The Sock Equation

Chapter One

The Six-Cent Science Project

Leo Navarro believed in two things absolutely. He believed in the scientific method. And he believed that every problem in the universe had a solution, provided you were willing to look hard enough and long enough and not give up just because something seemed impossible. He had not yet found a problem lately, but maybe it was about a problem finding him.

The trouble started on a Monday, which, Leo had noticed, was when most troubles preferred to start. It was the first day back after winter break, and Ms. Okafor had written four words on the whiteboard in her very serious handwriting: SCIENCE FAIR — SIGN UP NOW A ripple of excitement moved through Room 14. Leo felt it too, right in the center of his chest, like a tuning fork that had been struck against something solid. The science fair. His science fair. He had been planning his project since October. He was going to build a working model of a Faraday cage — a mesh of conductive metal that blocks electromagnetic fields. He had read about them in three different books and one very long website that used vocabulary his classmates would not understand for at least four more years. He had sketched diagrams in the margins of his math notebook. He had written a list of materials that he folded and unfolded so many times it had gone soft at the creases. The list was not long. But it cost money. Specifically, it cost forty-seven dollars and twelve cents. Leo had six cents. He knew this because he had counted.

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