Blood Slushies
Chemistry II
"Caleb, please don't put aluminum in the hydrochloric acid."
"Oh."
"Yeah Caleb! Jeez, how clueless are you?"
"You're no better, Mark. You tried to put dish soap in the test tube when I wasn't looking."
". . ."
Catrina sighed and brushed a piece of copper-red hair behind her ear. "No harm done, I guess. Just let me finish, OK?" After rolling up her sleeves, she carefully poured a a few clear liquids into a a test tube and scribbled the results onto notebook paper. Caleb and Mark copied her notes as they always did, quickly reading the tiny letters and avoiding Mrs. McKord's eyes.
As usual, their group was the first to finish the lab. Catrina left the boys to clean up since she had done all the real work and softly tugged her hair out of its pony tail. She pulled a book from her green messenger bag and took her seat, feeling the desk's cool metal leg against her soft, fleshy one. The rubbery squeak of her converse heel slapping against linoleum tile mimicked her heart's rhythm as it pushed last night's meal through her veins.
Mark was having a much rougher time with his last meal. Kelly McDonald, like all "fast-food," hadn't agreed with him, but he had not found another meal to counteract her bad blood. The gentle throbbing of Jamie Jones' carotid artery barely a yard away almost drove him mad.
I'll just see if I can meet Jamie behind the cafeteria for lunch.
"Caleb." Whispered a hoarse, scratchy voice.
Caleb jumped, bumping his head against the lab table's corner after putting away the Bunsen burner. "What?" he hissed.
Jordan Taylor stood a whole head taller than Mark, but he was incredibly thin and lanky and wore baggy, thrift store clothes. His hook nose was three times too big for his face, and his eyes too small. With the green safety goggles reflecting against his skin, he was like a huge prehistoric bird with folds of excess, multi-colored skin and bad asthma.
"No D and D this Saturday," Jordan murmured.
Caleb's mood darkened. "What? Why not?"
"We're all staying over at Dane's place."
"Why?"
"Hey nerd, mind helping me clean?" A mocking tone resided beneath everything Mark said to everyone, so Caleb accepted it as normal.
"Just a sec," Caleb answered. He turned back to Jordan. "Uh, text me about it."
Jordan nodded, then turned quickly away to finish his group's lab.
After pushing his glasses farther up his nose, Caleb dried where Mark had washed and occasionally glanced over at Catrina to watch the sun dance off her hair in gold shimmers. Mark sorted through his best pick-up lines for the best way to get Jamie Jones alone during B lunch.
Catrina had stopped reading her book several minutes ago and now slept with her head in her right palm, book still open to chapter thirteen of the first Harry Potter book.
"Oh."
"Yeah Caleb! Jeez, how clueless are you?"
"You're no better, Mark. You tried to put dish soap in the test tube when I wasn't looking."
". . ."
Catrina sighed and brushed a piece of copper-red hair behind her ear. "No harm done, I guess. Just let me finish, OK?" After rolling up her sleeves, she carefully poured a a few clear liquids into a a test tube and scribbled the results onto notebook paper. Caleb and Mark copied her notes as they always did, quickly reading the tiny letters and avoiding Mrs. McKord's eyes.
As usual, their group was the first to finish the lab. Catrina left the boys to clean up since she had done all the real work and softly tugged her hair out of its pony tail. She pulled a book from her green messenger bag and took her seat, feeling the desk's cool metal leg against her soft, fleshy one. The rubbery squeak of her converse heel slapping against linoleum tile mimicked her heart's rhythm as it pushed last night's meal through her veins.
Mark was having a much rougher time with his last meal. Kelly McDonald, like all "fast-food," hadn't agreed with him, but he had not found another meal to counteract her bad blood. The gentle throbbing of Jamie Jones' carotid artery barely a yard away almost drove him mad.
I'll just see if I can meet Jamie behind the cafeteria for lunch.
"Caleb." Whispered a hoarse, scratchy voice.
Caleb jumped, bumping his head against the lab table's corner after putting away the Bunsen burner. "What?" he hissed.
Jordan Taylor stood a whole head taller than Mark, but he was incredibly thin and lanky and wore baggy, thrift store clothes. His hook nose was three times too big for his face, and his eyes too small. With the green safety goggles reflecting against his skin, he was like a huge prehistoric bird with folds of excess, multi-colored skin and bad asthma.
"No D and D this Saturday," Jordan murmured.
Caleb's mood darkened. "What? Why not?"
"We're all staying over at Dane's place."
"Why?"
"Hey nerd, mind helping me clean?" A mocking tone resided beneath everything Mark said to everyone, so Caleb accepted it as normal.
"Just a sec," Caleb answered. He turned back to Jordan. "Uh, text me about it."
Jordan nodded, then turned quickly away to finish his group's lab.
After pushing his glasses farther up his nose, Caleb dried where Mark had washed and occasionally glanced over at Catrina to watch the sun dance off her hair in gold shimmers. Mark sorted through his best pick-up lines for the best way to get Jamie Jones alone during B lunch.
Catrina had stopped reading her book several minutes ago and now slept with her head in her right palm, book still open to chapter thirteen of the first Harry Potter book.
♠ ♠ ♠
Its a work in progress, but I really like this story. :)