Science Fair Read Online Free PDF Page B

it was real y technical, with al kinds of numbers and stuff.”
    “Harmonee?” said Tamara. “The lip gloss queen? Technical?”
    “I know,” said Toby. “There’s no way she understands it. They’re up to something.” He told Tamara and Micah what he’d seen the previous evening during study hal —the ME kids walking past with envelopes, then returning without them, and his unsuccessful effort to investigate further, thwarted by Mr. P.
    “Do you think Mr. P is helping them cheat?” said Micah.
    “I dunno,” said Toby. “I didn’t see him holding any envelopes.”
    “Those cheaters ,” said Tamara, glaring at the ME kids. “I would so love to bust them. Or at least beat them, for once.”
    “Yeah,” said Toby and Micah together.
    “Did you see the paper-clip bal ?” said Micah.
    “Yeah,” said Toby. “It looks cool, but it won’t win. You have to be more original than that.”
    “Wel ,” said Tamara, “my project is very original.”
    “You have an idea?” said Micah.
    “Yup,” said Tamara.
    “Does it involve stinging insects?” said Toby. Two years earlier Tamara’s project had been a cross-section of a beehive that Tamara believed had been abandoned by the bees.
    Unfortunately, not al of the bees had been informed that they were supposed to have left. One of them stung a judge, who had an al ergic reaction and had to be rushed to the hospital.
    Fortunately, he recovered, but as Tamara learned, even if your project does not actual y kil a judge, you are stil unlikely to win a prize for it.
    “Ha-ha,” said Tamara. “Very funny.”
    “So what is your project?” asked Micah.
    “It’s cal ed, ‘Packaging: The Deadly Kil er in Your Home,’” said Tamara.
    “Huh,” said Micah.
    “Seriously,” said Tamara. “Think about it. You know how whenever you buy anything, it’s sealed up inside that thick, hard plastic, and there’s no way to open it, so you have to try to cut it with scissors or a knife, but it’s real y hard to cut, and it turns into these jagged pieces of plastic that are real y sharp, and you end up cutting yourself?” Micah and Toby both nodded.
    “My aunt got my cousin a Barbie dol for Christmas,” continued Tamara, “and by the time she got it out of the package, she needed eight stitches in her hand. There was blood al over Barbie. She looked like Texas Chainsaw Massacre Barbie.”
    “And this is a science-fair project…how?” said Toby.
    “I haven’t figured it al out,” said Tamara. “But I’m gonna show how easy it is for package plastic to slice through human flesh.”
    “Whose flesh are you going to use?” said Micah.
    “Ha-ha, very funny,” said Tamara. “I’l use something to simulate flesh, like a canned ham.”
    “A canned ham,” said Toby.
    “Right,” said Tamara. “Or baloney.”
    “Why don’t you use a Barbie dol ?” said Micah.
    “That’s actual y not a bad idea,” said Tamara. “It would be more dramatic. In fact, I have this old Barbie at home that would be perfect. My mom got it at a yard sale. Rol erblade Barbie. She has these pink booties with wheels that shoot out sparks when you rol them. It’s real y stupid.”
    “So,” said Toby, “your science-fair project is going to be to show that plastic can slice luncheon meat.”
    “Or Rol erblade Barbie,” said Tamara.
    Toby sighed and turned to Micah. “What about you?” he said. “Stil planning to levitate the frog?”
    “Yup,” said Micah. “Fester is ready. He’s good to go. I just need a real y strong magnet.”
    “Where’re you gonna get that?” said Toby.
    “That place at the mal ,” said Micah.
    “The Science Nook,” said Tamara. “With the weird guy.”
    “He’s weird,” said Micah. “But everybody says he can get anything. You guys wanna go with me after school?”
    “Sure,” said Tamara.
    “I have detention,” said Toby. “But I can meet you there after.”
    “Okay,” said Micah. “Hey, what’s your experiment gonna