole class looked in awe when they saw it,

And cheerfully exclaimed, “Wow, how cool!”

Mrs. Bass congratulated Camila

On her amazing job with the rocket.

“Now let’s see how well this works," she said

As Camila clenched her good luck charm from her pocket.

Butterflies danced in Camila's stomach

As she thought about the fair.

“What if the rocket won't work?” she thought,

As she tried her best not to care.

However, Camila was still very worried

And nervous a big great ton.

But when she entered the fair with her classmates,

She knew she would have already won.

Camila saw plenty of cool projects,

But none were as great as her rocket.

Her idea was so outside of the box

that she was confident, no doubt about it.

She took her place next to the other contestants,

And waited anxiously for the judges to arrive.

When they finally came Camila bolted up.

She had never felt more alive.