Birthday Noodles in Space

Jun is the cook on a space station. His kitchen is small and white. Everything in it floats.

Today is the captain's birthday. Jun wants to make her favorite food. She loves noodle soup. But soup is a big problem in space.

Jun puts hot water in a bowl. The water does not stay there. It goes up in a round ball. It floats past his nose. Jun catches it with a cloth.

"Water has no floor here," he says. "It goes everywhere."

He tries a cup with a lid. He puts in the noodles and the water. He shakes the cup. The noodles hit the lid. They stick there like long yellow hair. Jun laughs, but the soup is a mess.

Next he tries a bag with a straw. This is better. The water stays inside. But the noodles are too long. They stop in the straw. Jun pulls and pulls. Then one noodle shoots out. It hits the wall.

The doctor looks into the kitchen. "Please keep the soup away from my room," she says. "Last time, I found peas in my bed."

"Sorry," says Jun. "Today is a hard day for me."

Then the pilot floats in. She holds a small book. "It smells good in here," she says. "What do you make?"

"Noodle soup for the captain," says Jun. "But the noodles do not stay still."

The pilot looks around. She sees the sticky tray on the wall. It holds the bread and the rice in place. "Why not use that?" she asks.

"Soup is not sticky," Jun says.

"Then make it sticky," she says. "Make it thick, like a sauce."

Jun thinks about this. He likes it. He cooks the noodles in a little water. He cuts them short. He adds garlic, salt, and a big spoon of flour. He stirs and stirs. The soup gets thick and warm. It holds on to the spoon.

Jun tests it. He turns the spoon up. He turns it down. He turns it all the way around. The noodles do not move. They sit on the spoon like a small hat.

"It works!" he says.

He puts the sticky tray on the table. He puts a spoon at every seat. On each spoon he puts a nest of noodles. He adds a small blue light for the party.

At six o'clock the crew comes. The captain floats in last. She sees the table and stops.

"Happy birthday!" everyone says. They sing a song. The song is loud and not very good. The captain laughs.

Jun gives her the first spoon. She puts it in her mouth. She closes her eyes.

"It tastes like my mother's kitchen," she says. "How do you do it?"

"The pilot helps," says Jun. "And I use a lot of flour."

The crew eats. In one minute, every spoon is clean. The doctor asks for more. The pilot asks for more. Even the captain asks for more.

Jun looks at the empty pot. Then he takes the flour. He starts a new pot.