Read Online Edge of Chaos (Love on the Edge #1) by Molly E. Lee - Free Book Online Page A

for me to follow him. We walked a short way to the neighboring brick building where a string of labs were used by students for interpreting data. He turned into the third door on the right of a long hallway. John and Paul were already inside and hovered over a table against the back wall. It had four computers spaced evenly on top of it and there were more scattered throughout the room.
    Various maps and pictures of supercells lined the walls, not unlike our Physical Meteorology classroom. The boys had three of the computer screens up and running, each one showing a different image from a weather satellite and a station model weather map beneath it.
    I hung back a ways, allowing Dash to join them, but couldn’t help smirking a little. I’d learned my freshman year of college that I was sharp when it came to interpreting weather maps, especially station models. The combined data displayed—air pressure, temperatures, wind velocities, cloud cover, and precipitation measurements—gave some people trouble when adding them all together and predicting the outcome. But to me, all the numbers and patterns aligned in my head quicker than if I was doing basic math, and the outcome clearly presented itself in my mind. That is one reason I knew I’d be a great meteorologist, because I could interpret this data on the fly and hopefully provide the most up-to-date and accurate report possible for the people in the path of a storm.
    “Hey, Blake,” John said over his shoulder.
    Paul gave me a nod while talking to Dash in hushed conversation.
    “Hi,” I said, trying to focus on one of the images of a supercell hanging over some small-town water tower, but my eyes kept shifting back to the screens the boys stared at, begging me to calculate, predict.
    “Come here a second,” Dash said after a few moments.
    I set my bag on the table in front of me and quickly headed over. “Yeah?”
    “We need you to settle something for us,” he said, eyeing Paul. “We’re about to head out on a chase, but there are two locations primed for tornado activity. I think this one with the squall line”—he pointed to the screen in the middle—“has more of a shot.”
    “And I disagree,” Paul said, pointing to the screen on the right. “This one has a better chance.”
    Dash sucked his teeth. “You see our problem.”
    I leaned over Paul, who hadn’t moved from his seat in front of the screens. I glanced at each image of the sky the weather satellites provided for the two locations and then studied both station models beneath them. I had my answer within two minutes.
    “I agree with Paul,” I said.
    “What makes you do that?” Dash asked.
    “Because”—I placed my hand on Paul’s shoulder with one hand and reached over to point at the middle of the screen with the other—“while you are correct about this awesome line of organized storms, they’ll most likely only produce damaging winds. Intense, sure, but not as likely for tornado activity as this one.” I pointed to the screen on the right with the collection of large gray bubble-like clouds covering the sky. “This combination of mammatus clouds and the warm temperature are primed for producing a tornado. Check out the wind velocity already,” I said, pointing it out on the surface map. “In fact”—I glanced at the clock in the upper right-hand corner of the screen—“hit refresh on the image. I bet you in the time we’ve been discussing this there is already an updraft developing.”
    Paul clicked refresh.
    Dash smacked him on the back once the image reloaded. “She’s right. Time to go.” He turned to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Nicely done. That was fast.”
    “Wicked fast,” John said, scooting away from the table and gathering his gear.
    Paul flashed Dash a knowing grin before glancing back at me. “Yeah, you did all right.” He smiled and walked toward the door.
    “I’ll give you a call tomorrow,” Dash said. “And