6 Rosie Twirls Her Hair

CHAPTER SIX ROSIE TWIRLS HER HAIR SCIENCE IS THE last subject on Wednesdays. Simon, Rosie, and I sat at Table 5 while Mr. Willow wrote the science fair schedule on the big whiteboard. Simon poked me with his elbow and nodded his head toward Rosie. She was twirling her hair. That meant she was trying to figure something out. "Mr. Willow?" Rosie called from Table 5.

Before even turning around, he said, "Yes, Rosie?" He knew it was Rosie. Rosie asks lots of questions during science. Here are some examples of what Rosie has asked Mr. Willow: "Why is the sky blue?" "Will time travel ever be possible?" "Why do we throw salt on sidewalks when it snows?" This time, Rosie asked, "How does a magnifying glass work?" Mr. Willow explained that a convex lens bends outward. And two convex lenses put together with

both sides bent outward creates magnification. He drew the shape of it on the whiteboard. It sort of looked like a flying saucer. Mr. Willow asked, "Why do you want to know how a magnifying glass works?" "Just curious," Rosie answered and glanced at Katie Cunningham at Table 3 real fast. "Can you magnify light? If I shine a flashlight through a magnifying glass, will the light get bigger?" "Hmm," Mr. Willow said and paused. This was apparently a tough question. "It wouldn't get bigger. The light would actually be more concentrated. Narrower and brighter, like a laser beam." "Brighter?" Rosie asked. It sounded like she liked that answer. "Brighter." "Thank you," Rosie said. Mr. Willow nodded and began to talk about the

science fair some more. And Rosie started to twirl her hair again. When Mr. Willow finally finished, we were able to talk to Rosie. "Did you figure out my firefly problem?" I asked, leaning in closer. "Did you come up with an idea for our science project?" Simon asked. "Both," Rosie said. "We're going to build something to attract fireflies. It will be our science fair project—and it will get the fireflies out of Molly's head." "That's awesome!" I exclaimed. Simon gave Rosie a fist bump.

"But there are three problems," Rosie said. You could tell she was excited and nervous at the same time. "Three huge problems." "What are they?" I asked. "The first problem is Copycat Katie," Rosie whispered and nodded her head at Katie Cunningham. Simon and I knew exactly what Rosie was talking about. Katie had copied Rosie's science fair ideas two years in a row. "We have to keep this idea a secret."

"What's the second problem?" Simon asked. "I don't know if we can get it done in time," Rosie answered. "We only have two days." I asked, "And the third problem?" "I have no idea if it will work." Then the bell rang. "Let's go," Simon said, reaching for his backpack on the floor. "We can talk about it on the walk home."