Chlora

Chlora was a small mantis-tween. She had one hand cupped up. It looked ready to catch something. Her eyes were sharp and focused.

She was small. Her body was bright yellow-green and cream. Her eyes moved quickly. She was very focused and precise. Her special thing was her right hand. It was always cupped. Her palm faced up. It looked like she was waiting for a tiny drop. Maybe a little pebble or a single berry. Her eyes stayed fixed. They watched for anything she needed. Chlora's whole job was to wait. She waited for just one electron. That electron would make her outer shell full.

When Sodi and Chlora met, Sodi gave her electron to Chlora. Sodi became Na⁺. Chlora became Cl⁻. They had opposite charges. Opposite charges pull together. Together, they made NaCl. That's *table salt. This was the main way to show an ionic bond. Two atoms changed in two steps. Then they made one strong ionic compound*.

(Chlora often worked with Sodi. They showed things in class together. Their lessons were planned to match up. They showed up in Kit 6. They were the main example of an ionic bond.)

Chlora grew up in a small village. Her family had a special job there. They were the harvest-receivers. They were mantises who ran the village storehouse. Field-workers brought in their crops. Chlora's family took them. They wrote down every single thing. Then they put it in the right storage spot. This job needed careful receiving. A receiver who took the wrong crops was no good. One who miscounted was useless. Putting things in the wrong place was a big problem. But a receiver who took exactly what was offered? Who wrote it down perfectly? Who stored it right? That person was vital. They helped the village survive winter. By age six, Chlora knew something important. Receiving was a skill. It was a craft all its own. Being exact when you received finished the giving. It made the giver's job complete.

When she was twenty-two, she walked to ChemQuest academy. Beaker asked her a question. "What is *chlorine?" he said. Chlora answered, "I am missing one electron. Someone offers me the missing one. Like Sodi. I take it. I become Cl⁻. The giver becomes positive. Opposite charges pull together. That's the main ionic bond. If no one offers, I stay paired. I'd be with another chlorine atom. That's Cl₂. It's a covalent bond. But with an offerer, an ionic compound* forms." Beaker just nodded. "You are appointed," he said.

In her workshop, Chlora started every first lesson the same way. She sat down at the workbench. Sodi sat across from her. They often worked together. Chlora held up her cupped hand. She said, "I am Chlora. I teach about *chlorine*. I am the focused receiver. My job is one missing electron. I wait to take what's offered. Sodi offers her extra. I take it. We both become stable. Opposites attract. Watch this."

She taught the main ideas about *chlorine: *Chlorine is missing one electron. (It has seven on the outside. It wants eight.) When *chlorine takes an electron, it becomes Cl⁻. (It's a negative ion. It's stable and happy.) Cl⁻ pairs with Na⁺. This is an ionic bond. (Opposite charges attract. NaCl, or *table salt, is the best example.) Cl₂ pairs covalently when no Na⁺ is around. (Two *chlorine atoms share one electron each. This fills both their missing spots. This is Cl₂. It's chlorine gas. It has a sharp smell. Factories use it sometimes. Be careful! Chlorine gas* is poisonous. Don't use it for kitchen science.)