The Shape of Thunder: Chapters 1–10

I’m sitting between the two of them, pretending to be completely engrossed in the map of the United States that’s in front of me.

Owen’s face flushes. That was his mistake at our first meet of the year, but it just as easily could’ve been mine.

Mia’s new thing this school year is she is only going to wear clothes that are sustainable.

Coach Pearlman is white and tall and broad-shouldered and has a completely bald head except for two wisps of gray hair.

“I know today was more of a free-for-all practice, but on Thursday, we’re going to do a scrimmage. Once I see how you all perform in the scrimmage, I’ll get a better sense of a good game plan for our next meet. Sound good?”

She’s wearing a navy-blue hoodie and jeans, and her long red hair is partially obscuring her face.

Whenever I read about how hard it is to find a wormhole, I start skipping over words and my brain feels overwhelmed.

It looks like the type of tree you would find on the cover of a fantasy book from the library. It’s easy to picture an illustration of it, lots of heavy charcoal shading, two witches flanking the tree, a big fat full moon in the sky.

A gust of wind ripples through the forest, rustling the tree’s leaves and lifting up the back of my hoodie.

I instinctively wrap my arms around my stomach, feeling the memory of that laughter in my gut.

Mom’s wearing a checkered apron, and her hair that’s the same red color as mine falls in a long braid down her back.

Cupcake slinks into the room.

If I were to draw her, I’d make her part hurricane, stormy winds with lots of frantic energy.

I give her the most reassuring smile I can muster.

Back then, the word crush felt as foreign and baffling as exoskeleton or deciduous—the types of words that showed up on spelling quizzes.

Psychic communication is not a phenomenon that checks out under rigorous scientific scrutiny.

Psychic communication is not a phenomenon that checks out under rigorous scientific scrutiny.

So I know I didn’t just psychically conjure her, but it feels like I did.

I’ve tried my best to ignore everything about Quinn McCauley this year, but my brain has registered pieces of information here and there.

...there was the one where a preeminent professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was philosophizing about how not only did he believe that time travel was possible, but that he wouldn’t be that surprised to hear that someone had already accomplished it.

...there was the one where a preeminent professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was philosophizing about how not only did he believe that time travel was possible, but that he wouldn’t be that surprised to hear that someone had already accomplished it.

Even Grams uses euphemisms when it comes to how Mabel died, saying things like It was her time to pass or Now she’s resting in peace.

"But?" I prompt.

Her grin falters a little but doesn’t disappear.

“Well, I don’t think it’s practical to build a time machine.”

I study the tree again. Please see what I see. Its trunk—wide and expansive, its armlike branches stretching out in every direction, and the bulge of bark that looks like an eyeball.

She doesn’t wait for me to respond; she keeps talking, “So we’ll have a hypothesis and then different steps. Coming up with the hypothesis should be easy, but I want to take some time to make sure we get it right. Also, it seems like there are conflicting ideas about how to make wormholes appear. Did you pick up on that, too, when you read the articles? Some of them implied that wormholes—”

The noise of their flapping wings fills the woods; it sounds like rain pattering against a roof.

It’s the only decoration Coach Pearlman has up. He’s what Grams would call a “minimalist.”

Mia looks incredulous.

He not so discreetly shoves a handful of pretzels into his mouth.

“Chances of extraterrestrial life?” I say, smiling at Owen.
“Astronomically high!” he answers.

He also wants to buy a less expensive house because apparently money things aren’t great between Mom leaving her job and the legal fees surrounding what happened with Parker.

My shoulders lurch toward my ears as I sink down in my seat.

“You can’t ask her questions like that. We’re raising her to be strong and resilient. Not to run away from her problems.”