An American at Hogwarts

Chapter Thirty-Nine

I had a little trouble falling asleep that night. Since Uncle Clint knew I was leaving for a week for space camp, I was convinced that he would try to prank me back before I left. It was a serious oversight in my original planning.

Somehow, I managed to get enough rest that I wasn't exhausted the next day. I woke up, ate some breakfast, then said my goodbyes to everybody before heading out the door to meet my team in the lobby of Stark Tower. Uncle Clint smirked at me the whole time, which only made me more jumpy. Probably he was using my nerves as his payback, but what if he wasn't? What if he dropped out of the ceiling vents before I left with water balloons or something?

A big black car was waiting outside the building with all of my teammates already inside. As soon as the door closed behind me and I buckled in next to Jackson, I sighed in relief. I made it safely away without payback.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Jackson after taking one look at my face. "You look like you got run through with an electric current."

"Thanks Jackson. I pranked my Uncle Clint last night and I thought for sure he was gonna try to pay me back before I left. I made it though, he didn't get me."

"You do realize his payback was probably making you completely paranoid, right?" asked Jackson.

"Yeah, I do. Whatever, it's fine. I'm out of the tower now, so it's over."

"Wait a second," said Dale, leaning forward from the back row of seats. "Did you just say you pranked your Uncle Clint? As in Hawkeye?"

"Yeah, he's actually easier to prank than you'd think. I mean, for a super spy he really misses a lot of the things I throw at him."

"That's still insanely cool," decided Dale, leaning back in his seat.

"I don't think I'll ever really be used to the idea that the Avengers are your family, Alexa," mused Alana.

I laughed. "Honestly, me neither."

We spent the rest of the car ride laughing and chatting, and even Jackson was pretty pleasant. For this week-long prize, we were going to tour a few of the different NASA facilities around the country. Our first stop was in Washington DC at NASA headquarters, which was about a four hour drive. We arrived around lunch time, and needless to say all of us were itching to get out of the car and stretch our legs.

"Finally! Let's get some lunch," said Jackson, getting out and walking towards the main building. I stayed by the car to help Alana and Dale get out, which forced Jackson to wait for us too. The people trying to lead a bunch of high school sophomores and seniors through a government facility didn't want us to split up. Go figure.

Alana, Dale, and I strolled towards the building, taking in everything we saw. I was mostly doing it just to annoy Jackson, but it was still nice to take my time looking around this new building. I mean, it's NASA headquarters! I didn't want to miss anything.

We followed a couple people with official NASA badges to a cafeteria, then sat down at a table to wait for whatever came next.

Thankfully, there were sandwiches, chips, and drinks waiting for us.

"This is so cool!" exclaimed Alana, whipping her head from side to side to keep looking at everything as she ate.

"No kidding. This could be where one of us ends up someday!" Dale agreed.

"What do you think, Stark? You ever been here before?" asked Jackson. He was trying to hide it, but I could tell he was blown away by being here too. He kept sneaking glances at everyone who passed us.

"Actually no. My dad's been here a few times, but I never came with him. If one of you three ends up working here I fully expect to be invited to visit at least once a year."