Jeffrey heard the saying, "Time was money", however his comprehension and understanding of it was much different than the people who said it. At this very moment, he had a decision to make. Get lunch, talk with friends and focus on school or keep asking kids if they wanted to buy his Oobleck.
Economics and opportunity costs, if it was before he'd probably disregard the latter. However if he didn't do anything to change himself, the countless opportunities he had would slip through his fingers.
Jeffrey dragged himself away from the purple and brown plastic mesh lunch tables to the indoor game and sports room.
Connor was still the reigning champion of the table tennis area, Eric Shub and his group were huddled over notebooks and Pokémon cards, and he was standing at the door.
The carrom boards were taken out, but no one was playing on them.
Finding a place to stand Jeffrey decided to see if he could address more than one person.
"HEY GUYS", Jeffrey shouted to grab everyone's attention.
He found a spot to stand on and pulled out a jar of green Oobleck.
"I'VE GOT THIS COOL SCIENCE PROJECT THAT I WAS WORKING ON", Jeffrey said loudly.
"I thought it would be cool to share with everyone", Jeffrey talked about his glow-in-the-dark Oobleck.
The sound of the ping pong ball hitting the table was quiet as Connor and his opponent listened to Jeffrey.
Soon some kids tuned him out and started working on their own things. Connor resumed playing ping pong and Jeffrey was ignored.
Jeffrey could keep yelling, but he knew he'd just be annoying everyone in the room.
Some however were interested in his jar of Oobleck and he explained how much it cost, and that he only had 2 or 3 more. He'd bring it next week and those that wanted one could buy it for $20.
This time however Jeffrey did something a little different,
"Hey guys, you guys can ask Harrison Ford and his friends about their jars of Oobleck. They want to buy some as well.", Jeffrey announced
"Who's Harrison?", Jeffrey heard one kid say
"Harrison's the soccer kid", another kid said.
"Oh yeah, I know Harrison", one kid announced
various murmuring and discussions continued.
Some of them were friends with Harrison and others didn't know him. However slowly, people started to talk about Jeffrey and more importantly how some kids were getting this science project "Oobleck".
This moment was a special moment for Jeffrey, he'd later commission a drawing by Eric which he titled the scene. "Ping Pong Diplomacy", drawn with oil pastel. In a room full of strewn backpacks, a dusty cabinet of trophies and a few kids, The Slime Factory humble beginnings emerged from here.