Chapter 2 ; Erika Part One
Biology was the only class I wasn’t failing. In fact, I hand a hundred in there as my average. Mrs. Arwine was a good teacher and my favorite. Her door was plastered with element diagrams, pictures of plants, and a rough pencil sketch of Einstein holding the class Uncle Same pose with the bold, black letter, “Sciences wants YOU.” Chuckling, I opened the door and walked inside just as the bell ran. “Well, if it isn’t the science dweeb.” Josh, an annoying dumbass that somehow managed to pass the second grade, smirked as I passed his lab table. “Fuck off, Josh.” I lashed. “At least I earned my way in here.” His smirk never left his face as I pulled out my supplies.
Mrs. Arwine trotted through the door frantically. “Photosynthesis is our topic today. Lab stations should have different colored light bulbs to test how different colors, angles, and intensity change the results of photosynthesis.” She set us up with our partners and gave us the tables with the bulbs carrying in color. “Blue light, fifty degree angle, medium intensity, Lab table two, will be Josh and…” Please don’t say Erika. Please don’t say Erika… “Erika.”
“Shit.” I muttered under my breath, slumping in my seat, and throwing my head back in frustration. My razor-layered hair flew in my face, red and black obstructing my vision. I grabbed my bag and went to the front of the room, towards the left long, black table, and sat down in a seat next to a smirking Josh. “Hey babe.” His cocky face contorted in a somewhat of a wink.
“Burn in Hell.” I didn’t make eye contact as I slammed my binder on the table and dropped my backpack on the floor beside my seat. I set up the plant in the beaker of water and turned the lamp on. It was a white light-strange, it was supposed to be blue. “So, aren’t you supposed to be writing crap down?” I saw Josh smirk from the corner of my eye. My ears grew hot with anger and my vision started acting up; after a moment, all the colors became sharper again. I saw the way the different light refractions intercepted each other. Blue, green, and red rays everywhere – combining so I could see other colors.
I looked at the lamp and saw the white-rainbow light the bulb had. My eyes loved to do this to me when my emotions are a little out of control; this was normal. I admired the beauty of the colored light, then thought of the blue light – not white – I needed for photosynthesis. The vibrations of the light bulb increased, and I felt the molecules at my fingertips tingle. The light rays merged into one combined color. I blinked and my ear popped. When my eyes opened, my vision returned. I saw everything as different colors, not intercepted light rays. “Whoa…” I barely noticed Josh’s voice because I was panting. My head ached and my eyes burned. “Erika, look.”
I would normally give Josh the finger and continue working, but I had a feeling I did it again. I saw the bulb in the lamp by Josh’s confused face. It was blue.
Damn; I had done it again.
