The Shape of Thunder: Chapters 11–24

I look over at the essential oil diffuser. It’s gurgling up bursts of lavender and eucalyptus.

“That’s very valid, Cora. Anniversaries are often fraught with emotion for that reason. It can be nice to commemorate the event, as there is power in remembrance, but it can also be very difficult to have to almost relive your trauma from that day.”

Dad might be an esteemed professor of molecular biology, but he still talks with his mouth full.

If it’s an away game, the jersey is pearl white with a navy lion emblazoned on the front.

“Can you please take a seat in the closet? It’s protocol.”

There are some helpful things like an article that explicitly states that forests are good places to find wormholes, but one thing I find makes me pause.

Some scientists hypothesize that time travel is the easiest between two points in time that aren’t very far from one another. For example, in accordance with this theory, it would be easier to time-travel back two days in time than it would be to travel back ten years.

You never want to run into your past self because that could have major time and space implications.

You don’t want to mess with the time continuum.

There’s no scientific consensus on where exactly the best place to find a wormhole is. Dad says what you’re looking for is scientific consensus. That means a group of scientists all agree on the same theory, which means the theory is probably right.

The problem is, I can’t get a precise definition of exactly what “exotic matter” is. It seems like something as made up as a “gut feeling” or “intuition.”

He used to build elaborate Hot Wheels tracks in Quinn’s living room.

That’s an extrapolation from all the articles I’ve read. Extrapolation is a word Dad taught me. It basically means a guess based on the information you have. Almost all scientists make extrapolations based on the data they have.

“I read the articles. I know all about the websites he used to leave comments on. The forums or whatever.”

I stare at the mangled leaf in my palm.

We’re technically Muslim, but we aren’t very religious people, but I’m not sure if that distinction would’ve mattered to Parker.

“Yes, and I’m absolutely mortified by it. But I’m willing to go to great lengths to find ‘exotic matter.’”

The gray sky overhead cracks open and a sliver of sunlight streams down.

Owen’s still riding the bench while Nora Cheng sits sandwiched between Mia and me, the sole eighth grader left.

My eyes are bleary and my head aches, and I still haven’t figured out what Quinn and I did wrong.

The only thing that’s bringing me any comfort is that several of the things I read mentioned that it usually takes some time to coax a wormhole out of the universe.

Mia slides her foot out in front of her and drags a slow line across the shiny classroom floor like she’s trying extra hard to delineate something.

Mia keeps giving me a sullen look.

“Yeah, but you need to talk, baby girl. You know I only push and prod you because I love you, right?”

What I mean is that I worry he always knows exactly what I’m thinking, and he’s just sitting there waiting to see if I’ll tell him. Or if I’ll lie. Objectively, I know that’s not true.

Dr. Randall talks to me in a sophisticated way. It’s like he knows I can handle all the fancy loops of his speech patterns.

“Time travel.” He says those two words like they are the most neutral things in the whole world.

“What appeals to you about time travel?”

The smell of something warm and buttery wafts through the air.

Patsy Cline is crooning on the speakers and there are about a dozen mixing bowls in the sink.

My throat is filled with bile.

He gives me a sheepish look. “Oh. Sorry. I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to protect me, you know?”
His sheepish look deepens.

His brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

He answers with so much certainty that, for a moment, I think that it’s okay that I’m friends with Quinn again. That it’s not a profound betrayal of Mabel.

To me, it seems like complicated things are only things you haven’t solved yet. A math equation—solve for x. A particularly tough spelling word—make a mnemonic device.