Page 35 of Through the Storms

“Somehow, I doubt your dad agreed.”

“Nah. Probably didn’t help he’d only had the truck for six months.” Oakley flashed a smile. “I’d likely have been grounded forever if Asher, the golden child, hadn’t been the one driving.” Oakley’s humorous delivery didn’t mask the flash of pain behind her eyes.

Chloe decided not to pry. “Apparently, getting caught in the epic hailstorm didn’t stop you.”

“No, ma’am. If anything, it made me more determined than ever.”

“What causes hail to get so big?”

Oakley took a swig of soda and then put the bottle on the ground. “Okay, so let’s see if I can make this simple.”

Oakley spread her hands out with her left hand lower than her right. Slowly, she moved her left hand horizontally toward her right in a wavelike motion. “The warm moist…um…I meanhumidair is just moving along, minding its own business when it gets close to the cold dry air.” Oakley shook her right hand to indicate the cold air.

“So as the two air masses get closer together, the air moving along horizontally starts to be pulled up into what’s called an updraft.”

Chloe focused on Oakley’s left hand that began to ascend and imagined one of the crude drawings Riley had drawn in her notebook.

“So now thehumidair is on its way up into the cold air. The updraft contains millions of water droplets, and when they get to a certain altitude, they collide with ice particles. And what do you think happens?” Oakley gazed at Chloe expectantly.

Chloe bit her lip in thought. “They cling together?”

“Exactly,” Oakley said with a burst of enthusiasm. “They freeze together, and when they get heavy enough, they start to fall.”

Oakley’s words came out faster, and her eyes sparkled. “And this is when it gets really cool. Sometimes it falls to the ground.And then you get the little hail.” Oakley made a pea-sized-shaped circle with her thumb and index finger. “But sometimes the updraft pushes it back up.”

Oakley’s left hand shot up toward the sky. “Guess what happens then.”

Chloe’s heart raced as she caught Oakley’s enthusiasm. “More ice clings to it, and the pea-sized hail gets bigger.”

“Yes! You’re getting this.” Oakley moved to the edge of her chair. “And then what?”

“It gets heavy and starts to fall again?”

“Uh-huh. What happens if the updraft gets stronger?”

Chloe lifted her hand toward the sky as if it were an airplane taking off. “Back up it goes to cling to more ice.”

“You’re a natural.” Oakley fell back against her chair and grabbed her soda from the ground. “The process could repeat several times. If you dissect a hailstone, you might see what looks like tree rings. It shows each time it went back into the updraft.”

“That’s so cool.” Chloe meant it. She’d never given much thought to the natural world around her.

“Uh-oh.” Oakley motioned toward Britt, who stomped across the parking lot. “Looks like she’s on a mission, and she’s headed this way.” Oakley stood. “I’ll give you one more hail factoid before she gets here.”

“Please,” Chloe said, eager to learn more. She couldn’t help feeling a sense of disappointment that their conversation would soon come to an end. Riley was going to be so envious that she missed this.

“If you’ve ever seen one of the big hailstones, it’s usually smooth on one side and jagged on the other. Kinda like the inside of a geode. Any idea how that happens?”

Chloe wracked her brain but couldn’t come up with an answer, so she shook her head.

Oakley cupped her hand as if holding a large ball and lifted it into the air. She slowly let it descend. “As it falls, some of the water on the bottom that isn’t frozen starts to trickle up. Kinda like how water streaks up your windshield when you’re going fast.” She moved her finger up as if it were a drop of water moving toward the top of the imaginary ball. “As it starts to be pulled upward, it freezes and forms jagged peaks.”

“Kinda like icicles in reverse?” Chloe asked.

Oakley grinned. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but yeah, I like it.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Britt called when she was within range.

“Talking about hail.” Oakley frowned, but the twinkle in her eye gave her away. “What’s your problem?”