“Or as Ms. Daly would say,” I added, “time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.” We all laughed. Because it was one of Ms. Daly’s favorite jokes.
“Speaking of flying,” Mrs. Eberlin said, “I’ve got to get going on the magnet station I’m in charge of for STEM Night.”
She brushed past the social studies center and the reading corner. Then she disappeared into the walk-in supply closet at the very back of the room. “Wish me luck!” she called out. “I might be in here a while!”
I flicked a glance at Birdie. We could stay in the classroom and take off enough ink from each poem to do some testing.
Birdie looked at me, reading my mind.
“Now?” she asked under her breath.
“Yes,” I whispered back.
Birdie slunk over to the bulletin board. My fingers quickly tugged along the edge of a poem until I found the thumbtack.
I pulled one out when Birdie waved her hands frantically. “She’s coming back.”
My fingers flew off the board just as Mrs. Eberlin popped back over. She looked at us funny. “What are you girls still doing in here? Shouldn’t you already be outside?”
I shrugged. “Forgot my coat.” The lie felt sharp and hot on my tongue.
“That’s not like you, Kate.”
I shrugged sheepishly. No. It wasn’t. First of all, I don’t usually forget things. And second of all, I don’t lie. “My mind is on my project,” I said, and that part was true.
“Well, go outside and have some fun,” said Mrs. Eberlin. “It’s never this nice this time of year.”
But I wasn’t so sure I could have fun. After all, she came back so quickly that I wasn’t able to get a single poem off the board.
I had more sleuthing to do.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Partners in Crime
Vinegar (noun). An acid that is used in many science experiments. It’s also good to use as an ingredient for salad dressing, but you wouldn’t want to drink it by itself!
“LET’S NOT THINK ABOUT TOMORROW,” said Birdie as she swung on the monkey bars. “You’ve got to give yourself a break, Kate.”
Outside, the sun was shining. It was almost warm enough to shed my coat.
“You’re right,” I said, trying not to think about all of the sabotage.
“Let’s have a hanging upside down contest.”
“You’ll win.”
She laughed. “You don’t know that. Hey, look, Kate.” She pointed to the clouds. “Doesn’t it look like a giant question mark? It’s like the sky is curious.”
“Cool!” Birdie always saw things differently than me. Maybe that’s what made her a great artist.
Grabbing a bar, I started to swing when I noticed Rory whispering with Elijah. They were friends, so that part wasn’t weird. What was weird was that they kept on staring at me like maybe I was a baking soda and vinegar volcano that was about to explode.
I continued to swing on the monkey bars, but I could feel their stares burning into the back of my head.
“That’s it!” I dropped down on the ground with a hard thump.
Birdie glanced at me confused. “What’s it?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute.” I stormed over to Elijah as he headed toward the line to play tetherball. “What’s going on? Why were you and Rory just looking at me? It was weird.”
Elijah kept on walking on the field. “No reason.” A group of shrieking third graders playing tag brushed past us.
“There was a reason. Tell me. Plus, this isn’t the first time that Rory has been giving me weird looks.”
Elijah stopped. He seemed reluctant to turn around. “Can’t say,” he whispered.
My hands pressed against my mouth. It all became clear as a crystal.
“You and Rory are trying to sabotage my project,” I stated hotly.
Elijah squinted painfully as if he were staring into direct sunlight. Only the sun had just gone behind some clouds. “Well, well . . . you see—”
“I caught you! Ha!”
Elijah tugged nervously on his hair. “Kate. Don’t be mad. Please. It’s not what you think. I’d never mess with your project.” He looked so sincere. “You’ve got to believe me.” His voice quavered as if he were really upset. “That’s not what it is at all.”
“So, it’s Rory, then. You’re protecting him. I knew it!’
Elijah sighed. “Not about that. It’s . . . Rory’s mom is letting him have a boy/girl party for his birthday. And he wanted to invite you. And he was asking me if I thought you’d come.”
It was all about a party? The tight knot of upset started to soften. “So, it’s not Rory trying to ruin my project?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
I was quiet for a second and then I said, softly. “I’d come. If Rory invited me. You can . . . you can tell him that.”
Then I walked back to Birdie.
So, it wasn’t Elijah. And it wasn’t Rory. That just left two people—Jeremy and Avery.
CHAPTER TWENTY
On Cloud Nine
Cloud chemistry (noun). The study of chemical changes that take place in the atmosphere. If your head is in the clouds, this might be the branch of chemistry for you!
I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT was finally Friday and STEM Night.
And I was participating in my first science competition. And Dr. Caroline would be there. My Rube Goldberg machine was working. I had enough lemons. The fan spun perfectly. After testing the machine out a zillion times, I was able to get the tissue paper to turn soggy, which released the plastic arm, which turned on the calculator! My poster board looked better than ever (thank you, Birdie!). Now I just needed to wear something special.
In my bedroom, I pulled on my cable-knit sweater because it was new and blue and looked awesome.
Then I pulled it off.
It was itchy.
I couldn’t be scratching myself as I was explaining all about electrons. I had to be a non-itchy person.
I was sure that scientists like Dr. Caroline probably had non-itchy skin.
My dog came up to be scratched. “Hi, Dribble. This is one of the most important nights of my life. And I would love to pet you for ten hours, but I’ve got to get ready.” I put on a cream ribbed turtleneck and skinny jeans. Then I took my turtleneck off again and put on a NASA T-shirt and my lab coat. And of course, I wore the pink cowboy boots my grandparents got me for good luck.
Fifteen minutes later, I hurried downstairs and was raring to go. Mom was already at school. In fact, she had never left. I gazed outside the window. It was five and the sunset was swirls of orange, red, and pink. And in that moment, I wanted to understand everything. Why the sunset was so beautiful. Why my heart was beating so fast. I’m pretty sure it all had to do with chemistry.
“Kate, we don’t have to leave for another”—Dad looked at his watch—“thirty minutes.”
“I just want to be on time,” I said.
“Me too!” shouted Liam. “’Cause I want to make slime.”
“All right, you two,” said Dad. “Let’s go!” Dribble barked.
“I think Dribble wants to go, too!” said Liam.
“He would be a good scientist, don’t you think?” said Dad as we piled into the minivan. “He’s really curious.”
“Yes,” I said, “but he might bury and dig up his lab equipment.” And we all laughed.
* * *
At school, kids and parents milled around the hall. There were tables set up in the corridor and different classrooms were being used as various stations. There was a book fair set up in the library. And a bake sale was in the hallway by the office. It looked like a giant party for science.
I passed by Phoenix and met up with Birdie as we went to the multipurpose room to set up. Banners t
hat said: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DISCOVER? and SCIENCE ROCKS! were on the far wall. Around the perimeter, tables featured hands-on activities like grow your own crystals, magnets, and a way to make a nimbus cloud out of cotton balls.
“This is going to be so much fun.” My eyes scanned the room. “Do you think Dr. Caroline is here yet?”
Birdie shook her head. “I bet she’s eating her dinner.”
“Imagine. Dr. Caroline eats dinner.” I sighed in wonder. “I never thought of her eating like everyone else.”
Next I headed into the classroom to get my materials from my cubby. All of my lemons were there but no calculator!
“What!” I shrieked. “How can this be?”
“I’m sorry. This is awful. Maybe you can borrow another calculator,” said Biride.
I glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s a particular kind of calculator. One that doesn’t use a lot of power. I think this time I’ve . . . I’ve got to tell Ms. Daly.” I wasn’t happy about it, but I didn’t see any other way. Without the calculator, there wasn’t an end to my project. And I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of Dr. Caroline. That would be even worse than my mom making a big deal about someone trying to mess up my project.
“I think that’s a good idea,” said Birdie softly.
I raced away, looking for Ms. Daly in the multipurpose room. She was up onstage, talking to—gulp—Dr. Caroline, who was wearing her pink lab coat and had her pink goggles pushed up on top of her head. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
I really wanted to talk with Ms. Daly alone. But there wasn’t time. I sped up to her and words rushed out of my mouth. “I can’t find your calculator. So my project won’t work. Because I need that calculator. It uses about 1.5 volts. There’s no way my project will work with a fancier calculator! Maybe I should just . . . go home.”
Dr. Caroline met my eyes. “Don’t give up,” she said. “Don’t let anyone dim your spark for science.” I sort of nodded. I could barely process that I had finally met Dr. Caroline because I was so upset about the missing calculator
Ms. Daly went with me into the classroom. We searched in all of the cubbies. Next we checked the back storage area in the lab. Then she turned to me, a grim look on her face. “I’m afraid it’s nowhere to be found.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Measuring Results
Centimeter (noun). A unit of length. It’s 1/100 of a meter and about 2/5 of an inch. It’s part of the metric system, which is based on the power ten. Two, four, six, eight who do we appreciate—ten!
IN THE LAB, I SEARCHED under the tables. Birdie crept into the room and knelt next to me. “Any luck?” she asked.
“Nope. This is all I’ve found.” I opened my hand to reveal an eraser, a bubble gum wrapper, and a piece of lint.
I nodded over at Ms. Daly, who was rummaging through desk drawers. She looked up. “So far, I’ve found this.” She held a thick black calculator with a large silver screen. “But it’s a graphing calculator.”
“It will require way too many lemons,” I moaned.
“We probably can get your mom to open up the front office,” said Ms. Daly. “Maybe there’s a calculator in there that might work.”
I didn’t like the idea of bothering my mom, but . . .
“Tell her,” whispered Birdie. “About the person sabotaging you.”
“I don’t want to be a tattletale,” I whispered back.
“At this point, she should know. It’s not like you’re the one who loses stuff.” She half smiled. “That would be me.”
I let out a breath. “You’re right.” I walked over to Ms. Daly and started to explain what really happened. Midway through as I explained the part about Kate is bad at science, I realized that Dr. Caroline was standing in the doorway. Dr. Caroline! I closed my mouth.
“Keep going,” Dr. Caroline said. “Don’t let me stop you. I think it’s great to be up-front and honest. And it really makes me sad that someone is completely misunderstanding the point of STEM Night. It’s not about winning. It doesn’t make you better to put someone down. And it certainly doesn’t make your project better, if you make some else’s project worse.” Dr. Caroline dug her hands down in her lab coat pockets.
“It’s wrong, Kate,” said Ms. Daly. “I’m also glad you said something.”
“I wish I could do something to help,” said Dr. Caroline, her voice full of concern.
That’s when I told them about the fingerprints we found using the cocoa powder. Why we were definitely sure that it was someone else. “Because we tested them. Those prints weren’t mine.”
“I wish we could identify the student from their fingerprints,” said Dr. Caroline. “I think it’s important that they learn from this.”
“I know how to catch the person,” said Birdie. “I figured it out because of my ink chromatography experiment. All we would have to do is take the poems off the wall and test the four poems that used blue ink.”
“I think we can do that,” said Ms. Daly. “I’ll just check in with Mrs. Eberlin.”
I looked at Birdie. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“We haven’t caught them yet,” she said.
“But we will!”
* * *
After Ms. Daly received a text from Mrs. Eberlin with the go-ahead, Birdie took the four poems and with scissors carefully cut out a strip on the very bottom where Mrs. Eberlin had us write the date. The date was about a centimeter from the end of the strip. I like to measure in centimeters because that’s how scientists measure stuff—using the metric system.
Birdie hung the strips in the middle of four pencils. “I need four beakers.”
“On it,” said Ms. Daly, who popped back with four plastic beakers. “Ah,” she said. “I think I see where you’re going. Continue.” She deposited the four beakers on the table.
“Kate, can you fill the beakers with ten milliliters of water?” asked Birdie. “The water is our solvent.”
“On it,” I said, running to the science lab to grab a graduated cylinder. I sprinted back to the classroom before carefully filling up the beakers. I set them on the table in front of Birdie.
She placed one pencil across each of the four beakers. The bottom of the strip just touched the water. “See, I’m going to let the ink get wet just like I did in my science project.”
We watched in amazement as the ink separated. It took about five minutes. “The color patterns are all different,” she said. “Let’s compare them to the patterns made from the Kate is bad at science test strip.”
We all stared.
We had a match.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Responsible Party
Scientific responsibility (noun). The duty of scientists to think about their social responsibilities as well as stick to professional standards. It’s like understanding that you can’t copy a friend’s test but you can help her with her homework.
THE SABOTEUR WAS JEREMY.
It all started to make a little bit of sense. Well, I guess it did. On the soccer field he had doubted my goal. I thought that was just because he was being ultra competitive.
But I realized something. He wanted to beat me on the field and at the STEM science fair.
It didn’t take Ms. Daly too long to find Jeremy, since he was in front of his poster setting up his empty can of Red Bull.
“Jeremy,” said Ms. Daly. “I need to speak with you.”
He set down his can. “Okay,” he said.
We both followed Ms. Daly into the hallway. After pulling us into the science lab, she calmly explained how we knew that Jeremy was the culprit. Through science, of course.
Jeremy stared at a poster of the periodic table. Then his eyes cut to mine. “Everyone knows you’re going to win. It’s not fair. Your mom’s principal.”
M
s. Daly nodded as Jeremy was speaking. “Yes, it’s true. Kate’s mom is the principal. But she has to do her own work just like everyone else.”
“I work really hard,” I blurted out.
“Yeah, and your mom probably makes sure that everyone knows it.” Jeremy gestured toward the hall like my mom was standing out there telling teachers I was special.
“Everything you’re saying is not true.” I shook my head, blinking back some tears.
“I can vouch for that, Jeremy,” said Ms. Daly.
“I get it. I’m not the principal’s kid, so I’m not a VIP.” Jeremy sounded hurt.
“I’m sorry you feel overlooked for some reason,” said Ms. Daly more gently.
“I don’t.” He shrugged. But his face looked almost as pale as his hair. “It’s not about me. It’s about her.” His voice warbled.
“Actually, Jeremy,” stated Ms. Daly, “this is all about you right now. And your behavior. I think you know that not only is an apology needed, but also, we’re going to have to speak to your parents. And there will be consequences. What you did was not acceptable in any way.”
Jeremy met my gaze. “I’m sorry, Kate. Really sorry.”
“This was all about a silly calculator?” I bit my lip, and then, turning to Ms. Daly, said, “Not that your calculator is silly, Ms. Daly. It’s awesome and amazing.”
“Well, you went around acting like you were going to win,” Jeremy said. “And you don’t even know what you’re going to do with the prize money.”
I felt like he had sucker-punched me. Because it was true. Even though it was STEM Night, I still didn’t know what I would do with the money if I won. I was just confused. There were so many options and all of them were amazing.
“That doesn’t mean I won’t figure it out,” I said. If I won. Now, with all of this drama, I wasn’t so sure I would. I felt wobbly.
The STEM Night Disaster Page 6