Fun stories from
Blushing Blake
by Michele L. Rich • Art by Suzanne Beaky
Text © 2015 by Carus Publishing Company dba Cricket Media
Art © 2015 by Suzanne Beaky
Copyright © 2016 by Carus Publishing Company.
All rights reserved, including right of reproduction in whole or in part, in any form.
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ISBN 978-0-8126-6692-2
LAKE LOVED SCIENCE more than crunchy
peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Super Science
Week was going to be the best week ever because he
was presenting an experiment to his third grade class. If
Mrs. Watson accepted it, he would be in the science fair.
Good thing he was practically born wearing a lab coat.
Science was his thing!
“For my experiment, I’m going to suspend an egg in
water,” Blake announced to his class. He poured salt into
a glass of water. He added more water and dropped an
egg in. But the egg didn’t stay in the middle of the glass
like it was supposed to. It sunk like a stone to the bottom.
Blake’s face felt hot.
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“Look, Blake’s blushing!” Kate squealed from the
back row.
Blake covered his face with his hands. His chest
thumped as he returned to his seat and pressed his
forehead to the cool desk.
That evening he flipped through The Book of
Fabulous Science Experiments. When he saw the
dancing purple worm experiment, he thought, This is
the one.
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“I am going to make purple worms dance,” Blake
announced to his class the next day. Their eyes widened.
Blake poured vinegar into a bowl along with blue and
red food coloring. He added several pieces of cooked
spaghetti. They quickly turned purple.
“Now watch the ‘worms’ closely,” he said. “I’m mixing
an acid (vinegar) with a base (baking soda). It will cause
a reaction.” He dropped a tablespoon of soda into the
bowl, and WHAM! Bubbles and fizz foamed to the top
of the bowl and spilled over, soaking Mrs. Watson’s
grade book.
“No, blushing is!” Blake said. “Charles Darwin called
blushing ‘the most human of all expressions.’ Other
animals do not blush,” Blake added.
Mrs. Watson smiled and nodded.
Blake continued: “Blushing is caused by an overactive
nervous system. The blood vessels in the face open wide
and fill the skin with blood.” He walked around the
classroom, giving each student a closer look at his red
face. Then he propped up a poster board showing the
blood vessels. The class gathered around to admire his
drawings.
“When you feel stress or embarrassment,” Blake said,
“your emotions cause you to blush. There’s no way to
control it. Believe me. I’ve tried. It’s a normal part of
being human, so the best thing you can do is accept it—
unless you’d rather be a monkey,” he said with a smile.
The class applauded.
Mrs. Watson clapped the loudest. “Blake, this will be
perfect for the science fair on Monday.”
Blake walked proudly back to his seat. His red face lit
up the whole classroom. Science was his thing!
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“Blake’s blushing again!” Perry pointed and laughed.
Blake looked down. His spaghetti worms weren’t dancing.
They sat limply at the bottom of the bowl.
Mrs. Watson lifted her soggy grade book and wrinkled
her nose. Purple water dripped onto the floor. “I think
this could have been great, Blake,” she said, wiping
purple off her fingers with a tissue while trying to smile.
Blake stepped over the purple puddle and shuffled to
his seat. Perry patted his back. “It’s OK, Blake. Maybe
science just isn’t your thing.”
But science was his thing! His Uncle Ted was a science
teacher. His mom worked in a medical lab. His big brother
was studying to be a chemist. His family tree grew scientists!
LLL
The next morning, Blake marched to the front of
the class. He was wearing his Mickey Mouse ears from
last summer’s trip to Disneyland. He felt ridiculous and
probably looked it, too. Everyone cracked up, and his
face burned.
“That’s right. I’m blushing. This is my science
experiment,” Blake announced. Everyone quieted down.
“Mouse ears are your science experiment?”
Perry asked.
8
Blake studied The Book of Fabulous Science Experiments
again that night. Aha! The clinging salt and pepper
experiment would get him in the science fair for sure.
He gathered a plastic spoon, a wool cloth, and salt and
pepper. There was no way this could fail.
Blake stood in front of the class the next day. He
scattered the salt on one end of Mrs. Watson’s desk and
rubbed the spoon with the wool cloth.
5
She forced a smile. “You were really close this
time, Blake, but I have to make my decision tomorrow
morning. Keep trying!” Blake’s heart felt heavy in his
chest. Science was his thing . . . wasn’t it? He sat up
in bed that night, unable to sleep. He just had to be in
that science fair! But the only thing he could do right
was blush.
A smile grew on Blake’s face. He had it! He jumped
out of bed to prepare for tomorrow.
LLL
“This plastic spoon is negatively charged by the wool
cloth,” he said. “The spoon will lift up the salt and pepper.”
He shook pepper onto the other end of the desk. He
grabbed the spoon and . . . “ACHOO!” Blake sneezed
over the pepper. It scattered across the desk.
“ACHOO! . . . ACHOO!” Pepper flew in the air and
into Blake’s nose.
“ACHOO! . . . ACHOO! . . . ACHOO!” Salt and
pepper covered Mrs. Watson’s desk and the floor.
Someone snickered when Blake used the cloth to wipe
his nose. He looked helplessly to Mrs. Watson.
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