Striker asked Ben was Paisley’s best friend next-door neighbor and fellow scientist-in-training He loved astronomy clocks and creepy crawly creatures He kept ant colonies and worm farms in his closet instead of clothes The science fair is only a week away Why bother Whitney-Raelynn said You’re going to lose anyway Mrs Beaker made her way to the front of the classroom She clapped her hands Good morning class Let’s have our moment of science Mrs Beaker loved science puns She had the students remain absolutely silent for thirty seconds at the beginning of every class Excellent class Let’s discuss electricity What did the mommy lightbulb say to the baby lightbulb Rosalind asked She was the class clown I love you watts and watts Very funny Rosalind Mrs Beaker said But before we begin I want to introduce you all to our new student Veronica Stone will you please stand up Everyone turned to the back of the class Veronica 8
Stone stood up as gracefully as a ballerina She looked like someone out of a teeth-whitening commercial Her hair spilled like a glossy waterfall to her waist Hello everyone she said Even her voice sounded like ringing bells Arjun’s mouth fell open Wow Sumi said 9
Double wow Suki said Sumi and Suki were twins who got up to as much mischief as they could get away with They often traded places tricking their teachers and even their parents Only Paisley could tell them apart I want to be her Can I be her Rosalind said Veronica Stone smiled a smile so dazzling at least half the boys looked like they might faint at any moment It’s wonderful to meet you all It’s wonderful to meet you too Arjun murmured Paisley snapped her fingers in front of Arjun’s glassy eyes Earth to Arjun Mrs Beaker cleared her throat And we also need to add Veronica to one of the science fair groups Nearly every student flung their arms in the air Mrs Beaker I would love to be Veronica’s partner Whitney-Raelynn said in her sweetest voice I can also show her around the school later Excellent Mrs Beaker said As you know the theme for this year’s science fair is Power Up How do we power our inventions What is electricity and 10
how can we use it What are some things we can create using electricity I’m just warning you guys Rosalind said My project is quite shocking Paisley and Ben laughed Mrs Beaker just shook her head I have several books filled with possible projects stacked on my desk which you are free to borrow Although you and your partner should have decided on a project by now Of course Paisley and Ben had not decided on a project They’d considered a super-sensitive electric field detector that could sense any amount of electricity or a homemade solar oven that could bake a cake or a 3-D printer that printed hexogen candy shapes you could eat But then Paisley blew up the lab Everything was black with soot and stunk like burnt plastic Dad wrapped the basement door in yellow CAUTION tape and wouldn’t let Paisley inside until the fire department could inspect every inch of the laboratory Paisley touched her scorched eyebrow They had to come up with a plan B and quickly Ben was much 11
