12 Focusing on the Positive

CHAPTER TWELVE Focusing on the Positive Positive charge (noun). When an atom is missing an electron or two, it will have a positive charge. It's like having a balance scale with a pound of lollipops on one side and a pound of chocolate on the other. If you take away a lollipop, you'll now have more chocolate than lollipops. AFTER SCHOOL, Elijah passed the soccer ball to me and I drove it down the field. The wind blew against my face. It was chilly outside, but I didn't mind. Running with the ball felt good, almost easy. If only my science project felt that way, too. If only I could figure out who was messing with me. "You got this!" cheered Elijah. "Go, Kate!" shouted Avery, waving at me from the opposite side of the field. Streams of sunlight broke through the clouds.

I got this, I told myself. But I wasn't so sure. Rory stood in my way. I mean, he literally stood. He wasn't coming at me. But more like standing still waving his arms, trying to intimidate me. On my team, I'm a defender, so I'm not as confident when it comes to duking it out. But I was going to have to speed past him. He was my obstacle. Calm down, I told myself. This isn't a real game. It was just a pickup game after school. Tapping the ball to the side, I used a quick change of direction to scoot past him. Yes! I dribbled down the field. The goal was getting closer. Just as Jeremy tried to take possession, I kicked. The ball lifted off, arcing into the air and into the goal. "Oh yeah," I cried, racing to grab the ball before I booted it back to midfield for the kickoff. Elijah high-fived me. Avery yelled "Goal!" and I saw the sunlight reflect off her sparkly red lip gloss, the latest color from her STEM project. "Hold up," said Jeremy. "Are you actually saying that was a goal?" "Uh-huh!" I said. "It went right between the goal post markers." "Dude, it did," said Elijah. "I placed the rocks exactly where we always put the cones."

Jeremy folded his arms in front of his chest. He peered at Rory. "You were closer than me. Did you see it go between those rocks?" Rory stared at me. He looked at Jeremy and then he considered the goal. "Um, yeah. Sort of. I did." "Sorry. I couldn't see it," said Jeremy. "This is why this school needs soccer nets!" "They would be helpful," said Rory. Jeremy waved his arms emphatically. "We should have them. It's basic equipment. If you win the STEM competition, you should also use the money to buy goals," Jeremy said to Rory. Rory peered back toward the school. "Actually, I want to buy more books for the library. I've read every science fiction series in there." "Me too," I agreed. "I love sci-fi." "Cool," said Rory. "Uh, Kate, looks like your mom wants you." Following his gaze, I spotted Mom, standing with Liam on the blacktop. She signaled it was time for us to go. "Okay, see you tomorrow, everyone," I called out. "Don't count this as a win because we didn't finish," Jeremy called after me. "Sure." I jogged backward. "It doesn't matter, anyway. We'll beat you tomorrow, too."

"You wish!" shouted Jeremy. Elijah caught up to me. "Man, Jeremy is as competitive as you are." "Yeah," I admitted. "I definitely like to win." Winning made me think of the STEM competition, which had been in my brain almost nonstop. I bit my lip and turned to Elijah. "I'm not sure I'm going to do so hot on the STEM competition, especially with someone sabotaging me. I just wish I knew who it was. Then I could stop them!" "Focus on the positive," suggested Elijah. "Hmm. When I think of the positive, I think of a positive charge, which makes me think of my project, which makes me get worried all over again." With a sigh, I folded my arms across my chest. "C'mon, Kate. Just think about what you'll do with the money." "I don't know," I mumbled. "How about buying more test tubes? Or lights and lasers for a musical talent show." "Maybe. But I want it to be... you know, something that feels essential." Everyone except me seemed to have great ways to spend the prize money. But it wouldn't even matter if I didn't figure out what was going on with

my project. I'd never win if someone kept messing with my stuff. I tapped my pocket, which had the index card of fingerprints inside. Hopefully that would lead me to the answer.