give and receive comfort vibes until we stopped on the steps beneath the arched porch of the earth science building. I felt like I should stay with him, but we both still had classes. Our lives continued, oddly enough.
A little ash, if it ever drifted this far, couldn’t disturb our campus routine. The Mt. St. Helens map had shown “Trace to ¼ inch” in the farthest reaches of the ash fallout. It would be like snow flurries to us, not the instant black blizzard those poor people near the eruption experienced.
“You talked to your parents?” I said.
“Yep.”
“Maybe they ’re on their way east already.”
“ I doubt it,” he said, aggravated. “My dad won’t leave the cattle. Damn, I wish Drew was there.” He looked across campus for a moment then back at me. “I don’t know why I dragged you into this. Dr. Potter was so weirded out when I came in. He made it sound like this could become a major problem.”
I nodded, now familiar with the freak-out potential of Dr. Potter. “I’m glad you told me. And I know you’re really worried so if you need to talk later, or when you hear something, text me. Or stop by. Whatever.”
“Thanks, Violet,” he said with a lopsided curve of his lips that didn’t reach his eyes. He brushed a little kiss on my mouth. I smiled, glad he’d definitely not ended our three weeks of talking.
“Hey .” I touched his stubbly cheek. “I mean it. Let me know about your family, okay?”
I watched him walk a way, and my thoughts staggered in the fashion of drunk fraternity brothers, each on its own erratic route. Everything about Boone elated me. Out west, the ground shook and exploded, heedless of the fragile humans in its path. I needed to do some calculus problems before my one o'clock class. I wanted to talk to my mom.
Wait. Where had that come from?
I wandered back to the dorm room. Mia’d already left for her eleven o’clock so I lugged my calculus book to the empty lounge to watch the TV coverage. After five minutes, I muted the sound and hit speed dial for The Perch. My home phone.
Caller ID worked its magic. “Morning, Violet. This is a nice surprise,” Mom chirped.
“Hi, Mom. Hey, have you checked the news today?”
“Not yet . I’ve been washing the outside of the windows. My spring cleaning never got done, and I’m not sure the fall cleaning last year got done, either,” she said with a laugh. “Now you’ve given me a welcome excuse to take a break. What’s up?” She suddenly sounded cautious. “You didn’t have one of those school shooters, did you?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s something my geology professor told me today…well, he told the TA, Boone, who then told me…Yellowstone is erupting.”
She sort of breathed the word Yellowstone in a way that made my scalp prickle. “Are you serious? Wait. I’m turning on the TV.” Through her silence I heard the sudden babble of a news channel. “Oh my God.”
I had expected Mom to reassur e me. That’s what mothers did, right?
“Oh, Violet.” I co uld hear concern in her voice. She paused again. “Oh, no. What did your professor say?”
“ He said it’s bad. He called it a mega caldera. He said all his volcano dude friends are saying it has a lot of energy. Every sensor in the area is gone.”
“Geez , Louise, this thing is huge,” Mom said.
“Ye ah.”
“Did you see the satellite?”
“Yeah.”
I could hear her fingers clicking on her keyboard now. She’d gone into science mode , and she didn’t need me on the other end of the phone for that.
“Ok ay, Mom, I thought you should know.”
The clicking stopped. “Hey, Violet?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for calling. Thanks for making sure we knew. This is important. Like altering-things-on-a-global-scale important. I’m gonna go get some extra supplies for here. You and Mia make sure you have enough food and water for a few days in your room. And batteries. Oh, I wish you were closer to home,
A little ash, if it ever drifted this far, couldn’t disturb our campus routine. The Mt. St. Helens map had shown “Trace to ¼ inch” in the farthest reaches of the ash fallout. It would be like snow flurries to us, not the instant black blizzard those poor people near the eruption experienced.
“You talked to your parents?” I said.
“Yep.”
“Maybe they ’re on their way east already.”
“ I doubt it,” he said, aggravated. “My dad won’t leave the cattle. Damn, I wish Drew was there.” He looked across campus for a moment then back at me. “I don’t know why I dragged you into this. Dr. Potter was so weirded out when I came in. He made it sound like this could become a major problem.”
I nodded, now familiar with the freak-out potential of Dr. Potter. “I’m glad you told me. And I know you’re really worried so if you need to talk later, or when you hear something, text me. Or stop by. Whatever.”
“Thanks, Violet,” he said with a lopsided curve of his lips that didn’t reach his eyes. He brushed a little kiss on my mouth. I smiled, glad he’d definitely not ended our three weeks of talking.
“Hey .” I touched his stubbly cheek. “I mean it. Let me know about your family, okay?”
I watched him walk a way, and my thoughts staggered in the fashion of drunk fraternity brothers, each on its own erratic route. Everything about Boone elated me. Out west, the ground shook and exploded, heedless of the fragile humans in its path. I needed to do some calculus problems before my one o'clock class. I wanted to talk to my mom.
Wait. Where had that come from?
I wandered back to the dorm room. Mia’d already left for her eleven o’clock so I lugged my calculus book to the empty lounge to watch the TV coverage. After five minutes, I muted the sound and hit speed dial for The Perch. My home phone.
Caller ID worked its magic. “Morning, Violet. This is a nice surprise,” Mom chirped.
“Hi, Mom. Hey, have you checked the news today?”
“Not yet . I’ve been washing the outside of the windows. My spring cleaning never got done, and I’m not sure the fall cleaning last year got done, either,” she said with a laugh. “Now you’ve given me a welcome excuse to take a break. What’s up?” She suddenly sounded cautious. “You didn’t have one of those school shooters, did you?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s something my geology professor told me today…well, he told the TA, Boone, who then told me…Yellowstone is erupting.”
She sort of breathed the word Yellowstone in a way that made my scalp prickle. “Are you serious? Wait. I’m turning on the TV.” Through her silence I heard the sudden babble of a news channel. “Oh my God.”
I had expected Mom to reassur e me. That’s what mothers did, right?
“Oh, Violet.” I co uld hear concern in her voice. She paused again. “Oh, no. What did your professor say?”
“ He said it’s bad. He called it a mega caldera. He said all his volcano dude friends are saying it has a lot of energy. Every sensor in the area is gone.”
“Geez , Louise, this thing is huge,” Mom said.
“Ye ah.”
“Did you see the satellite?”
“Yeah.”
I could hear her fingers clicking on her keyboard now. She’d gone into science mode , and she didn’t need me on the other end of the phone for that.
“Ok ay, Mom, I thought you should know.”
The clicking stopped. “Hey, Violet?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for calling. Thanks for making sure we knew. This is important. Like altering-things-on-a-global-scale important. I’m gonna go get some extra supplies for here. You and Mia make sure you have enough food and water for a few days in your room. And batteries. Oh, I wish you were closer to home,
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