On the news, they talked about the ash cloud dispersing and blowing away. But the volcano kept erupting, spewing clouds of smoke and ice into the atmosphere: it had been erupting continuously for days, and the cloud continued to spread and thicken. There was talk of a second volcano beginning to rumble: it turned out that Iceland was heaving with active volcanoes. Online there were rumours about test planes flying into the cloud and being forced to make emergency landings, the millions of tiny shards of ice in the cloud attacking the engines, stripping the paint off the fuselage. Jack’s father was stuck and Jack had no idea when he might see him again.Despite all this, or maybe because of it, Jack felt that his moment had arrived. He wasn’t sure why. Probably a hormone-induced fantasy—one among many. Not only was his father stranded across the Atlantic Ocean but his mother was at work for longer hours than normal, from before Jack got up to after he’d retreated to his room at night.
