4 A Space-Filled Day

CHAPTER FOUR A SPACE-FILLED DAY Crystallography (noun). This is the kind of chemistry that studies the crystal structure of molecules that contain elements like gold and iron. In order to understand the crystals, scientists need to study the atoms. In order to understand our friends, wouldn't it be nice to have a crystal ball? AFTER CHEMISTRY CLUB WAS OVER, Birdie and I walked home together. Normally, I get a ride with my mom. And Elijah comes too, along with Liam, who talks nonstop. But last week, my mom had promised Birdie and me that we could bike home together, as long as there wasn't ice on the ground and it wasn't snowing. Well, obviously, with the flurries today, that plan had been scrapped. But we had still decided we were up for a mile-long hike. Although the snow was light, we wore boots, thick parkas, gloves, and wool caps. The wind whipped snow flurries around us. "Snowflakes are ice crystals," I said. "True." Birdie sounded like she was both bored and disappointed, which didn't make sense.

第四章充满空间的日间晶体学（名词）。 这是一种研究含有金和铁等元素的分子晶体结构的化学。 为了了解晶体，科学家需要研究原子。 为了了解我们的朋友，有一个水晶球不是很好吗？ 化学课结束后，我和小鸟一起走回家。 通常我都是和我妈搭顺风车。 以利亚也来了，还有利亚姆，他不停地说话。 但是上周，我妈妈答应我和小鸟一起骑自行车回家，只要地上没有冰，也没有下雪。 很明显，由于今天的小雪，这个计划被取消了。 但我们还是决定进行一英里长的徒步旅行。 虽然雪很小，我们还是穿着靴子、厚大衣、手套和羊毛帽。 风把雪吹得在我们周围乱飞。 “雪花是冰晶，”我说。 “真的。”伯迪听起来既无聊又失望，这说不通。

Tilting up my chin, I watched the snowflakes as they cascaded downward. "Amazing that each one is made up of water molecules. Two hydrogen atoms bond with one oxygen atom. Then they dance themselves to form six-sided rings. Hexagons." I stuck out my tongue. A snowflake landed right on the tip. "Hexagons taste good. But they could use a little sugar." "Uh-huh," said Birdie. "Or maple syrup." "Sure," said Birdie. Whipping around, I clapped my gloved hands together. "Oh, did I tell you? I asked Ms. Daly if we could launch rockets during chemistry club." "Really?" "Yeah. I just have to come up with a plan. But hopefully, she'll say yes." Then I excitedly told her about the rocket launch at Tala's old science club back in California. And how she was going to help me with the rockets for Liam's birthday party. "He's going to love it!" I looked up at the sky, as if maybe I could somehow catch sight of a twinkling star in the middle of the day. "Tala's an expert on outer space. She wants to be an astronaut. It's pretty awesome, right?" "I guess."

我扬起下巴，看着雪花像瀑布一样飘落下来。 “令人惊讶的是，每一个都是由水分子组成的。 两个氢原子和一个氧原子成键。 然后它们跳舞形成六面环。 六边形。”我伸出舌头。 一片雪花正好落在顶端。 “六边形很好吃。但他们可以加点糖。” “嗯哼，”小鸟说。“或者枫糖浆。” “当然，”小鸟说。我猛地转过身来，用戴着手套的双手拍了拍。 “哦，我告诉过你吗？”我问她。 如果我们能在化学课上发射火箭就好了。” “真的吗?”“是的。我只需要想出一个计划。 但希望她会答应。” 然后我兴奋地告诉她塔拉在加州的老科学俱乐部发射火箭的事。 还有她要帮我准备利亚姆生日派对的火箭。 “他会喜欢的！”我抬头望着天空，仿佛我能在正午时分看到一颗闪烁的星星。 “塔拉是外太空专家。 她想成为一名宇航员。 非常棒，对吧？”“我猜。”

"With Tala around, it feels like rockets are in the air. Get it? In the air?" "Yeah. I get it." Birdie fiddled with her bracelet. "Maybe we could use the leftover drink mix to make slushies. Rocket launching and slushies. Oh! And we could make cherry ones, your favorite." Birdie shrugged. "Sounds all right. But it could be snowing." She pointed up at the milky sky. "Or sleeting. Doesn't really seem to be the best idea." "Well, we won't know unless we try. Which is the point, right? Of doing experiments, I mean." "Sure. Well, see you later." Birdie hiked up her backpack and started to turn left onto Oak Lane Court. "Wait. You don't need to go so soon. We could—" I dug my gloves into a bank of fresh snow. "Have a snowball fight. Or make snow angels!" Birdie loved tracing halos over our angels, which would make them look almost real. "Not now." "My dad bought that special hot chocolate mix. And we can put mini marshmallows in it." Birdie shrugged. "I'm not in the mood." "Is everything okay?" "Fine." "Are you sure?" "I just want to go home," she said.

“有塔拉在身边，感觉就像火箭在空中。 明白了吗?在空中？”“是的。 我明白了。”伯蒂摆弄着她的手镯。 “也许我们可以用剩下的饮料混合物来制作冰沙。 火箭发射和冰沙。 哦!我们还可以做樱桃的，你最喜欢的。” 小鸟耸耸肩。“听起来不错。 但可能会下雪。”她指着天上乳白色的天空。 ”或下雨夹雪。这似乎不是个好主意。” “嗯，除非我们试一试，否则我们不会知道。 这才是重点，对吧？ 我的意思是做实验。” “当然。好了，再见。” 伯蒂提起背包，开始向左拐进橡树巷球场。 ”等。你不必这么快就走。 我们可以——”我把手套伸进一堆新下的雪里。 “打雪仗吧。或者做雪天使！”小鸟喜欢在我们的天使头上画光环，这样会让他们看起来几乎是真的。 “现在不行。”“我爸爸买了那种特别的热巧克力混合物。 我们还可以把迷你棉花糖放进去。” 小鸟耸耸肩。“我没心情。” “一切都好吗？”“很好。” “你确定吗？”“我只想回家，”她说。

"Okay. Another time then!" As I trudged back alone to my house, I felt a little bit sad and disappointed. It was Friday. And Fridays mean the weekend. And weekends mean long playdates or sleepovers. Then I wondered if Birdie wasn't feeling well. I should have asked her. I whipped around to see if she was still on the sidewalk, but she was already inside. Then I thought about something I could do that might cheer her up. Maybe Mom and I could bake chocolate chip cookies and drop them off at her house. Chocolate always makes Birdie feel better. But my mom says that when someone is grumpy, sometimes you just need to give them space. So maybe I should let her be. I guess it was just a space-filled day. And it was just about to get even space-ier. I'm not sure if that's a word, but it really should be. Which got me wondering more about actual outer space and how it wasn't really empty but had molecules spaced far apart. And that got me wondering about Tala. What would she be doing on a Friday? Probably something awesome like looking through a telescope at the stars in the sky.

“好吧。那下次吧！”当我独自跋涉回家时，我感到有点悲伤和失望。 那是星期五。周五意味着周末。 周末意味着长时间的玩耍或过夜。 然后我怀疑小鸟是不是不舒服。 我应该问她的。我转过身去看她是否还在人行道上，但她已经在里面了。 然后我想我能做些什么让她高兴起来。 也许我和妈妈可以烤些巧克力饼干送到她家。 巧克力总能让小鸟感觉好点。 但我妈妈说，当有人脾气暴躁时，有时你只需要给他们空间。 也许我该让她自己待着。 我想这一天太充实了。 而且它还会变得更大。 我不确定这个词是否合适，但确实应该这样。 这让我对真正的外太空产生了更多的好奇，以及它为什么不是真的空无一物，而是分子间距很远。 这让我对塔拉产生了怀疑。 她周五会做什么？ 可能是一些很棒的事情，比如通过望远镜观察天空中的星星。