This Is My Brain on Boys Read Free

new neural pathways, thereby leading to a greater range of cogitation. Similarly, mastering Liszt’s famously complex Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 might broaden a pianist’s skill at playing subsequent pieces.”
    He rubbed the back of his neck. “Greater range of cogitation, huh? If I knew what that meant I’d say you’re right, maybe.”
    Maybe? She was always right, but she didn’t quibble. “My theory is that even transferring to the Academy didn’t solve your existential crisis. No doubt, having witnessed human suffering firsthand along with the Great Wall of China’s majestic grandeur, you found it nearly impossible to rejoin the game. Striving for a perfect 4.0 and a perfect score on the SAT became irrelevant.”
    â€œExactly! Where were you when I was trying to explain that to my parents when I dropped out of Andover?”
    Addie checked her mental calendar. “If it was during Christmas break, then probably back home in the suburb where my parents live outside of Philly.”
    He chuckled. “Good one.”
    She didn’t get what was so funny. She had been at home; the prospect of a ski vacation or a winter trip to the Caribbean would have been prohibitively expensive for the Emersons’ shoestring budget. Unlike Tess, who spent every Christmas in Wales.
    Tess was forever doing cool stuff on her vacations: surfing off the coast of Australia, basking on a beach in Thailand, riding elephants in Zimbabwe, where her mothers sponsored a school for girls. Last summer, she skied in Norway. In June. At midnight. In the sun.
    Meanwhile, Addie was at home in Perkiomen, Pennsylvania, babysitting the twins. For free.
    â€œOf course I won’t pay you to watch your sisters,” her father said indignantly when she politely asked to be compensated for sacrificing her free time to entertain two demanding little girls with endless games of Pretty, Pretty Princess. “I’m surprised by your selfishness, Adelaide. We all chip in here as a family, and even though you go to boarding school, when you’re in this house, you’re expected to be a team player.”
    Unfortunately, pleading to her mother was useless, since her mother was usually off researching venomous arachnids in some remote outback without cell service.
    The upshot was that with all of her father’s attention focused on his second family and all of her mother’s energy devoted to the Karakurt spider, Addie’s interests fell through the cracks. So she’d learned to look out for herself, even finding a way to pay for college—the reason she was on the plane to begin with.
    Final submissions were due in two weeks for the Athenian Award—the highest honor granted to high school seniors who planned to pursue careers in neuroscience. She and her lab partner, Dex, planned to turn in their step-by-step Brain Adrenaline, Dopamine, and Amine Synthesis System, otherwise known as B.A.D.A.S.S.
    Winners received a full scholarship to the college of their choice for four years. This meant nothing to Dex, whose parents annually dashed off $50,000 checks theway some people hand out Halloween candy. But for Addie, who relied on the good graces of Academy benefactors to cover her schooling, every penny counted. Dex had already promised that he would donate his half of the money to her if they won.
    That was a big if .
    Even their project advisor, Dr. Brooks, doubted that the Athenian Committee would vote for the controversial premise that she and Dex could make anyone fall in love with anyone by implementing a few simple methods.
    â€œI fear a glorified love potion is too silly to win an Athenian,” Dr. Brooks told them last semester when they pleaded for her faculty endorsement, a key requirement for all high-school submissions. “I will keep an open mind, however, and wait for your trial presentation this summer. By then you should have finished your experiments and honed your