The sun baked the football field behind Maple Creek High School, making the air ripple above the grass like it was alive. Miss Laura Bennett squinted through her sunglasses and sipped her warm coffee, pretending to be inspired by her tenth graders’ science fair projects. Most of them were about volcanoes made from vinegar and baking soda. She had seen so many that she could probably erupt one with her mind.
“Okay, Tyler,” she said, glancing at the last display. “Tell me about your project.”
Tyler Griggs, a skinny boy with glasses that always slid down his nose, looked nervous. “I made a model of tectonic plates. When I shake this table, the continents move and crash together, just like real ones.”
