8 What’s in the Bag

CHAPTER EIGHT What's in the Bag? Atoms (noun). Atoms are so teeny-tiny that you can't see them with your eyes or even a regular microscope. Atoms are made up of even smaller particles called electrons, protons, and neutrons. Just like soccer balls, they move due to gravity or because of force. ON MONDAY, Mrs. Eberlin held up a brown paper bag. "I've got something exciting to share with all of you." "Brownies?" asked Memito with a hopeful expression. "A tennis ball," guessed Avery. I shot up my hand. "Some atoms. Get it?" I said. "No matter what, that bag is full of atoms and molecules." Birdie giggled. "I hope those atoms are bonded together into some fun art supplies for us." Our teacher rustled the bag. "Inside, I have the names of sea creatures. And you're going to pick one to research, and then you're going to present your

findings to the class in a five-minute Google Slides presentation. You will offer a description, habitat, diet, behavior, and present status." Mrs. Eberlin had just taught us about present status. That's the phrase scientists use to describe the current numbers in the world. For rockhopper penguins, their present status is a population of about 1.5 million penguins. And the present status of zebras is about 500,000. She continued, "The best part is that you will have a super-duper cool facts section. And I want you to discover three of these facts at the aquarium. Something you learn by observing or by asking questions of an animal expert there or by reading something in an exhibit. Your presentation will be two weeks from today, on Monday, January 31. This way when we get to the aquarium you'll already be experts, because you'll have done most of your research." She glanced up at us. "Isn't it wonderful that you get to meet your sea animal in person at the aquarium?" "That is, if we go," moaned Memito. "We need more chaperones. So far, we just have Avery's dad." Mrs. Eberlin glanced at the calendar. It was Monday, January 17. "We still have eleven days," she said in an upbeat voice. "Yay! Plenty of time," I said. "We're going to go. I'm sure of it." I couldn't help feeling that as the

principal's daughter, I was somehow extra responsible for stuff. Which is probably ridiculous, but I couldn't help it. Especially since deep down, I wasn't so sure it would all work out. Folding her hands, Mrs. Eberlin gazed at the entire class. "I sent emails to your parents asking them to look at their schedules. No doubt we'll hear from some more folks soon." Then she shook the brown paper bag so it crinkled. "It's time to pick your sea creature for your presentation." The first person she walked up to was Birdie. Birdie reached her hand into the bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Slowly, she unwrapped it. "I'm aging a hundred years," said Jeremy. "Tell us." "A seahorse," said Birdie softly. I could tell she was a little disappointed. I bet she wanted something more colorful that she could draw. Next up was Elijah, who pulled out an otter. There was a collective "Ooooh, so cute," and Elijah had a big grin on his face. Jeremy rubbed his hands together. "I'm going to get a shark. I can feel it. Bring on the predator, bay

bee!" He stirred his arm and pulled out his paper. His face fell. "Parrotfish? Is that a real fish? If it's a bird, then she"—he pointed at Birdie—"should have it." Then he made a caw-caw sound like a crow. "Jeremy," said Mrs. Eberlin. "That's not appropriate. I'm going to have to write your name on the whiteboard." She wrote Jeremy in red marker on the section of the board she reserved for people who had strikes against them. Three strikes and you get sent to my mom. Luckily, I have never gotten three strikes. "And that means no recess unless you can show me better behavior." Jeremy slumped in his seat. "Okaaaay," he murmured. Outside it was pretty sunny, so there was definitely going to be outdoor recess, which made me feel more than a tiny bit happy. Next Phoenix got a jellyfish, which seemed to make her smile. And Avery got a shark. Lots of kids whistled for that one, including me. When it was my turn, I dug my hand in real fast. Please, please let it be a penguin. Quickly, I unfolded the paper. "A sea lion," I said. I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice. Because I love penguins so much. If I'm ever stressed out, I will watch penguin cams and penguin videos on YouTube.

"Sea lions are so much fun," said Phoenix. "When my family visited San Francisco, we saw them at Fisherman's Wharf. They make a barking sound almost like a dog." "Nice," I said, still trying to sound upbeat. Then Phoenix started chatting about her family's trip to San Francisco, but it was really hard to pay attention because instead I was looking over at Julia. Julia, who was smiling. Julia, who was waving a slip of paper and going, "I got penguins, you guys!" She didn't get just any penguins. She got my rockhopper penguins. "I don't know anything about them," Julia said. "Except they live in the North Pole and they're cute!" "Actually, they live in the South Pole," I said. "Antarctica, parts of southern Africa, and South America. The only thing in the North Pole is Santa's workshop." "Oh, cool," said Julia. "Literally. Since it's freezing cold wherever there are penguins." I bit my lip. Some penguins live at the tip of Africa, where temperatures can be a bit balmy. Even in Antarctica they sometimes have temperatures that are

not so freezing during the summer. When I turned around, I noticed that Birdie was super quiet and slumpy. She looked as disappointed as I was. "You wanted jellies," I said. "Yeah," she admitted. "I was really looking forward to drawing them for our report. I mean, I like seahorses too. But with jellies I wanted to work on my shading skills and showing how they're translucent and reflect the light." "Why don't you ask to switch with Phoenix? You know that she loves horses. And seahorses are as close as you can get underwater." "Kate, that's a great idea!" Birdie went over to Phoenix and asked if she would swap. I couldn't hear Phoenix's response, but she jumped up and hugged Birdie. They exchanged their little pieces of paper, and then Birdie skipped back to her seat. Now she was suddenly humming and doodling jellies all over her notebook paper. I sighed in a good kind of way. It made me happy to see my friends happy. Now I just needed to do the same for myself. But when Mrs. Eberlin heard that Birdie and Phoenix had swapped, she said, "Going forward, I'd prefer if the rest of you didn't switch with others." Mrs. Eberlin didn't say no to swapping. She just said prefer. There was a difference, I told myself. As