flipped. charlie conway

16

that tuesday held the school's annual science fair. adam was ecstatic to have a day free from classes, a day dedicated to his paper plane study. one of leah's chicks had already hatched - and she was entranced. it was such perfect timing.

adam and leah's mother agreed to drop the two off to school, in order to preserve their posters and leah's chick eggs. they arrived ten minutes earlier than usual, just to perfect their displays right next to each other. the day zoomed by, and both adam's and leah's projects were hits. when lunch was only an hour away and the winners would be announced soon after, leah thought it would be a good idea to have a look at everyone else's projects. after all, she was fascinated by science.

lester's water filter was interesting, and when he offered her a glass of filtered water, she almost took it until adam tipped it over.

"sorry les, just in case." adam shrugged, not trusting the seventh grader's filter of dirt and rocks. fortunately, lester wasn't aware of adam's true intention and happily cleaned up the water. adam pushed his sister away before they could be offered another cup.

there were so many innovative projects: light waves and colour, making homemade sherbet, why the sky is blue, growing plants in different light, longitudinal sound waves, and more! it was no surprise that mcgill had thrown together a project on electricity, but she appreciated the effort that went into the poster. leah was intrigued by every project, and she was sure it would be hard to award first place.

when the banks twins rounded their way to charlie's project, which was stationed across the isle from adam's and leah's, he seemed proud of his creation. however, leah was ten times more impressed.

"nice volcano diorama, charlie." she exclaimed, admiring the diverts and foliage decorating the papier mâché volcano.

"is it functional?" adam asked, pulling his sister's hand away from the brown-painted diorama as charlie glared.

"yeah, would you like to watch?" he asked, proudly picking up his packet of mentos. the two nodded, excitedly watching as charlie dropped a mentos into what leah presumed was a bottle of coca cola. the soda fizzed, erupting over the diorama and bubbling down the sides.

"woah, that's impressive, charlie!" leah praised, watching as the bubbles fizzled away. charlie shrugged,

"thanks, my mum helped me make it. i reckon i might win."

"you sure might," leah breathed, "everyone's projects are fascinating - they're all so different."

"have you had a look around yet? leah and i just finished." adam asked politely, suppressing his distaste as the boy shook his head.

"no, i actually find everyone else's projects a bore. i suppose les' water filter is cool."

"oh." adam nodded with a fake smile. leah smiled herself, but adam could see the disapproval behind her eyes. adam really didn't get why leah still liked him - charlie hadn't been nice to her once. adam felt bad for his sister.

at that moment, the judge rolled around to charlie's station.

"tell me about your volcano." the judge encouraged, holding his clipboard with a kind smile on his face. adam pulled leah back to their own stations as to not distract charlie.

adam and leah played with adam's paper planes. they threw his example plane at one another, accidentally beating up the piece of paper.

"hey, another egg is hatching!" adam pointed to leah's incubator, rushing over to watch.

"no way. guys, my egg is hatching!" leah called out to no one in particular, gushing with excitement over her new chicks. a swarm of students and parents rushed over to watch, all in awe at the baby chick that sprung out of its shell.

charlie was, once again, furious. he was just about to drop the mentos into his volcano again to show the judge when leah's egg had to hatch. the judge didn't even wait, rushing over to her station in intrigue. it was selfish of leah, always taking the attention. who even cared about baby chicks? they weren't even cute.

the judge scribbled down some notes, nodding his head. though there were many fantastic projects at the science fair, there was only one that stood out. one unique project, that was unlike any other project at the fair.

the children all scurried to lunch, eating sandwiches with their parents.

"great work, adam and leah! we are incredibly impressed," the banks father exclaimed, "and im very impressed by your sandwich-making skills, honey." he nodded to his wife.

"what can i say? i've had practise." she joked, enjoying the time with her family.

"seems we'll be taking home a few extra chicks than expected, only one left to hatch!" adam noted, and leah couldn't tell if he was finally happy about having chickens or if he was still unimpressed.

"and many paper planes..." leah sassed, enjoying the laughter of her three family members. if only their older brother was here, too.

the banks conversed with one another and soon enough, lunch ended. time really does fly when one has fun, and it made leah want to spend casual time with end family more often. she was thankful that they could make it to the science fair, considering they both had busy work schedules.

the judge was walking around to award the places and prizes. leah was ecstatic when adam received fourth place! he was amazing. a girl named sarah davies came third and a boy named james albrecht came second, and she clapped for them as they received their medals and cash prizes. charlie held a smug look on his face as the judge prepared to announce the first place of the fair.

"and the first place award goes to the most unique project here!" the bald judge exclaimed. charlie's nerves were sizzling - no one else had built a functioning volcano diorama! in that moment, charlie felt like he was on television, about to win a grammy or nobel prize for his successes. "first place is awarded to leah banks, for her project on the life cycle of a chick." the judge clapped, as the entire hall erupted into cheers. charlie's stomach dropped. he couldn't believe it.

"well done, leah!" leah's mother gushed, hugging her daughter as adam and their father pat her back proudly. the judge came down with her ribbon, pinning it onto her poster and proudly shaking her hand.

"thank you." leah thanked as many people congratulated her. if she were honest, winning didn't matter to her. all she cared about was her baby chicks. but, she was thankful for the recognition.

charlie, however, was not happy. of course leah banks won - she always did! she probably put magnet's in the judge's brain and first place ribbon, just so she could cheat like she always did. charlie was sure he hated leah banks.