Cecilia could see how excited she was but knew that Hester had previous as far as presents were concerned: for Christmas she’d given her a broken alarm clock from the 1970s.
“Oh, it’s heavier than it looks. Thanks, Hess.”
When Cecilia finally managed to open the present, it was surprisingly marvellous. Hester had saved up her pocket money (that is, she used what was left of her pocket money after she had bought herself a new fountain pen) to buy a vintage marble from the old bric-a-brac store down the road from their granny. She had seen it one afternoon, when she and Granny had gone into the shop for a snoop. There was something magical about the way it caught the light, and Hester and Granny had decided that it was super special and that Cecilia simply had to have it for her birthday.
The marble was large, not quite as big a tennis ball but on the way there. It had an oily layer on its outer surface onto which a pattern of silvery white markings had been etched. When Cecilia held it up to the light, she could see through a chip on its surface into a misty white centre with a constellation of silvery sparkles. It had an enchanting way of reflecting the colours around it, catching the pink on Cecilia’s pyjamas and the umber in Hester’s eyes.
“Wow. Cool.”
“Looks like the universe, doesn’t it?” Hester said.
Cecilia stared at it. “Yeah. Thanks, Hess, it’s gorgeous.” Cecilia secretly thought that she was getting a bit old for toys but in this case she’d make an exception. It was more of a curiosity than a toy, plus it looked like it was made of glass and children aren’t usually allowed to play with things made of glass. She was definitely old enough to look after something fragile.
“Let’s have a look, missy,” said her dad, holding out his hand. “Cor, that’s a corker, that is, Hess, nice one.” And they high-fived.
“I thought you could put it in this.” Hester handed her sister a piece of gold string with a tangle of wires at the end.
“What is it?” asked Cecilia.
“It’s a necklace, dummy. Look, it fits in here like this!” Hester demonstrated how to insert the marble into the contraption she had devised and handed it back to her sister, “Then you can wear it on special occasions!”
“Wow, Hess, that’s really lovely and so creative,” Cecilia said, trying to hide some of her discomfort. She had already guessed what was coming next and she didn’t like the idea.
“Thanks. I knew you’d like it and the best part is: it’s a special occasion today because it’s your birthday, so you get to wear it all day!”
Cecilia winced a little. She really did love the marble but she wasn’t sure she wanted to wear it. After all, it wasn’t that cool. It sort of looked like something that had been pulled out of the rubbish, tangled up with all the string and wire, but she really didn’t want to hurt Hester’s feelings and it was only for one day and she could always tuck it under her jumper.
“Lucky me,” she said drily with a wink and a cheesy smile. Hester was clearly ecstatic. Cecilia shot her dad a look that cried save me but he just shrugged in reply.
Cecilia unwrapped the presents from her mum and dad after that: a sketchbook, some watercolours and a brand-new junior microscope set.
“We know you love all that technology stuff: iPads, jPads, kPads and whatnot,” joked her dad, “but we wanted to get you something a bit more hands on.”
“Something that would inspire you,” added her mum.
“Yeah, something that didn’t need charging up,” said her dad.
“I love it, guys, I absolutely love it. Thanks.” Cecilia smiled.
“Right then, you lovely lot, let’s get a groove on! There’s a world out there waiting for us,” said their mum. Once again there was thunder heard shaking through the floors of the house.
2Roll with It
Hester was skipping ahead, humming to herself and picking bits off bushes and throwing the debris in the air like confetti. Cecilia, however, was trailing behind in a bit of a mood because they weren’t allowed to bring any “technology” with them, which had meant she wasn’t allowed her mobile. Her mum and dad were walking together talking about how rainbows are formed. When Cecilia overheard she picked up the pace—she loved science.
“Raindrops act like prisms and refract the light,” said her mum, all matter of fact.
“Nonsense!” exclaimed her dad. “Raindrops are the tears of clouds passing over the wonder, pain and beauty of the world. A prism is just a type of triangle. Come on now, Alice, you know better than that!”
Alice looked frustrated.
“Mum’s right actually, Dad,” said Cecilia, looping his arm.
He was really trying to wind her mum up now, smiling cheekily and nudging Cecilia in the ribs. “Rainbows are formed from the souls of lost shooting stars that have been pulled into Earth’s atmosphere, where they mingle with these tears.”
“Shut up, Lyle. You’ll confuse Cecilia. We don’t want her getting into her exams and writing poems when she’s supposed to be answering questions about geography or science!”
Cecilia had always loved science. Where other people saw a blue sky she saw a curious world of questions that led to explanations. A hamburger wasn’t just a hamburger, oh no. It was a stage in a life cycle, a food chain, a chemical reaction and a transfer of energy. It could all be broken down and retraced step by tiny step to the beginning of existence, and further still. Oh, don’t get her wrong, she could still see the beauty in the world to which she belonged, but her awe came from how a thing came to be in the first place and where it would go next on its journey, not just what it looked like.
The family arrived at the Underground station, where
