Chasing Helicity by Ginger Zee

Author:Ginger Zee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2018-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

Helicity left Lana’s office soon after that and made her way to the Human Resources building, where her mother worked recruiting new instructors and other staff. Mrs. Dunlap greeted her with an exhausted smile. “I’ll be just a few minutes,” she promised.

“No problem,” Helicity reassured her. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, she added, “Hey, Mom, you know that woman from the meeting last night who works here, the meteorologist Lana McElvoy?”

“Mmm-hmmm,” her mother responded distractedly as she shuffled through some papers.

“Well, I just met her. She’s really nice. In fact, I’m going to be—”

“Oh, shoot.” Mrs. Dunlap interrupted with a groan of exasperation. “These aren’t the right forms. Sorry, honey, you’re going to have to wait a little longer so I can get this sorted out.”

While her mother hurried to correct the paperwork issue, Helicity took a seat in the office easy chair and called Mia.

Mia answered on the first ring. “Hey, H, how’d it go with the weather woman?”

“Meteorologist,” Helicity corrected. “Great, actually. There was this boy—”

“Ooooo!” Mia cooed. “There was, was there? Was he cute?”

Helicity felt herself blushing. “Cut it out, Mia. Sheesh. He was almost as old as Andy!”

“So?”

“So…he’s going to be tutoring me after school this week and next.”

“Tutoring you? Why?” Mia wanted to know.

“Well, I want to do really well on the exams. Math and science in particular.”

“Why?” Mia asked again.

“Because I’m thinking about going up to the honors levels in those courses next year.”

Mia didn’t reply.

“Mia? Hello? Can you still hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you. Heard you. You want out of CP. Even though…”

“Even though what?” Helicity prompted when Mia didn’t finish.

“Even though I’m in CP.” Mia’s voice suddenly had an edge to it. “And so are all our friends. If you move up, you won’t be with us. Not in math, or science, or any other class.”

Helicity sank deeper into the chair. “We don’t know that for sure.”

“Yeah, we do,” Mia retorted.

“So how about you bump up, too?” Helicity regretted the suggestion the minute it came out of her mouth. Mia had dyslexia. She was clever and quick-witted, but because of her reading disability she had to work very hard just to keep up with her current course load. Suggesting her friend move up to a more challenging level had been insensitive. Helicity fumbled to apologize, but Mia cut her off.

“Listen, I have to go. My—my grandmother is yelling at me to walk her dog again.”

“Mia, wait!”

Helicity held her breath. Mia was her best friend. It was bad enough she’d inadvertently insulted her. She didn’t want her to think she was going to abandon her. Not now, when their world was in such chaos. Not ever, actually.

After a long pause, Mia muttered, “What?”

“There’s something neither of us thought of.”

“Which is?”

Helicity plucked at a stray hair escaping from her braid. “I might bomb out on the exams even with the extra help. If I do”—she gave the hair a fierce yank, wincing at the sharp pain as it pulled free—“then it’s game over.”

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