10 Looking for Answers

CHAPTER TEN LOOKING FOR ANSWERS Critical point (noun). The moment when you can't tell the difference between two phases, like a liquid and a gas. For example, when water is at a really high pressure and temperature (like 800°F), water and steam look the exact same. How crazy is that?! BY FRIDAY I STILL HADN'T FIGURED OUT what was up with Birdie. We still talked, sat next to each other in the beanbag chairs during free read, and ate lunch together, but it didn't feel right. She was too quiet. I had to start our conversations. Sometimes during recess, which was outside this week since it wasn't too snowy, Birdie would just stay in the classroom and draw in her sketchbook. But now after school at chemistry club, we were all excited to begin working on our rockets, since we had been collecting materials for them all week. By the front counter, Elijah, Memito, and Jeremy Rowe were using stencils to put their rocket names onto the tube part of their rockets (Pewter Scooter, Thunder Kiss, Mad Missile 13). Julia Yoon and Skyler Rumsky were cutting out fins. Avery, Phoenix, and Tala were making nose

cones with a bunch of fourth graders. Ms. Daly scurried around the back of the lab, organizing supplies. With a hot glue gun, I was about to stick on a piece of paper over my plastic bottle. "Light blue's nice, right?" I asked Birdie. "I don't know," she said. "It might blend into the sky." Birdie shrugged. "It'd make the rocket hard to see." I pulled out a violet sheet of paper. "How about this? Mighty Purple Force—activate!" Birdie just sort of shrugged again. She didn't giggle like she usually did when I brought up our old make-believe game. When we were in kindergarten, we used to pretend we were superheroes with purple capes and elemental control, which was a fancy way of saying we could control the weather. "Now with my powers, I can make sure it's going to be warm and sunshiny." I nodded over at Tala, who was showing Phoenix and Avery how to roll their nose cones for their rockets. "Like in California." "Sure," said Birdie. "That would be nice." But she didn't sound convinced. She didn't sound like she thought anything was nice. Suddenly, I wanted some answers. I had to ask the one question that had started to grow bigger and bigger in my mind like a weed that wanted to overtake all of my other regular thoughts.

"Is it because you think Tala doesn't like you?" I asked. "Because she does. She said your art was amazing." "Sure." "No, really. She went on and on." Birdie didn't look up at me. She studied the silver sequins on the body of her rocket. "The only reason she's across the room with Phoenix and Avery right now is because she thinks you don't like her." I inspected the now purple middle section of my bottle rocket. "I don't know Tala," said Birdie. "So how can I not like her?" "True, but you could get to know her." I stepped closer to Birdie and lowered my voice. "Could you tell me what is really going on? Honestly, I'm trying to guess what's wrong, but I'm getting kind of tired of it. It's like trying to detect that moment when ice melts and becomes water. You just can't quite see it." "You're getting tired of guessing?" she squeaked. "A little. Maybe. Yeah." This whole conversation was making me uneasy. Maybe because we were in the middle of the lab with others around. I studied the flecks in the tiles on the floor. I glanced around the room. And

then I spotted Memito and Elijah arguing about something, and I realized exactly what I needed to do.