Each of Us a Universe: Chapters 1–5

As the doors of Bleaker K–8’s bus #3 slowly folded open, Cal cradled her casted arm and leapt over the bus’s three steps, landing on Mountain Road with a defiant “Oomph!”

The louder they sang, the harder Cal ran, sending a flurry of dead leaves swirling in her wake.

Without pausing, she slapped the sign a high five, leaving its gong-like vibration behind her as she ducked beneath the forest canopy.

Although the well-worn trail veered left, Cal shot right, pivoting around pines and over brambles until the path turned rocky and rugged.

Although the well-worn trail veered left, Cal shot right, pivoting around pines and over brambles until the path turned rocky and rugged.

She fixed her gaze on the first, Mount Meteorite’s spire—a one-hundred-foot-tall monolith that grew from the mountain like a stone skyscraper.

Made of quartz and granite, the spire formed the mountain’s highest point.

Each afternoon, the setting sun hit its peak in a way that made it look like a flaming matchstick. This phenomenon only served to fuel its legend of mystery and magic.

She let her gaze travel down Mountain Road to her bus stop in front of Demsky’s Market and on to Main Street, where she found the tall steeple of the Congregational church and the synagogue’s rounded dome.

Surrounded by granite, she let her body absorb its damp earth smells of mold and lichen and decaying leaves.

A dented pot, mess kit, eating utensils, an extra pair of hiking boots, a pile of dry socks, a sleeping bag with a hole in it, carabiners, climbing rope, tin snips, and five cans of baked beans.

A rustling noise at the cave’s entrance set the hairs on the back of Cal’s neck on end.

The Maine Coon cat sauntered toward her.

His unruly black fur jutted in every direction.

She pried a stick from his gnarled tail.

The smell of fish erupted inside the musty cave.

Outside, a gust of air sent Cal’s brown hair into a frenzy.

The only response came from the katydids.

“Is that Calliope Scott making a ruckus?” Mr. Demsky called in his raspy voice.

Realizing the rustle of dead leaves had given her away, Cal dove behind the giant sycamore that straddled their properties.

Smoke billowed with every syllable.

The entire song seemed to consist of a word she’d never heard before, sung over and over in a melancholy tune.

The couple craned their necks as if studying the carriage house and its bright kitchen light.

Her finger traced the left column until she came to amalgamation—the process of being amalgamated.

Cal retrieved dishes and silverware from the cupboard and ladled the soup.

She looks into it and sees an unearthly white face staring back. But it’s not really staring, because where its eyes should be are empty black sockets.

The morning news droned in the background.

It was a race now. Who would make it to the bus stop first? Cal’s boots slapped the ground as adrenaline pumped through her body.

The bus lurched forward, and the girl fell into the seat with Cal, who immediately scooted as far as she could against the cold metal wall.

“Rosine Kanambe, I presume?”
The girl nodded.
He walked toward her. “Welcome, welcome, I heard I might be getting a new student today.”

“As I’ve told you before, science derives from fact. Not fiction.”

“From this alleged spectacle, a magical meteorite was purportedly deposited on the mountain’s spire.”

“From this alleged spectacle, a magical meteorite was purportedly deposited on the mountain’s spire.”

“When a piece of space debris, called a meteoroid, falls through the atmosphere, the resistance from the air makes it extremely hot. The fireball or ‘shooting star’ you see is the meteor. And if the meteor survives that trip and hits the earth, it’s called a meteorite.”

“When the rock is still in space, it’s called a meteoroid,” she said. “When it enters our atmosphere, it’s called a meteor. And when it hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite. Right?”

“Mount Meteorite is a pegmatite. It formed through igneous intrusion when molten rock erupted through the earth’s crust.”

“Erosion from wind, snow, and rain caused softer rock to wear away. Leaving behind the one-hundred-foot-tall chimney-like spire that forms its peak.”

“Even though no one’s ever found the meteorite, couldn’t the legend be, like, a hypothesis that hasn’t been proven yet?”

I heard two scientists scaled the spire looking for the meteorite.

Do not smile back! Cal chided herself.