Ultraviolet Catastrophe

by Jamie Grey

  I smiled back despite myself. The guy wasn’t boasting. He seriously believed it was true. “What does the resident genius do around here besides show newbies around?” Keep it cool, Kepler. It’s just small talk.

  “A little of this, a little of that. I specialize in robotics and computers. Most of it is classified, and until you get your clearance, I really can’t say.”

  “Ah, so you’re a tease, too, then?”

  “Always.” Asher grinned, and we walked a few more steps in silence. “I heard you’ve been at public school.” He said “public” like it was a dirty word.

  I frowned. “Yeah?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve just never met anyone who went to one. I can’t even imagine what it would be like. Most of us have been here since the beginning.” He gave me that weird look again, and I felt myself go defensive.

  “Not exactly my fault. I went where my parents sent me.” And if my parents had been honest with me earlier, I would have been here with everyone else. I pushed down the anger at them that still simmered so close to the surface. It had nothing to do with this guy.

  “I’m sorry — I didn’t mean to be rude. I just wondered. It’s…unusual for QT students. But I wanted to offer my services if you need any help. I could show you the ropes, introduce you around.” My heart skipped a beat, the anger dimming at the brightness of his smile.

  If I had to go to this school, at least things might be looking up.

  “That would be really great. You have no idea how nervous I am at starting.”

  “I bet. Just a friendly warning? Our classmates take themselves very seriously.”

  “Oh? How so?”

  “Succeeding at QT is a matter of life and death to most of these kids. They think the work they do here will determine their futures. They’re not going to go out of their way to be friends with you, especially if you can’t keep up.”

  That was the problem. I didn’t know if I could keep up. Sure, I had weird, freaky moments when I knew something I shouldn’t have or my brain made some crazy leap to find an answer, but now that I knew I’d never really used my full potential, how did that translate to learning physics and robotics and engineering?

  I squared my shoulders and looked Asher in the eye, sounding a hell of a lot braver than I felt. “Then I don’t need them as friends.”

  His smile was almost proud. “I like you, Lexie Kepler.”

  Monday morning, I stared up at the friendly, brick manor that held the Quantum Technologies facility. The windows glowed in the late August sunlight, but I was too busy trying to remember how to breathe to admire it. I forced the air in and out of my lungs. The last thing I needed was to have a panic attack my first day of school.

  I’d gotten a text from Mom that morning. She said she was safe and not to worry, she just wanted to wish me good luck today. She’d apologized again for lying. For leaving me with Dad. I hadn’t forgiven her yet, but I couldn’t help but miss her. She was my mom. She’d been there for every first day of school. It didn’t help that Dad and I were still barely talking. Every time he opened his mouth, all I heard were more lies.

  Fear and doubt had kept me awake most of the night, circling through my head like hungry vultures. Most of my classes back home had been Advanced Placement, but these kids were geniuses. They’d probably learned particle physics and quantum mechanics in kindergarten.

  I pushed those thoughts away and focused on not puking up my breakfast.

  “Coming, Lex?” Dad held the door open for me.

  I stepped through the door and the crisp, air-conditioned breeze made me glad I’d grabbed a sweater, although I shivered despite it, wrapping my arms around my waist.

  “Good morning, Dr. Kepler. Lexie.” Sam, the guard at the desk, waved us through, and Dad punched the call button for the elevator.

  “Classes at QT are a little different from what you’re used to. We don’t have grades exactly — we have levels. And because Quantum High is so small, each level only has around thirty students. They’ve put you in Level Two — so really, you’re still a sophomore.”

  Dad flashed me a smile, like he thought it was a good thing. Frankly, I wouldn’t have minded starting out at Level One with how stupid I felt.

  “That’s not exactly helping. I don’t even know how to compete with these kids. Are they college level? Beyond?”

  He furrowed his eyebrows. “I suppose most of these students would be at a graduate school level, but the QT school is different from most, so it’s hard to judge. You might be behind for a little while, but I’m sure you’ll catch up in no time.”

  The elevator opened, and we stepped inside. “Good morning, Dr. Kepler. Good morning, Lexie.”

  The voice almost made me jump out of my skin and I glanced up at the ceiling, but Dad didn’t even blink. “Good morning, Ellie. Two, please.” Dad frowned and shifted his weight. “Your advisor for the year is Dr. Michael Avery. He’s very smart, but he can be…eccentric. Just stand up to him and you’ll be fine.”

  The name rang a bell, and I remembered he was the same guy Dad and Dr. Rosen had been talking about the other day. The one in trouble. I raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t elaborate.

  Instead, he said, “In the meantime, I’ll see what else I can come up with to help you get caught up.” Dad put an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “You’ll be fine Lex. I promise. The kids here are all nice. Nothing to worry about.”

  Tell that to my stomach.

  But I wanted Dad to think everything was fine. That I could handle it. “Nah, I’m sure everyone will welcome me like a long-lost friend. We’ll be one big, happy nerd herd.”

  We got out at the second floor, and Dad tilted his head to stare at me. Evidently, I needed to tone down the sarcasm.

  “Want me to walk you to your classroom?”

  I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.” Everyone already knew I was Dr. Kepler’s daughter. I didn’t need to rub it in.

  “I’ll meet you in the library after your classes are over. We’ll grab dinner.”

  I turned down the hall and raised a hand. “See you tonight.”

  Dad nodded, but I could feel his gaze on me as I made the trek toward my classroom. The door seemed further and further away with each step, and I let out a sigh of relief when I finally turned the corner out of his sight. The weight of his worry was rubbing off, and I didn’t need to feel any worse than I already did. I adjusted my messenger bag on my shoulder and wiped my sweating palms on my jeans before I stepped into the room.

  The blank stares of twenty other students greeted me. They looked like any other kids at any other high school, but I knew they were smarter than most of the world’s population. I sat down at the long conference table filling the room. Nervous laughter bubbled to my lips, and I shifted in the chair to pull my tablet out of my bag. Freaking out was not an option. I needed to focus on something else before I embarrassed myself.

  I pretended to check email while sneaking glances around the room to get my bearings. The place looked more like a boardroom than a classroom. There was a huge whiteboard at one end, and a buffet table with orange juice, water, and coffee set out at the other.

  A few more students trickled in, looked curiously at me, and took a seat as far away from me as possible. My hands trembled, and I clenched them together. Asher was right. These people didn’t want anything to do with me.

  But I’d learned early on at my old high school to show no fear or they’d eat you alive. So I pasted a bored expression to my face and played a game on my tablet. That way I didn’t have to meet anyone’s gaze.

  A pretty girl with dark skin and springy curls slid into the chair beside me, and hope made my pulse speed up. Her backpack was almost bigger than she was, and she kicked at it so it would fit under the conference table before turning to me. “You’re the new girl.”

  It wasn’t a question, but I looked up from my game and nodded anyway. “I’m Lexie.”

  “Zella Wheeler.” She dropped he
r tablet on the table and inspected me like she expected horns to sprout from my head. “Is it true you went to public school?”

  “Until last week.”

  She shook her head, and her brown eyes narrowed. “Crazy. I don’t know how they think you’re going to keep up. Are you some sort of genius or something?”

  I blinked at her hostile tone. “I’m just here to learn like everyone else.”

  She smirked. “Obviously not like everyone else, or you would have started here a long time ago.”

  Zella turned away to talk to the girl sitting on her other side and started asking about her summer. I caught snatches about Switzerland and the Large Hadron Collider and particle physics, but most of it didn’t make much sense. I tried to ignore her and went back to my game, but every few seconds, I could feel her look at me, hear the whispers and giggles.

  Tightness gathered in my chest, and sweat beaded on my skin. I was not going to have a panic attack on my first day. I forced myself to breathe in and out. Slowly.

  Someone sat down in the seat on my right, but I didn’t bother to look up. I needed to get my freak-out under control before I bolted from the room.

  “You’re Dr. Kepler’s daughter, right?”

  I finally looked up to find a guy smiling at me. A sandy beard shadowed his jaw, but it was too thin and scraggly to do anything more than make him seem really young. His brown eyes were kind, with none of the hostility I’d seen in everyone else’s.

  He held out a hand. “I’m Max Von Neumann. Pleased to meet you.”

  I shook it, hoping he didn’t feel how clammy mine was. “Lexie.”

  “Right. I knew it was something like that. I’m horrible with names. So, first day, huh? How’s it going?”

  I looked around the room, not sure how honest to be. “Too early to tell?”

  Max laughed. “Let me guess — nobody’s exactly happy to see you? They’ll warm up in a few days. They’re all too freaked out about you being Kepler’s kid and stealing their spotlight. Once you get to know them, they’re all right.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” I didn’t feel like much of a threat to anyone. I tucked my thick hair behind my ears, where it promptly slid back out. I should have worn it pulled back like usual, but I’d wanted to hide behind it today.

  “So why is everyone freaked out I’m a Kepler?” On my other side, Zella had stopped talking and was pretending not to listen to our conversation.

  Max’s eyes widened. “Your dad is a genius. His latest project on developing a new electromagnetic process for fueling space travel was amazing. Everyone here is dying to work with him on a rotation.”

  I pursed my lips. Something else Dad had neglected to tell me. Though I suppose I should have guessed, with his promotion to Assistant Director and all. I leaned closer, hoping no one else would hear me. “Stupid question, but what’s a rotation? Dad said it would be different from what I was used to back home, but I’m just not getting it yet.”

  There was a long pause as Max stared blankly at me, and then he pulled himself together. “Right. So QT believes in holistic teaching. Instead of history and English and physics and math all being separate, they’re combined into modules. We break into teams to work on a project for ten weeks and learn all those things at once.”

  “I bet you guys get to work on some pretty cool stuff.”

  Max nodded. “Yeah, we have a different staff mentor each year who helps us with the projects, and we’re given access to whatever labs in the facility we need to finish our research.” He smiled shyly. “It would be awesome if you were in my group.”

  On the other side of me, Zella snorted and turned away. I didn’t think Max had heard her, but he leaned around me. “What’s the problem? Afraid Lexie’s going to show you up?”

  She whipped back around to glare at him. “As if I have to worry about her. She’s probably never even heard of quantum mechanics.”

  The fear coiled inside me snapped like a rubber band, and I raised my chin. “Do you secretly kick puppies in your spare time?” Zella smirked at me like I was an idiot, but I continued. “I’m just curious if your mean girl persona is limited to the new kids on the block or if you attack other hapless creatures, too.”

  “Hapless creatures. Love it.” Max laughed and clapped me on the back. “I think you’re going to fit in here just fine, Lexie.”

  Zella glared before turning her back on us with a sniff.

  I clenched my hands together in my lap. If my new classmates were already looking for weaknesses, maybe standing up to Zella was the only way to win their approval. Maybe the only way to make it here was to stop hiding and embrace the new me. Whoever that was.

  Someone across the room shouted, “Hey, there’s Asher! We can finally get started.”

  My gaze flew to the doorway where Asher Rosen stood, surveying the room like he was the king and we were all his subjects. “Good morning, fellow geniuses!”

  People waved at him and cat-called before going back to their conversations. Asher’s steady gaze turned to me.

  His dark hair was messy, like he’d just crawled out of bed, and he had another science shirt on. This one said, “Obey Gravity. It’s the Law.” I tried to focus on the words and not the way it clung to his muscled chest, but I frowned as my pulse sped up. I had enough to worry about. I did not have time to crush on boys right now.

  And then a thought hit me. Oh god. Had he heard my outburst?

  He tilted his head with a mock expression of hurt. “You don’t look very happy to see me, Lexie.”

  Luckily, before I had to come up with an answer, a tall man with blond hair appeared behind Asher. “Mr. Rosen, would you please stop flirting with the new girl and take your seat? I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities for that later.”

  My face flamed with heat, and I dropped my head to stare at my tablet. Flirting with me? Only in my dreams. But I was all-too aware of Asher as he dropped into the seat across from me and leaned his head on one elbow. His gorgeous blue eyes drifted shut.

  “Good morning, folks.” The teacher stood at the head of the table and surveyed us with a smirk. “Today, we’re going to get our group and project assignments for the first module of the semester. But first, I think we should introduce ourselves to our new classmate. It’s been a long time since we’ve had fresh blood here at QT.” His eyes drifted down to the V-neck of my shirt. I fought not to cross my arms over my chest and tried to maintain eye contact with him. Eccentric? Really, Dad? The guy was a creep.

  “I’m Dr. Michael Avery, head of the astrophysics lab. I’ll be your advisor for Level Two. My offices are on the third floor; feel free to drop by if you ever need anything. And you’re Alexa Kepler, right?”

  I nodded. “Lexie.”

  “Very pretty name. Now, let’s go around the table. Everyone, introduce yourself.” He gave the room a once-over, paying special attention to several of the pretty girls who sat near the head of the table. Ewww.

  There were only twenty-five of them, but it felt like a hundred as they said their names, challenging me to remember, to be good enough to join them. Asher winked as he introduced himself, and I had to look away, hoping he wouldn’t see my cheeks turn pink.

  We were almost through the introductions when a girl darted into the room, her long blonde hair swinging behind her. “Sorry I’m late,” she called. “Overslept. Still on Japan time.” She shoved Asher’s legs off the chair beside him and grinned. “Thanks for saving me a seat.”

  He reconfigured his slouch so his legs now stretched out in front of him under the table. “Didn’t think you were getting back until tomorrow.”

  “Mom cut the trip short. She didn’t want me to miss the first week of school. You know how she is.” Her eyes ran up and down his lean frame. “Looks like you got some sun this summer. Looks good on you.”

  At the front of the room, Dr. Avery cleared his throat. I expected him to be annoyed, but he looked as enthralled as the rest of the male populati
on in the room. “Miss Green? We’re just introducing ourselves to Dr. Kepler’s daughter.”

  She turned, her eyes widening as she spotted me across the table. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Amy Green. Nice to meet you.”

  Her words seemed genuine enough, and I forced my own smile to mirror hers. “Lexie Kepler.”

  Dr. Avery picked up his tablet and flipped through several screens. “Now that we’re done with introductions, I’m emailing your groups and project assignments right now. Please break into your teams, and we’ll get started.”

  Twenty-five tablets dinged as we all got Dr. Avery’s email. I tapped the screen and opened my account. My lips parted in dismay at the names of my group-mates: Max Von Neumann. Zella Wheeler. Asher Rosen. Amy Green.

  Oh, this was going to be fun.

  I looked up to find Asher smirking at me, and I quickly dropped my gaze back to my tablet. As I read Dr. Avery’s email, I tried to fight the sinking feeling of dread.

  Project group: Ultraviolet Catastrophe.

  Task: Recreate Planck and Einstein’s experiments to discover why blackbody radiation does not cause an ultraviolet catastrophe. Please discuss the Boltzmann constant, Planck’s constant, and the average probability of finding ultraviolet photons in the spectrum range of electromagnetic energy for a specific temperature and wavelength.

  Yeah. The words were there, but they made no sense. I’d taken an introductory physics class last year as a freshman, but we’d learned about the basics of velocity and the fundamental laws. My fingers tightened on my tablet. This was all my parents’ fault. If they hadn’t tried to keep my intelligence secret, I wouldn’t be in this situation. I’d have known these kids since I was little. I’d already fit in.

  I’d already know who the hell Planck was.

  My tablet trembled in my hands, and Max leaned over. I caught a whiff of the same laundry detergent Mom usually used, and a pang of homesickness shot through me.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I snapped, then immediately felt guilty. Max was the only person who’d been nice to me so far today. I smiled at him weakly. “Sorry. I’m just a little stressed out. First day and all.”