The sun was burning bright and hot, outside the campus science classroom room pushing the degrees inside the room even more higher then the were outside. In the classroom in the far corner i sat, leaning over the table, staring into my microscope with some of my papers scattered around me containing some of my scribbled notes while others where filled with some of my unique, slightly quirky drawings or as other have told me, my doodles. In the middle of all of that mess to which i was accustomed to, I was mumbling to myself as i tried to re-do my school assignment. But then suddenly i heard a familiar shouting coming from out of the hallway, making me to sigh in slight annoyance knowing what was about to happen….
"Star, where are you?" The loud voice of my best friend since high school, Jessica or Jessy for short, echoed trough the science lab after she had entered, pushing the doors open with a loud, annoying bang.
"I am here dummy, where else would I be, now quiet please, I'm trying to focus so i can make this thing work!" I scolded her what only made her giggle as respond while rolling her eyes back at me.
¨Oh stop it Star, don´t be a spoil sport! you don´t want to end up like one of those old cat ladies now would you? Just lets go already, before you know the day is already finished and then what?¨
¨What do you mean, then what?¨ I asked her with a raised eyebrow with one eye plastered on the wall clock behind her, hoping that she would leave soon so i could finally finish what i had started to set out to do, which was, not listening to my besty´s ranting over going out shopping or God knows whatever else she was cooking up in that brain of hers but finish up this assignment of the professor Snowball so i could apply again for the science far program as to try and raise a much as possible for the beginning of next semester.
"Star, don't let him get to you! Its not like you have to do it all yourself, remember that I have promised to help and a promise is a promise sweety!" Jessy said while batting her eyelashes at me. i groaned. Here we go again thought by myself. "I know, i know and i am really grateful with your offer of help, even though you were supposed to be with your boyfriend and his parents up in the mountains in their cabin by now, but i am fine, really you just go have fun and meet me for dinner okay, just have some fun!" i told her in the hope she would listen to me and take up on my offer, feeling already guilty enough for her staying behind with little old me, stuffed in our science lab while most of our classmates were either gone with their families on a break or just hanging around with some of their friends.
"Fine, but tomorrow you are going alright, i would really hate to see my besty melting away as Popsicle in this stuffy lab so please start thinking about what you wanna do tomorrow so we can start planning right after dinner tonight ok!"
"Sure Jess, sure, have fun and i will see you at dinner!"
"I will, ciao Bella!" Jessy hollered while walking out of the science lab, leaving me alone again with the microscope as my only companion. As silence entered my head once more i turned my attention back towards the sample i was taking and went on from there, hoping Jessy would be first and only distraction of the day as i saw the time ticking away.
As time flew by little by little my word came to an end to my relieve and when i put the blue liquid and mixed it with the pink substance i set the timer and deiced to do some cleaning up while waiting for the alarm on my phone to ring.
I put one earbud in my ear and searched for the playlist containing my favorite music and pressed play an started gathering the clutter of papers who were scattered all around my spot on the floor and on top of the table.
While swaying my curvy hips from side to side on the beats drumming in my ear, i forget my surroundings a bit by it, enjoying the music as it give me some temporarily relieve of stress of this whole project that was wearing me out. Ever since i found out that there was a very good change for it not to see the light of day next semester i had started to feel the immense pressure of doing more and more even though people who knew me well had warned me, including Jessy that it was not my responsibility but our Professor's. Still i wanted to so badly for it to succeed because it meant for me also a big opportunity into the future of science as to which i lived for, the only thing that mattered to me since it was something i was good at and i really liked doing too! just browsing around in Alaskan nature, solving its mysteries. The different flora and fauna, the arctic circle, they belonged to our homeland and i was proud to be an Alaskan, not a full one, since my father was from here but my mother was from LA but i felt more connected with more connected with my father's heritage then with my mother's. I felt at peace here, to the contrary and in LA i always felt like some sort of an outsider between all those skinny platinum blonde woman who made me feel like i was fat. Not that i am really fat, but i had a curvaceous body, i new that and i would always have. For me that was fine, i was happy with myself in my own skin but those woman had a curtain skill set to get under your skin sometimes a skill set that my dear sister had learned from our mother, the reason why she was her favorite and not me, because she was everything her mother was, when she was our age and i was exactly how y father was, although my father was a man so he was build more bulkier but i looked like a feminine version of him, something my mother had not hoped for since she would have loved for me to as well look more like her just as my sister. But even though she could sometimes be a pain in the butt i still loved her and i know for sure deep down somewhere she also loved me….at least that's what i hoped anyways.
Suddenly i felt the draft of a door opening and closing coming from behind me, startling me in my family musings. I removed my earbud after pausing mys playlist and turned around, only to witness for all of my notes to go up in flames!….
I shrieked and frantically tried to save my note book what was laying next to the test tubes who were looking like they were about to vomit all their contents over my book, being enticed by the heat of the flames that were surrounding them.
"SHIT!" i cursed aloud while looking for the fire extinguisher to put the fire out but then to my relive the sprinklers in the lab went on but then my elation was short lived once i realized that now all my work would be either burned into ashes or be completely drowned into liters of arctic water mixed with some other lab fluids.
I just stood there frozen, watching all hard work literally going up into the last flames of the fire just as the doors of the lab were being pushed open harshly revealing the headmaster and a security guard of the university both with a shocked expression on their faces as they stared at the mess behind me and then back at me.
"Miss Anderson, care to explain to us what has happened as to why we find a half burned down science lab?" The dean growled lowly, anger clearly visible in his eyes. What could i say, would they even believe me? i thought for a moment or two before opening my trembling lips to speak.
"Clark get the rest of the team here together with a clean up crew and then when you guys are done as to find out how all this mess has started, close the lab until further notice and you Miss Anderson, come with me to my office please!" the dean said scowling before turning around on his heels, about to leave the lab. Once outside in the hallway i passed other students and i could hear there mocking and see there glances at me….
"Look at her, stupid nerd girl has gotten the science lab on fire!" was ond of many lines i heard while passing, on my way to the dean's office.
Just before entering i saw Jessy's face appear from behind a group of students who were making jokes, looking all shocked and worried.
"I'm okay" i mouthed at her with a small smile as i dragged myself into the deans office as he held the door open for me. Once inside i stood in front of his desk frozen, fidgeting with the hem of my sweater, staring at my feet.
"Miss Anderson, i don not know what has happened but this fire is a serious matter! you know how delicate the science project of professor snowball already has become and now this, how do you suggest to fix this hmm?" he asked me as a deep frown appeared on his forehead.
''I'm so sorry sir, i do not know what really happened! i was just waiting for the alarm to ring so i could finish my last work but i only felt a cold draft from a door and the the next thing i knew was that all was ablaze, truly id did not do this, please believe me!" i begged him while trying to hold back my tears. The dean sighed and shook his head.
"Well for now go back to your dorm and i will let you know the outcome of the investigation ok, but for now take a rest"
"Thank you sir, have a good evening'' i mutter before i rushed out of his office, bumping into the one person i wished not to see after this incident….
"Miss Star Anderson!….we need to talk!!"
Oh Shit! i cursed inwardly.