22 Go with the Flow

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Go with the Flow Molecular Flexibility (noun). This is the ability for molecules to be flexible. For example, in a rubber ball the molecules are in long chains and are weakly linked together. That's why rubber is elastic and bounces—because the molecules can wiggle around to adapt to the motion of slamming into the ground. AT THE GIFT STORE, there were so many things to look at. Books, posters, shirts, and lots of stuffed animals. Elijah's mom was in the book section, buying a stack of books to donate to the library collection at our school. Very quickly, I was able to find this adorable stuffed octopus for Liam. It had these cute arms that he would love to snuggle with at night. Tala found an awesome poster featuring sea stars. "It will look so perfect in my room," she said. "Right next to my posters of the constellations of regular stars." And Birdie was over by a section where they had some art supplies with aquatic themes. "Aren't these

colored pencils nice?" she said. The lid had a scene of a coral reef. "Definitely." I glanced at my watch. We only had seven minutes before we needed to leave. I raced over to the T-shirt section. For the next few minutes, I searched for penguin shirts in my size, which was the same as Julia's. Penguins must be popular, because they didn't have a huge selection. "Oh no," I said, flipping through the stack of shirts. "There's a big problem." "What is it?" said Birdie. "There's only one kids' large left." I bit my bottom lip. "And Julia wanted me to get her one too." I could tell her the truth that there was only one left and because she had stayed with the penguins, I had taken the shirt. No. I couldn't do that. It didn't feel right. I would never do that to Birdie or Tala. And I couldn't do that to Julia either. Next to the penguins were the sea lion T-shirts. The image on one looked just like Finn, the sea lion who knew how to adapt and how to have fun. I thought about how much I'd loved meeting him that morning and how much I'd learned about sea lions. I

took a deep breath. "I'm going to get this one instead," I said, pulling out one in my size. "Are you sure?" asked Birdie. I paused for a second. But I was sure. I just had to be flexible, like molecules in matter. They have to bend and twist to adapt to their environment, and I was just going to have to do that too. "Completely," I said. "When we come back this summer, I can get a penguin shirt." "Or maybe I can make one for you," said Birdie. "Based on my photos." "Wow," I said. "That would be so cool." We went up to the cashier. First, I got Julia her shirt. The cashier gave me back the change, which I put in my pocket for Julia. Then I gave the cashier my shirt and Liam's octopus. "That will be forty-two dollars," said the cashier. Forty-two dollars? I can't believe I forgot to look at the price tags. I pulled out my ten ones and six five- dollar bills. I was two dollars short. I looked at the money in my hand, and then I looked at the cashier. If only my mom had come, I could have asked her for the two dollars.

"I... um... I don't have enough." I thought about Liam and how excited he would be to get the octopus. There was no way I could go home without it. "I guess I have to put away the shirt," I said as I started to turn away from the cashier. "No, you don't," said Birdie, walking up next to me, and she plunked down two dollars. "I got you." "You really don't have to do that," I told her. "I know," she said. "But I'm doing it anyway." "Thanks," I said. "That's what best friends are for," she added, and then she paid for her coral reef–themed colored pencils too. I thought about which chores I could do that weekend so I could pay her back. Maybe not with two dollars, but with a gift that she would really love. Maybe some special art paper for her colored pencils. Or some homemade brownies. I wanted her to know that I appreciated how great a friend she was. Always. Birdie took her bag from the cashier, and then we joined hands and skipped back to the bus. "I'm super glad I saved my pretzels," I said. "We can share them quickly before boarding." "Yum," said Birdie, biting into the salty-sweet snack. "It's so good." "Just like our day at the aquarium," I said. We met some animals, we learned some science, but most of all, we got to spend some time with our

friends.