"Settle down, class. I've got an announcement to make," Mrs. Holloway waited before continuing, "As you might've already known, our school's annual science fair is coming up. Now that you're ninth graders your projects will actually be judged for quality. There will be awards for first, second, and third place. You've got two weeks to perform your experiment and make a poster, and then you'll present your results to the judges at the fair."

After the bell sounded off, the girls and I filed out of the classroom, leaving behind the trail of Mrs. Holloway's voice: "Don't forget to finish your Pythagorean theorem homework – it's due on Friday!"

Upon entering the buzzing scene of the cafeteria, Alicia couldn't contain her excitement.

"So what d'you think you'll study? I was thinking maybe something to do with magnetic fields. Or surface waves! Did you know that if you fill a bowl with a viscous fluid and then oscillate it up and down at a certain frequency, it creates a certain resonance which causes the waves at the top to become unstable! And then you can–" Alicia rambled in the middle of the lunch line.

"Hey, Alicia?" said Emma with a distressed look on her face.

"Yeah?"

"Speaka da English. It's like I'm in Spanish class, listening to another foreign rant from Mr. González."

"Why exactly are we taking part in this?" Chelsea asked, scooting forward in the line. "I hate science."

"Whatever happened to wanting to participate in more school functions?" I hinted from over her shoulder.

There was a nod of agreement from Bri, who was in front of me in line. "Soph's right, Chels."

"Yeah, but you haven't heard me parading about joining the science club."

"Science fairs are supposed to be fun," Charlotte reminded us. "Remember?"

"That was before there was grading and judges involved," I told her, sitting at our normal table with the others.

"I want to build a rocket," said Brett.

"Can we take it to the moon?" Cole asked as he drew stick figures in his applesauce.

"No," Brett answered.

"Then what's the point?" Cole replied.

"Scientific exploration, the bettering of humanity, finding life out there in the vastness of the Universe," Reuben answered, looking out of the window like he could see the Universe itself.

"You do realize that I'm just going to put wings on a bottle rocket, right?" Brett asked, waving a hand in front of Reuben's face.

"We need to come up with a project for the science fair," Calley said to both Macy and Britney.

"Why?" Britney replied while examining her appearance in the small compact mirror.

"Because,'" Calley mimicked the girl's voice. "We have to. It's worth half of our grade."

"Well that's a given," Britney shrugged.

"I'm going to go see a movie, who wants to come with me?" Macy asked.

"You're not going to the science fair?" Veronica asked her, a frown creasing her face.

"There are so many things wrong with that question, I can't even begin," Macy answered, shaking her head dramatically.

"Brett's making a rocket, so I must create a BLACKHOLE!" Marty shouted the last part and shook his fist in the air. The distraction gave enough time for Kieron, who was on the other side of him, to hit him with a roll, right in the face.

Jose hovered over his fallen form, "You really need to stop trying to destroy the Universe. I'm kinda using it right now."

The talk of the fair suddenly skyrocketed, mostly because there was a rocket involved. There was an excited murmur running throughout the day, everyone wondering what they would see.

Before leaving English, Calley stopped and asked to speak with me for a few, signaling to Britney that she'd only be a minute.

"So I was wondering if you could come over after school and help me with my science project. I invited Reuben as well and he agreed."

Even though the guy was a troublemaker, he was also an 'A' student in the science field.

"Sure," I gladly accepted.

"This doesn't make us friends or anything," Calley was quick to add, widening my smile even more so.

"Right-t," I slowly nodded. "Wouldn't think of it."

To my surprise, Calley released an honest giggle. "Great, we'll all ride home together. I'm not taking any chances."

I laughed, knowing exactly what she meant. Calley bid me goodbye before rejoining Britney as I made way towards history class.

Arriving at Calley's, Leona welcomed us with a genuine smile. Then led us into the kitchen where a tall man, who I figured to be Calley's father, was drinking a beer and chopping vegetables for dinner. Calley dropped her backpack on the kitchen table.

"Now, Calley, is that where that belongs?"

"Daddy, this is Sophie and Reuben. They're here to help me come up with a science fair project."

Mr. Carson put down the knife and looked up at us. "We're proud to have you," he smiled and looked at his daughter. "I don't really know much about science, but, uh, why don't you try forensics? We can find a dead pigeon or something and take it to the lab. Find out how it died."

Calley grimaced. "Thanks, but I think I have all the help I need."

Moments later, our trio was stationed in Calley's bedroom and on the floor, perusing some science textbooks.

"Has anyone picked a topic yet?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Electrical conductivity. Ions, copper wires, all that good stuff."

Calley shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe, I could do one of those paper-tapped-bottle-rockets."

"Uh, no. You're not doing that."

"How about something biological?" Reuben immediately sat up. "I think you'd like messing with plants and pigments. You know, photosynthesis, chloroplasts, chlorophyll..."

Calley blankly stared. "Uh, yeah, sure. I guess so."

"Yes! Great!" Rueben rubbed his hands together. "Okay, here's what you could try..."

Two days later, Reuben and I met with Calley in her backyard with the materials for her respective project

"Wait. Can one of you remind me what I'm supposed to be doing again?"

"You're trying to stop those weeds from producing chlorophyll by blocking the sunlight," I volunteered.

"What do I use to do that?"

"I dunno,"said Reuben. "Go grab something from the house."

Calley pondered for a moment and then ran into the house, returning with one of her father's vinyls. She propped it up on a small stake, tied it in place, and stepped back. "Perfect! I guess I just have to wait. So, who wants chicken and rice; mom's recipe."

Reuben and I gladly accepted before heading back inside.

A few more days passed while Calley's experiment progressed. Once the weeds had become visibly yellowed, we stepped outside to collect samples.

"So what's your hypothesis?" I asked.

"...What do you mean? I need a hypothesis?"

Reuben slapped his forehead. "Calley, you have to use the scientific method!"

"Hey, you told me that real scientists don't actually follow that."

"Well, I mean, not always. It depends on the field of study and the manner of the experiment. But whatever, that doesn't matter; I was talking about real scientists. You are gonna get a bad grade for skipping the hypothesis."

"Okay, then what's a good hypothesis?" she asked.

"It's too late, you already started the experiment!"

"I'll just make something up!"

"How is that ethical?!"

"Ethical," I mouthed before shaking my head. "Reuben, this is a 9th grade science fair project!"

Reuben then picked up a handful of weeds. Calley and I laughed as he chased us around the yard.

Mr. Carson stepped outside; his jaw dropped. "Did you–? Is that my Duke Ellington LP?! You used that to cover those weeds all week?! Vinyl records get destroyed by sunlight, Calley!"

Her eyes widened. "Ohh, really..."

"Dangit, Cal!" Her father jogged across the yard and cradled his record like a baby. "This was Live at the Blue Note! It was worth a fortune!" Then stormed back inside, muttering: "Weeds! All for some lousy weeds! ...Duke..."

After hearing about my assistance with Calley's project, Chels asked if I could help out with hers, which of course I agreed to do.

"Alright, do we have all the supplies?" I asked as we sat at her dining room table.

"Yeah, two galvanized nails, two copper nails, 3-jumper wire, plus two potatoes, a marker and a clock." Chels said, reading the printed out instructions on the sheet in her hand.

"Then let's get started."

"First it says to mark one potato with the letter 'A', the other with the letter 'B'." Chels said, grabbing the sharpie and marking the two potatoes.

"Then we're ready to put the nails in, the galvanized ones first, right?"

"Mhm, step 3 insert one galvanized nail at one end of each potato." Chels read before doing so.

"After that, should be the copper nails, on the other side, make sure they aren't touching each other." I said.

"Alrighty," Chels said, then continued to read. "Step 5 says to take the battery out of the clock."

"What's next?" I asked after removing the battery.

"Now it says to connect the jumper wire to the copper nail in potato "A" to the positive part of the clock," Chels said.

Because this was our first run through and also for safety reasons, Chels's dad did all the connections in the experiment.

Chels read off the last step, then put the paper down as we watched her dad perform the final stage of the experiment.

"Alright, and the clock should start to work." Her dad said, checking the clock as the hands started to move.

"Wow, cool, we did it Soph!" Chels said excitedly as we high-fived.

After gym class, the school bell rang, signaling a flood of students trampling out of the school's building and onto the sidewalk. When the crowd thinned, I glanced up to see my uncle standing near the doorway.

Austin pulled the door open, taking a hold of my bookbag and placed it over his shoulder.

"You don't have to bring home your whole desk, ya know," he said, letting the door fall closed behind me.

Austin smiled when I rolled my eyes melodramatically. "It's not my whole desk. Just the stuff I need for my project."

I've been so busy helping my friends with theirs that I nearly forgot about my own.

"Project?" Austin asked, holding out his hand.

I took a hold of it and glared at him. "Yeah, we each have to make a project for the Science Fair. Supposed to have it done in the next couple of days." I paused, staring off down the road, rather than at my uncle.

"Do you think we could work on it today?" I looked up then, giving Austin the full-on puppy-dog stare he was almost helpless against.

Unable to say no, he nodded. "Sure, kiddo. What's the project?"

Checking both ways, making sure there was no traffic, Austin led me across the street and into the parking lot.

"Mine's about volcanoes," I told him as we approached the dark-blue vehicle. "Underwater volcanoes."

"That sounds pretty cool," Austin looked down at me, grinning.

Brushing my hair out of my eyes - I looked at him, considering. "You think?" I asked after several seconds.

He nodded. "Sure. Volcanoes explode."

Sliding into the passenger seat, I buckled in. Austin leaned back and dropped my luggage onto the backseat before starting the car.

Coming around the last corner before we reached my house, I added, "Mrs. Holloway let me go to the school library and find a book about volcanoes. It even has instructions on how we can make one." I looked up at Austin, chewing on my lower lip. "She suggested that we have a parent or guardian to help."

Mom was busy with her schoolwork and anytime she wasn't prepping her assignments, she was busy in some school related function like today. It was unlikely that she'd have any time to spare for a science project.

"Not a problem, Soph. If your teacher asks, you've had help." Pulling into a complete stop, Austin and I exited the car. As he held onto my bag's strap, he dug the house key out of his pocket and unlocked the front door, then held it open for me. "You just don't have to tell her who helped you, okay?"

I nodded and walked into the house. Once he dropped my bag onto a chair, I pulled out the volcano book and opened it to the right page.

"Come on, let's go look at this project of yours. Maybe we'll even have the stuff we need to make it." Austin gestured toward the kitchen.

I held the book open, resting it against my stomach as we walked. "See? It says here we need dirt and newspaper first." I pointed first to a diagram of a volcano and then to the list of supplies. I put the book on the kitchen table before looking at Austin. "I can dig some dirt up outside."

Austin nodded absently while looking at the instructions as I rushed from the room. By the time I rushed in with a bucket full of dirt from the backyard, Austin had found both the soda and vinegar.

"Got it!" I announced, dropping the bucket onto the table. "We should have newspapers," I smiled.

Austin nodded. "I'm just not sure what we're going to do about the color. We may have to go to the store."

I shook my head and began digging through one of the drawers.

"I thought about that earlier," I said, rooting around in the junk drawer until I pulled out a small package. Then showed Austin the pack of food coloring.

Austin grinned at the proud look on my face. "Now we're all set." Another glance at the book and he added, "Now we just need a can..."

He thought for a moment before grabbing the trashcan and reaching inside. Soon enough, he found what he was looking for before he held it up where I could see it. It was a can of soup from the night before.

"Rinse this out and we'll be good to go, don't you think?"

I nodded, smiling from ear to ear as I took the can from Austin. He watched as I ripped the label off and began running water into it. "Don't stick your hand inside it," he said.

When I glanced over my shoulder, Austin explained, "I don't want you cutting yourself if any of the edges are sharp."

"Okay, I won't."

Once he was pretty sure I wouldn't hurt myself, Austin added, "Just shove some paper towels in the can when you're done, and put it in the dish drainer, okay?" When I nodded, Austin left the room in search of the papers.

"Hey, Soph!" he yelled, walking back into the kitchen and dropping the papers onto a chair. "We've got plenty of paper." He put the wood on the table. "And a base, too. Can't make a volcano without a base, right?" he asked, winking at me.

I giggled. "It's perfect!"

"So what do we do first?" Austin asked, taking a seat in the other chair.

I scrunched my forehead, looking at the book for guidance. "First we need some of the dirt." I picked the bucket up, sitting it on top of the stack of papers in the chair. Slowly, I piled a bunch of it on the board, packing it down flat as best I could. "Do you think that's big enough?" I asked, looking at him.

Looking at the pile of dirt, which was easily six inches tall, Austin nodded. "Looks like a good start."

Smiling, I said, "And now the can." I grabbed the now-clean can from the dish drainer and put it in the middle of the pile, carefully centering it, much to Austin's amusement.

"Help me with the paper?" I asked, putting the bucket back down on the floor.

"Not a problem." Standing, Austin went to the silverware drawer to find a knife to cut the twine with. Finally finding one sharp enough - he quickly snapped the binding and replaced the knife in the drawer.

"There we go," he said, sitting back down.

"Thanks," I said, pulling a sheet free of the stack and wadding it into a ball. I repeated the process several times, as Austin watched, until there was a pile of paper balls covering the table's surface.

"You want to help?" I asked, gesturing toward the paper.

Laughing, Austin shook his head. "Nope, this is your project."

"Yeah, you say that," I replied, smiling. "But just wait till it's time to set it off, then you'll want to help."

Snickering, Austin said, "I have enough work without doing yours, too, Soph."

"Sure you do," I said as I began stacking the paper balls around the mound of dirt and old soup can.

After several of them were sitting on top of the dirt and all around, I gazed at it appraisingly. "Do you think these will hold? Should we tape them or something?"

Thinking about it for a minute, Austin said, "Maybe some tape just to hold the paper in place, until you can put the dirt on top of it. I think you lucked out. The dirt looks packy enough that it should hold together on top of the paper, if you can get a good base."

"Hold that thought," I said, leaving the kitchen and going into mom's office room and hurried about, looking for a roll of tape I knew must be hidden somewhere.

I was about to give up when I stumbled onto the tape, hidden on a shelf behind some books. Triumphant, I grabbed the roll and jogged back into the kitchen.

"Here ya go," I said, offering the tape to him. "This should help."

Austin gestured toward the paper, thinking for a moment.

"Okay, start pressing the paper into the dirt that's there. Then put some on top of it, vertically." He waited until I had done so before pulling a long strip of tape off the roll.

"I'm gonna wrap the tape. You just keep putting paper under it, okay?"

Slowly, and possibly using more tape than paper, we managed to create something that looked cone-shaped.

"What do you think?" Austin asked, standing back to admire our handiwork.

I stood back as well before saying, "It's prefect! It's shaped just like the volcano in the book."

"Exactly," he smiled, then stated, "Now, you need to put the dirt on top."

By the time I was done pressing and patting the soil into all the nooks and crannies in the paper, we had what resembled a fairly large mountain with a hole in the middle.

"Not bad, Soph." Rubbing his hands together, excitedly, Austin added, "We should test it."

"Okay," I said, "We need the vinegar first, then." I picked the bottle up, looking between it and the top of the volcano several times. "And maybe a cup..." I grabbed a glass out of the cabinet, carefully filling it with the vinegar.

Once I was done, I stood on tiptoe, trying to see inside the can that sat in the middle of the volcano. Very carefully, I poured it inside.

Glancing in the can, Austin grinned at me. "Sure you don't want to use a little more?"

"It said to fill it up about half-way," I insisted, gesturing toward the book.

Austin picked up the bottle of vinegar, winking at me. "Yeah, but more stuff, bigger eruption, right? Can't hurt, Soph."

When he poured a little more vinegar into the can, I reached forward and put a hand on his arm. "That's enough, okay?"

Relenting, Austin nodded and put the vinegar on the kitchen counter. "Sure, Soph. What's next?"

I picked up the red coloring, removing the top. I added a few drops slowly, letting maybe half of it drizzle into the vinegar. The smell was... interesting. Austin noticed around the same time that my nose crinkled up.

"Ew," I said a moment later, putting the leftover food coloring onto the counter.

Austin couldn't help it, he laughed.