Clues to the Universe

Rosalind, or Ro, stands outside Roosevelt Middle School, a new student on her first day. Two-hundred and seventy-six days ago, she sat and watched the Space Shuttle Columbia launch with her dad on TV, and he told her how sound doesn’t exist in space. Ro thinks about how sound particles bounce around like the students in the hallways and how the Columbia launch inspired her to build her own rocket, which now sits half-complete in her closet.

Benji laments how his best friend, Amir, recently moved to Connecticut, leaving Benji with nobody to talk to. Benji is passionate about space and comic books, particularly a series called Spacebound. He spends his class time illustrating, and he meets Ro on her first day. Ro sits in the empty seat beside Benji and Benji accidentally knocks her water over on his drawings. Ro tries to apologize, but Benji only mumbles a brief reply and scurries off in a hurry, leaving his comic book behind. Benji panics when he realizes his comic is missing because he believes the Spacebound comics are the key to finding his father.