6 Broken

CHAPTER SIX Broken Decomposition (noun). This means the breakdown of a molecule or a substance. It can happen when we add too much heat to a chemical. It's like breaking a chocolate chip cookie in half so now there's two crumbly pieces, instead of one whole big cookie. Of course, it's always better to eat a whole cookie! FIRST OF ALL, YOU MUST KNOW THAT I, Kate Crawford, didn't win today's Science Challenge. Julia's group did. They would be the ones getting to demonstrate the Vomiting Pumpkin at the Fall Festival on Friday. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the way that Ms. Daly looked at me. "I'm very disappointed in all of you," she said. But her eyes zeroed in on me first. After all, I am the president of the chemistry club, so I'm supposed to be extra responsible. It's not like I don't know the rules. You never allow yourself to get out of control in a lab. And you definitely can't get involved in a tug-of-war involving pliers when there's a potted cactus

nearby. Even if Jeremy was so wrong. And extremely annoying. During the rest of the period, Julia, Avery, and Skyler had fun with Neon Brains. Meanwhile, the rest of us sat with our heads on the table, writing all the things we did wrong in our notebooks. Right now, it felt like everything was breaking apart. In chemistry, they call that decomposition. It's when a molecule or substance breaks down. Like when you break apart hydrogen peroxide, for example. The chemical bonds are broken in the peroxide, and then you end up with oxygen gas and liquid water— two separate things. Depending on what's happening, decomposition can happen all at once or in a series of steps. "I'm afraid you six will all receive zeroes for today," said Ms. Daly. I swallowed hard. Right now, I felt like my life was decomposing all at once! Birdie had tears in her eyes. Phoenix pulled on her macramé bracelet. Elijah stared at the wall, and Jeremy pointed at me, smirking. Memito jutted out his lower lip, sighing heavily. With furrowed brows, Ms. Daly said in a scary, quiet voice. "And I'd like to see all six of you after

school tomorrow. It's important that you be there." My head felt so heavy I thought it might roll right off my neck. This wasn't all my fault. Was it?