I've heard stories, but I can't tell you how true they are. Parents going through an ugly, violent divorce. An alcoholic father who beats him. Ryan once told me he saw Jace wandering the downtown streets after two a.m. and offered to give him a lift. Jace said thanks but told him it wasn't safe to go home. At least, that's how Ryan relayed it. I don't expect Ryan took him to his fancy house and gave him the guest room for the night. Knowing Ryan's parents, they'd throw a fit. They'd make Jace wash, shave, and cut off all his hair before he would pass muster enough to be allowed through the front door. I've met Ryan's parents. Snobby is too kind a description.
Jace asks questions about what I'm doing, and Ryan does a fair job answering, no doubt wanting to impress upon me that he heard my earlier oration. I give him a perfunctory smile of approval, then turn my attention back to the laser.
Ryan holds up his hand like he's asking the teacher a question. I raise my eyebrows at him.
"Well, I just want to know-is this safe? I mean, your mother did blow up the lab."
I give him my death look and he shrugs apologetically.
"Do you want some help?" Lauren asks in her squeaky voice.
I can't tell if she's nervous being in my house or scared of turning to ash. "There's really nothing to do," I answer. I look at Jace and he shines with interest, nods at me to proceed. His smile gives me the momentum I need. I'm sensing a little bit of reckless daredevil nature in there.
I throw a few switches on the equipment and watch. The light catching in the crystal mesmerizes me, as it always does. In my nonlinear crystal experiments, the light morphs and changes frequencies, like plucking a guitar string in just the right spot to create a higher pitched harmonic. It's akin to alchemy, seeing a red light turn green before your eyes and realizing colors are just waves, like music. Everything is a wave-unless you're a photon. Then you can be a particle too. Photons have split personalities.
The beam travels through the crystal and hits the wall. But, I'm seeing something I shouldn't, and it's not positioned at the wall, but a foot in front of it. As I walk over to study it, I notice the floor shaking. Not a lot, just barely. Maybe it's a big truck on the road below the house.
Ryan looks at the wall to his left. I see movement. A tremor? Jace and Lauren huddle behind big, protective Ryan. It's almost humorous, but I understand. Let the big guy catch the brunt of the explosion. His parents can afford the plastic surgery, if needed. I look back at the spot that caught my eye and I do a double take. I hear something and it sounds like a muffled roar, like a river in the distance, or a wind ruffling tree branches. It's very quiet but persistent.