Lights Out

Scene 4

At Ivy's high school, in science class. Mr. Fitzpatrick is already seated, and so is half the class.

Enter Ivy, Hailey, and David.

Hailey: I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm saying I don't believe it. A star can't just disappear. It goes against every law of physics ever created!

David: Not every law.

Ivy: (frustrated) I'm telling you, it was gone! If I were lying, you'd have figured it out by now. I don't want to believe it either, but you have to face the truth! A star is gone!

Hailey: But it can't just do that!

David: Well, maybe it can. New things are discovered all the time, Hailey.

Ivy: (shouting) Mr. Fitzpatrick, I have a question!

Mr. Fitzpatrick: It's about the alleged star disappearance, isn't it?

Ivy: Wait, so you saw it too?

Mr. Fitzpatrick: No, but you, Hailey, and David are loud.

He pauses, and Ivy glares at her friends, and then Mr. Fitzpatrick.

Ivy: Well, can you tell me what happened?

Hailey: He can't if he doesn't know why.

David: Hailey!

Ivy: (to David and Hailey) He's a teacher, he has to know.

The bell rings.

Mr. Fitzpatrick: Okay, class! I know we were talking about fossilization, but there's been a change of plan. As seventh graders, I know you'll be fine talking about space for a class period. Ivy here has brought something up that's much more interesting, right, Ivy?

The class turns to stare at Ivy.

Ivy: Sure? I mean, I had a question.

Mr. Fitzpatrick: Yes, you did. Now, do you mind repeating that for the class? 

Ivy: (clearing throat and clearly embarrassed) Well, um, last night I was looking at the sky, and I noticed that a star in the Big Dipper was gone. The one that makes the upper right corner of the square-the ladle, the ladle.

The class murmurs. 

Mr. Fitzpatrick: (gesturing) Calm down, calm down. Now, Ivy, what exactly did you see?

Ivy: I didn't see anything! No star, no light. I even asked my brother. He's majoring in Astronomy, and so he looked through his telescope and he said it wasn't gone! He has to be crazy! 

Mr. Fitzpatrick: Well, you see, Ivy, and class, a star can't just up and disappear like Ivy claims it can. 

Ivy: But-

Mr. Fitzpatrick: (interrupting) I'm not saying you didn't see anything strange, but a star has a very distinct life - and death.

Mr. Fitzpatrick begins to draw on the whiteboard as he speaks.

Mr. Fitzpatrick: Now, when a star is born, it's a little cloud of gas and dust in space. In time, and with a lot of heat, that star grows and becomes a sphere. This shape describes most of the stars we see in the night sky, right? Our very own Sun is one of these stars. But just like humans, stars grow and mature. Some of the stars you see in the night sky are called supergiants, and they can be tens of times bigger than our own Sun. Now, that's pretty crazy. But we also know that all life - including the lives of stars - must come to an end. Stars can take one of two paths. The smaller ones tend to lose their power and light slowly and fade into a small star called a white dwarf. The bigger stars collapse in on themselves in a massive superexplosion called a supernova. The star Ivy thought she saw disappear is called Dubhe, and it is a yellow giant, meaning it is a lot like the Sun. It also will not explode into a supernova. So, Ivy, what you saw actually isn't that uncommon. Our Earth's atmosphere can warp the stars we see, and you just saw a fluctuation in that. So, class don't worry. Dubhe is still very much alive and well. Does that answer your question, Ivy?

Ivy: Yeah, um, yeah, sure. 

Mr. Fitzpatrick: That was a lot of information to take in, wasn't it? Space is pretty amazing. 

Ivy: (nodding) It's pretty something.

End scene.