The Science of Breakable Things

During the last week of school before winter break, it snows for the first time, so Mr. Neely lets the students play outside during science class. A snowball fight breaks out.

The following day is a real snow day off from school, and Natalie’s dad tells her they’re going somewhere fun. It turns out he means Christmas shopping, and Natalie is disappointed that errands are now his idea of entertainment. However, they actually enjoy themselves for a while because they pretend the crowded mall is a battlefield they have to brave together.

Her father asks what Natalie wants to get her mom for Christmas. She says she doesn’t want to get her anything. As a compromise, she suggests a plant, even though her mom let all her other plants die. Heading toward the plant nursery, they run into Mikayla and her mom, Dana. Everyone but Natalie makes polite conversation, and Dana says she misses Natalie’s mom. Natalie bails and goes to the nursery. She chooses a plant called Korean fire, which blooms through winter—even in snow—and can survive nearly any condition. She won’t talk to her dad on the way home.

Natalie gets another snow day off, but she has to see Dr. Doris. During the session, Natalie again refuses to talk about her mother, and she daydreams while Dr. Doris speaks. Secretly, she doesn’t want other people to know about her mom’s illness because she thinks it might make her mom look bad. She also wishes she could stop caring about Mikayla and Mrs. Menzer, who gave Natalie and Alice their own cobalt blue orchid seed when Natalie was in fourth grade.

Natalie’s dad urges her to open up more in her next session with Dr. Doris. Part of her wants to do this, but part of her doesn’t.

Over winter break, the school is locked, so the group goes to Dari’s house to practice egg drops. Based on the way Dari’s house is decorated, Natalie can tell his family loves each other and is proud of being Indian. Natalie is part Korean but appears white to most people, and she doesn’t talk often about being Korean. Furthermore, her dad doesn’t eat much Korean food or practice Korean traditions, having grown tired of them while growing up. For the first time, she worries this might not be ideal.

Dari’s parents seem happy that he finally has friends. He explains that this is part of the reason he decided to do the egg drop. They test designs by dropping them out Dari’s window into his backyard. “S’meggs,” which is made of marshmallows, sticks, and chocolate, survives the drop, and they celebrate. However, Natalie has a moment of doubt, questioning what will happen if they win the contest and travel to see the flowers, but her mother is still not cured.

On Christmas morning, Natalie’s mother won’t get out of bed, so her father suggests they open their presents and show Mom later. Natalie detects a hint of anger toward his wife in her father’s voice, a feeling he almost never shows. This scares her more than anything because by now she is used to her mother not getting out of bed. Natalie also feels angry at her dad because he’s a therapist, yet he cannot fix her mother. Natalie goes into the greenhouse and smashes a bunch of eggs.

Natalie goes to her room. She is glad when Twig comes over and comforts her. Twig celebrated Christmas with her mom this morning, but now she’s working. Her dad said he would call Twig later, but he hasn’t yet. The girls exchange Christmas gifts: Every year Twig gives Natalie a glass figurine from Paris, and this year she got her a frog to commemorate the one they dissected. Natalie gives Twig a board game.

Twig senses that Natalie has been closed-off toward her, so she apologizes in case she did something wrong. Natalie divulges her mother’s depression. She feels weird using the word “depression” because this is the first time she’s said it. She also explains her plan to use the prize money to take her mom to New Mexico to see the orchids, and Twig recommits to the project with extra enthusiasm.

On New Year’s Eve, Natalie tells her dad she wants to make dduk, the “Korean version” of the Japanese mochi that her mother used to make every year for good luck. Her mom comes downstairs and eats some with them, praising their work, which makes Natalie feel hopeful.

At Natalie’s appointment with Dr. Doris, she opens up by telling a happy story about the dduk. Then she talks about Christmas and other memories about her mother. Once, at the arboretum, Natalie’s mother spoke about the cobalt blue orchid passionately, thinking that if their healing abilities could be harnessed and applied to human cells, it could be a miracle. Natalie recommits to winning the contest to help her mom.

Back at school after winter break, Natalie, Twig, and Dari work together in science class on a pendulum project and discuss their breaks. Dari made more tweaks to some of the egg designs, which worries Natalie with the contest so close.