We Dream of Space

Bird, Dani, and Devonte have all been chosen to watch the live feed of the Challenger launch. In Ms. Salonga’s class, Bird is distracted by Jessica Diaz’s suggestion that Devonte has a crush on her, especially when they break into their shuttle crews. They are tasked with coming up with five reasons why humans would want to explore space. Uncharacteristically, Bird does not participate in the conversation, feeling both increasingly invisible and perplexed by the notion of what it means to like or be liked by someone else.

During lunch, Cash visits Coach Farnsworth’s office to ask him about an alternative athletic activity he has been considering. The last time he visited the office was when Coach Farnsworth dropped him from the basketball team, and Cash, in his self-consciousness half believes that Coach was relieved to have had an excuse to cut him. Cash says that he has been thinking about Coach’s observation that Cash has always been fast on his feet on the court, and that he has been thinking about trying out for the track team. Coach thinks track is a great idea and reminds him that his grades must improve in order for him to be eligible for sports.