14 Looking for a Solution

CHAPTER FOURTEEN LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION Soluble (adjective). If a scientist says that a substance is soluble, it means that it will dissolve. Lots of inks are soluble in alcohol, which means you can use it to wipe graffiti off desks and tables. But the best thing to do is not write on your desk in the first place! "OKAY, LIAM," I SAID, "I think it won't fall down now." A little over a week had flown by, and I still had not been able to get to the bottom of what was going on with Birdie. It was Saturday, the morning of Liam's birthday, about an hour before the party. We were taping up a blanket of stars in the entryway to our house. It wasn't an actual blanket but a roll of paper with silver stars. Liam studied the stars and all the other decorations. "They look good," he cried. "I know!" And they did, especially with the helium- filled planet balloons floating in front. Saturn with its rings and Jupiter with its big spot looked especially cool. Earlier, we had tied them to strings so they wouldn't drift all the way up to the ceiling. I peered down at my phone. Birdie still hadn't called me back. Earlier, I had tried to call her so that

once we figured everything out, we could go to the rocket launch together and pick up Liam's cake. It was almost like she was avoiding me. In fact, all during school the past week, I had tried to get her alone to talk, but it had never worked. So now I was desperate. And I had resorted to the phone. Only she wasn't answering. So I left a message. Birdie has her own cell phone. It's not for texting. It's for emergencies. I figured this was sort of an emergency. Then I used a messaging app on my iPad and typed a message there, too. No response. Next I called Mrs. Bhatt's cell phone since they don't have a landline. Only she didn't pick up either. I left a message asking Birdie to call me. I told myself that with all of those messages, I would hear from Birdie soon. I just had to! Right now, Mom was outside tying more planet balloons to the mailbox. Dad was in the kitchen getting all of the snacks prepared. In the entranceway, Liam was all flushed and excited. Grandma Dort would say he was "on cloud nine," and I would say somewhere out in the stratosphere. That's the second layer of Earth's atmosphere. I tried to pretend that I was up there in the

stratosphere, too. Just thinking about happy-birthday thoughts and not about when I would hear from Birdie. "It's like we stepped into a planetarium or something," I said. Before Liam was born, we had gone to the planetarium in Chicago. And in that dark, domed room, I had felt as if I were floating in outer space, visiting faraway constellations. Now it felt that way in our own home. "Did you know that stars are like the hugest nuclear reactors ever?" I said. "That's because atoms split apart and release a ridiculous amount of energy." Liam flexed his muscles. "I'm going to release a lot of energy at my party!" he cried. "Yes, you sure will." He studied my long-sleeved T-shirt. It said LIAM'S SPACE CREW for his birthday party. He had his own shirt that said SPACE COMMANDER. Mom had ordered them especially for today. "I can't wait for my party," he said. Seeing him so pumped up lifted my mood. Everything was going to be perfect. "Guess what?" said Liam. "I'm going to put up more stars in the bathroom." "Great idea."

As he sprang away, I hung up some silver and black streamers. Meanwhile, I was listening hard, waiting for the phone to ring. It didn't. I tried to keep my mind on the birthday party. There were going to be so many activities for the kids. Pin-the-tail-on-the-comet. Making moon phases with Oreos. Bobbing for planets. A pi.ata in the shape of Saturn. Then the phone rang. My heart leaped. I raced to get it. But Dad had already picked it up. I could hear him saying, "Yes, the party starts at eleven" and then "Great idea." What would be a great idea would be for Birdie to call me back. I trudged over to the entryway, where I used some more tape to hold up the streamers. A few minutes later, Liam sprinted toward me. "You got to see what I did. It looks soooo awesome. There's a planet in the bathroom." "A planet? I don't remember the glow-in-the-dark kit coming with a planet." "That's 'cause I made it myself." He waved a red Magic Marker in the air. "With this!" Sure enough, when I went over to check, on the bathroom wall next to

the sink, he had scribbled what appeared to be the planet Mars. Covering my mouth, I stifled a gasp. "Oh, Liam. Wow." "It looks awesome, right?" "It sure does." Somehow, I had to gently break the news to him. "I love how it's red just like Mars. But how will it come off?" His face fell. "I didn't think about that." "It's a cool idea, really. It's just that Mom and Dad had the bathroom painted, sort of recently. As in last summer. Remember?" "No," he said in a small voice. "I mean, I guess, kind of." Then he made a cross between a harrumph and a big sigh. "Mom's going to be soooo mad. And Dad will say he's 'disappointed' in me." "You don't know that," I said. When his little shoulders slumped, I felt awful. "I knew today was going to be a bad luck day," he murmured. "No, Liam, it's not." Although part of me thought that maybe it was. I paced. And paced some more. "There's got to be some way to fix this." Then I thought about what Dr. Caroline might do. She has all of these cool demos and teaches you about what it's like to be a real scientist. She says, when you're stuck, get a little creative and get curious.

I, Kate Crawford, was definitely curious. But I was also worried. Definitely worried. Mom and Dad would check on us any minute now. I didn't want them to see Liam's very red and very big planet on those freshly painted mint-green walls. His party hadn't even started and things were already getting messy. Literally. And Birdie hadn't called. Nothing was going right. Guests were supposed to arrive in less than thirty minutes. Yikes. This wasn't looking good. "Kate," said Liam. "You can fix it, right?" "Um... yeah," I said, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt. I just had to figure out how. I could hear Mom opening the front door. Okay, Kate, I told myself. Stop panicking and take a deep breath. Ask yourself some questions. Get curious. So I wondered aloud, "What might break down the ink?" "A magic wand?" said Liam. "Nope," I said, getting an idea. "We don't need a wand. Not when we have a solvent. Because a solvent dissolves stuff." That's because of its chemical structure. From the cleaning closet, I grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a clean rag. Onto the rag, I poured a splotch of rubbing alcohol. "Liam, you go for it. Rescue the walls. From the"—I tried to think of something appealing—"alien poison."