writing on the pavement, but I can’t get the consistency I want. The grinding press worked great for chopping up the bone and for reducing it to a powder.”
“I’m glad it worked, hon,” my dad said. “I had some trouble identifying the correct mechanism. It wasn’t like I could ask many people about it.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“The bone didn’t work?”
“No. I don’t have anywhere else to go with it right now.” I blew out a breath. “Maybe chalk was the wrong way to go. I know I could get there faster with rhino horn. I don’t want to do the work without finding a truly feasible solution. Maybe I’m thinking too far ahead. Maybe I need the rhino horn substitution to see the steps to the chalk-based formula. I don’t know, Dad. Every time I start to consider another base, I get this, I don’t know, this sense that I’m about to turn down the wrong path.”
“You have good instincts, Zoe. I’m not going to lecture you, yet,” he said, eyeing me with a half-smile. “I know you realize exactly how long you’ve been working on the unicorn horn, exactly how short is more like it.”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to lecture me.”
“I’m not,” he said. “I believe you should follow your gut. So let’s talk about the chalk. It’s not hard enough? What kind of chalk are you using?”
“I’ve tried chalkboard chalk, but it’s sidewalk chalk that I feel strongly about.”
“I understand, but what I mean was, are you using chalk from calcium carbonate or calcium sulfate?”
Calcium what? The truth hit me like a ton of bricks. “Oh my God. I didn’t research chalk. Dad, how could I have missed that step? I thought chalk was chalk, but I know better than to assume.”
“Zoe, you need to give yourself a break. You have too much going on. You don’t need to be juggling all these things at once.”
“What’s the difference in the two kinds of chalk?”
“One is a form of limestone. The other is derived from gypsum.”
“Which one is harder?”
“I’m just guessing, but I think the limestone.”
“And I am probably using the gypsum.” I smacked myself in the forehead with the palm of my hand. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. I wasted all this time on bone, but I never thought about rock.”
“Zoe, please think about holding off for a few months. You have finals, tutoring, Jake, so much to deal with. The Council’s still keeping tabs on you. I don’t want you to beat yourself up for having missed the two kinds of chalk. I really don’t. More than that, I don’t want you to make mistakes with this substitution that will harm your reputation, waste your time, and undermine your self-esteem.”
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I muttered.
“You might want to stop with the beating yourself in the forehead. Jake and Sheree are going to wonder what the bright red spot is all about.”
I stopped smacking myself. “Yet another thought I should have had on my own.”
Dad laughed.
“Are you laughing at me?”
“I’m laughing at the drama. You’ve never been much for drama.”
He was right. “Give me time,” I said.
“Can you pull yourself together and force the experiments from your mind for now? We’re almost to Sheree’s house.”
I nodded. I wanted to jump right out of my skin and run home to start experimenting with the right kind of chalk. I knew deep down that I would have figured this out on my own at some point. But I should have realized, or at least started researching, the minute those first pieces of chalk didn’t get me anywhere.
We pulled into the driveway, and Indiana barked to greet us from the backyard. I grinned at the reminder of his interference during our “study” date.
“What’s so funny?” Dad asked.
Yeah, like I was going to tell him that. I don’t think so. “Nothing really.”
“I could use a good laugh,” my dad tried again.
“You just had one. At me.”
“Another good laugh?”
“Nice try,” I said. I grabbed my
“I’m glad it worked, hon,” my dad said. “I had some trouble identifying the correct mechanism. It wasn’t like I could ask many people about it.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“The bone didn’t work?”
“No. I don’t have anywhere else to go with it right now.” I blew out a breath. “Maybe chalk was the wrong way to go. I know I could get there faster with rhino horn. I don’t want to do the work without finding a truly feasible solution. Maybe I’m thinking too far ahead. Maybe I need the rhino horn substitution to see the steps to the chalk-based formula. I don’t know, Dad. Every time I start to consider another base, I get this, I don’t know, this sense that I’m about to turn down the wrong path.”
“You have good instincts, Zoe. I’m not going to lecture you, yet,” he said, eyeing me with a half-smile. “I know you realize exactly how long you’ve been working on the unicorn horn, exactly how short is more like it.”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to lecture me.”
“I’m not,” he said. “I believe you should follow your gut. So let’s talk about the chalk. It’s not hard enough? What kind of chalk are you using?”
“I’ve tried chalkboard chalk, but it’s sidewalk chalk that I feel strongly about.”
“I understand, but what I mean was, are you using chalk from calcium carbonate or calcium sulfate?”
Calcium what? The truth hit me like a ton of bricks. “Oh my God. I didn’t research chalk. Dad, how could I have missed that step? I thought chalk was chalk, but I know better than to assume.”
“Zoe, you need to give yourself a break. You have too much going on. You don’t need to be juggling all these things at once.”
“What’s the difference in the two kinds of chalk?”
“One is a form of limestone. The other is derived from gypsum.”
“Which one is harder?”
“I’m just guessing, but I think the limestone.”
“And I am probably using the gypsum.” I smacked myself in the forehead with the palm of my hand. “Stupid, stupid, stupid. I wasted all this time on bone, but I never thought about rock.”
“Zoe, please think about holding off for a few months. You have finals, tutoring, Jake, so much to deal with. The Council’s still keeping tabs on you. I don’t want you to beat yourself up for having missed the two kinds of chalk. I really don’t. More than that, I don’t want you to make mistakes with this substitution that will harm your reputation, waste your time, and undermine your self-esteem.”
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I muttered.
“You might want to stop with the beating yourself in the forehead. Jake and Sheree are going to wonder what the bright red spot is all about.”
I stopped smacking myself. “Yet another thought I should have had on my own.”
Dad laughed.
“Are you laughing at me?”
“I’m laughing at the drama. You’ve never been much for drama.”
He was right. “Give me time,” I said.
“Can you pull yourself together and force the experiments from your mind for now? We’re almost to Sheree’s house.”
I nodded. I wanted to jump right out of my skin and run home to start experimenting with the right kind of chalk. I knew deep down that I would have figured this out on my own at some point. But I should have realized, or at least started researching, the minute those first pieces of chalk didn’t get me anywhere.
We pulled into the driveway, and Indiana barked to greet us from the backyard. I grinned at the reminder of his interference during our “study” date.
“What’s so funny?” Dad asked.
Yeah, like I was going to tell him that. I don’t think so. “Nothing really.”
“I could use a good laugh,” my dad tried again.
“You just had one. At me.”
“Another good laugh?”
“Nice try,” I said. I grabbed my
Similar Books
