by Maggie Ryan
"Isn't this one a bit too large for you?" Ever asked as she looked at the tag.
"I'm thinking she is buying it for a certain, much larger scientist," Violet teased. "After all, we've all seen the professional stoic doctor break open to reveal his, um, jewels." The three laughed and Venia blushed as she thought about the jewel that was her love.
The air began to fill with the aroma of BBQ as the Pit set up on one end of the street. Though she and Jeffrey had enjoyed another pancake breakfast, Venia's stomach rumbled. Within another hour, all the booths had been set up and people of the community began to walk along the street to look at what the children had produced.
The members of the judging committee each had a clipboard and took far more time at each display. As the student explained their project, marks were given as to creativity, difficulty of the project, how well the hypothesis was proven to be true or false, and how the display looked. Venia had a very hard time as she wanted every child to feel like a winner.
"You do know you are going to have to pick the top three in each school, don't you?" Jeffrey asked when she told a pretty little girl that she thought it amazing that plants did seem to react to different styles of music.
"I know," she moaned as they moved away. "It's just that they've all put so much effort into their projects. I can't imagine how much time was really spent."
"I can't imagine not tearing my hair out or wearing earmuffs for a month as she had different radios blaring different music in every room of their house," Jeffrey said as several other judges agreed.
Hearing the spectators clapping, the judges moved towards another table. "I can't wait to see this," Venia whispered as Miranda's face glowed with the attention her table was getting. They watched her set up her elaborate maze into a new configuration, the judges having missed the others she'd already demonstrated.
"As you can see," Miranda explained, "I'm loosely basing my research on Ivan Pavlov's theory of conditioned response." She paused and looked at the growing crowd. "I'm afraid that I couldn't use dogs as he did because the maze required would have been cumbersome. Anyway, I wanted to see if the same sort of response could be found in mice. As you'll see, both mice will be released at the same time. Isaac, this fat little guy," she said, gently picking up the largest rodent, "should navigate the maze with ease—no matter that I've changed the corridors. This is Marie and I urge you not to forget about her."
Venia leaned a bit closer as the girl set the mice down at the beginning of the complicated maze. She giggled as Isaac instantly took off, his speed causing him to bump into a few walls but though a bit clumsy, he never was trapped at a dead-end, making each turn correctly. He was about halfway through, when she remembered Marie and saw the poor thing sitting up on her haunches, whiskers twitching and head turning, looking a bit confused and lost. Returning to Isaac, she watched him turn the last corner, run to a small button and press it with his nose. A tiny door opened and when nothing appeared, the mouse went to another spot on the wall and tried again. At the third press of a button, a light began to blink as a tiny door opened to dispense a treat. Venia's attention was diverted from Isaac who was stuffing as much of the treat into his mouth as he could. She gasped as Marie streaked through the maze, far faster than her mate, not coming close to any walls to arrive at the end. The sleeker mouse didn't hesitate as she ran to the proper door and pushed the button. The crowd laughed as she seemed to give her mate a disgusted look before sitting on her hind legs again, delicately nibbling the treat as if to demonstrate proper mouse etiquette.
"As you can see, I wanted to eliminate the possibility that Marie would just follow along blindly and prove she is as intelligent and motivated as her partner. While the male is motivated by the scent of the food that we can't detect, he is a bit impatient but does persevere, Marie is content to wait for the light to signal where that food can be found."
The crowd clapped and while Venia might have had difficulty in both the elementary and middle school areas, but she had absolutely no doubt who deserved to win the high school's top prize. After completing their judging forms and passing them to Charles who would meet with the school representatives to tally and decide the winners, Venia and the rest of the community in attendance moved to the elevated platform that had been set up Dina and Jeffrey to demonstrate some experiments.
Chairs had been set up in rows several feet from the stage, leaving plenty of grass for the kids to sit on. Venia slid into a chair between Ange and Ever. "Do you think we are seated far enough away?" Ever asked as she cradled Sam on her lap. "I don't want any loud explosions waking this little guy up."
"Sorry, he didn't tell me what they plan to demonstrate," Venia answered with a smile. She didn't elaborate to say that Jeffrey hadn't told her what they'd be doing, teasing that he wanted the ending to be a surprise. Venia had rolled her eyes but giggled, accepting that two could play the game. She felt a sense of pride as she looked up to see her professor dressed in a white lab coat donning his safety goggles. Dina was wearing the same and Jeffrey gave a brief reminder of the importance of lab safety as they both pulled on gloves.
The first demonstration had the kids looking up expectantly as Dina put a two liter bottle of soda water on the table. When she pulled out the familiar package of Mentos, the kids began to giggle. Hands waved in the air as she asked for two volunteers. Pointing into the group, Venia watched as Ange's son, Jack, practically tripped over his own two feet in a rush to get to the table. The middle school student was a bit more graceful but just as obviously excited as she made her way forward.
"Today's experiment is about a reaction called nucleation," Dina explained, not seeming to be surprised when her comment didn't draw any exclamations of glee. Grinning, she went ahead. "It means that small craters, or pits, in the surface of the candy react with the soda water. Tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide, which is a gas, well, I think you all know what is going to happen."
"A rocket!" several children screamed.
"Ah, but that is the beauty of experimentation," Dina said as she opened the package of candy. "Who wants to go first?" she asked her two assistants.
"Let her," Jack said. "She's a girl."
Venia had to bite back a giggle as Ange sighed softly. "What a polite little man," she said, and the others nodded.
Dina held out her palm on which sat a white candy disk and a green one. "Remember, this is science," she said as the girl reached out and took the shiny green disc. "Go ahead and drop it in but step back," Dina warned with a smile. The kids on the grass were all leaning forward, every eye glued to the girl's hand as it hovered over the open neck of the bottle. The moment she released it and she jumped away, the kids all screamed and shrank back. It only took a moment before they were leaning forward again, heads turning to look around in confusion.
Venia smiled as Dina lifted her hands and then shrugged her shoulders. "Can anyone tell me why the candy didn't react?"
"Yeah—it was a dud," some boy yelled, his answer met with others agreeing loudly.
Venia wasn't surprised when Miranda raised her hand from the edge of the crowd. When Dina nodded, the girl spoke clearly. "I believe the glazing on the disc somehow kept the reaction from occurring."
"Exactly," Dina said with a smile. "Nucleation can only occur if there are microscopic pits on the surface of the candy—you know, like those you can see on the surface of the moon." The crowd laughed as they watched little Jack hold his disc close to his eye as if to make sure his candy was pitted. "I'm afraid most of the pits can only be seen under a microscope, Jack. But, why don't you try to demonstrate nucleation for us?"
Jack shrugged as he moved towards the bottle. It was obvious to everyone that he didn't expect to be the star he'd envisioned. Venia noted the kids didn't seem to think much would happen, they weren't not as tightly coiled with excitement as they had been just a bit earlier. Looking out into the crowd, Jack shrugged again and dropped his white disc into the bottle.
Screams of
'look out' and peals of laughter erupted over the crowd as a fountain boiled out of the bottle. Jack stood, obviously amazed and then shrieked as the fizz dropped onto him.
"Do it again," was screamed by the kids and Dina, laughing loudly, nodded. She set up a fresh bottle and the crowd watched as she quickly inserted an entire package of Mentos into some sort of holder. This time when she held it above the bottle, Venia giggled to see that Jeffrey had moved a considerable distance away.
The screams were even louder as the discs sank to the bottom, instantly causing soda to shoot high into the air to splatter back to earth as kids scrambled to get out of the way. It took several moments before they calmed and Dina was given a huge round of applause. "Now, Dr. Humphries is going to demonstrate another experiment involving carbon dioxide."
Expectation filled the air as Jeffrey pulled a large fish bowl out from beneath the table. They watched as he filled it about a third full from a gallon jug of water.
"This experiment demonstrates the fact that some things you might think will react in one way, will react differently depending on their environment." Though the kids might not have understood, they appeared quite eager, especially when he quickly snapped several light sticks and dropped them into the water, the various colors providing a wide hue of colors. They watched as he pulled on a pair of thick gloves and opened the lid of a small cooler. Using tongs, he removed a chunk of something and carefully placed it into the water. Ohhs and awws were heard as clouds of steam began to boil out of the bowl.
"I've added dry ice to the water which is something like the Mentos in the soda. What you are seeing is carbon dioxide. But watch this." He pulled out a large bottle of bubbles and opened it. The kids' eyes were huge as he used the wand and blew several bubbles out into the crowd. Venia smiled as the kids attempted to catch them before they burst.
"You'll notice that the bubbles only float for a moment before dropping to the ground, or into your hands, right?" Shouts of agreement had him nod. "But, the air outside is different than the air in the tank." He again blew bubbles but this time directed them down into the fish bowl. Instead of bubbles floating up and out into the air as they had before, the crowd saw they seemed to hover and bounce against each other slightly above the surface of the water, the light sticks illuminating each sphere beautifully. Jeffrey explained that they weren't really floating at all, they were simply sitting on the thin, invisible layer of gas formed by the carbon dioxide.
The last demo was given again by Dina and involved a clear punch bowl and several bottles of apple juice. Dry ice was once more added to the bowl and the children watched as the juice began to roil and bubble. "This demonstrates how you can turn a beverage that has no fizz into a sparkling drink," Dina said, explaining the theory of carbonation. As she pulled off her gloves, she gave a small bow. "Remember, science can be fun."
Jeffrey lifted a large basket from beneath the table. "As Ms. Minor just said and you've all demonstrated with your science projects, experiments can be both educational and fun. Once the dry ice has completely melted, you can all try a cup of fizzy apple juice. We've also prepared a goodie bag for each of you. Remember, safety first and ask your parents for help if you need it."
"Oh, God, I hope he didn't put in soda and that candy," Ange moaned and the people around her either agreed or laughed.
"That was incredible," Venia said as she went to Jeffrey and gave him a hug. "The kids were enthralled."
"Just the kids?" Jeffrey teased. "What about my own little pupil?" Venia blushed hotly and slapped his arm as Dina giggled.
"Dina deserves all the praise," Jeffrey said as Brandon joined the group, giving his girlfriend a kiss and his own praise. They watched as the crowd moved back down the street. While the demonstrations had been given, Charles, Zach, Bethany and Stephanie had been pinning ribbons onto the winner's projects.
From where they stood, they could hear screams of delight as participants discovered ribbons or certificates at their tables. "I hope Miranda won," Venia said, "she really worked hard on her project."
"That young woman will be a force to reckon with," Brandon predicted. "If she is anything like Dina, the world better watch out."
Jeffrey chuckled. "Did you notice that she named her mice after famous scientists? I'd say that even if she chooses a different field, the men of this world better watch out. That young woman is not only smart, she is definitely going to keep some lucky man on his toes."
The day ended with the four of them giving praise to every child that presented either a certificate of a plaque designating they'd won a higher prize. Bags of treats were given out and cups of the sparkling apple juice were enjoyed. Though a bottle of soda was not included in the bag, Venia had no doubt that at least a few of the Mentos provided would find their way into a bottle of soda. She giggled seeing Ange roll her eyes as Jack jumped up and down at the discovery of an entire roll in his bag. Light sticks and bottles of bubbles had also been included. Safety goggles and pairs of purple gloves were soon being put on by the participants.
"We can't thank you two enough," Stephanie said as she shook their hands. "I've attended a great deal of science fairs and have to say, this was by far the best."
Jeffrey made sure she understood that it had been Dina who had come up with the demo ideas. After eating a BBQ sandwich, Venia went to pick up her purchase as Jeffrey was helped by the others to take down the demo station. Another hour saw the area turned back into its normal state.
"Tired?" Jeffrey asked as they walked towards his Tahoe.
"No, just content that the day was so perfect."
"Good, because, young lady, I have another demonstration for you."
Venia giggled as she fastened her seat belt. "Oh, I can't wait to see what Dina's come up with this time."
He didn't answer until he was seated in the car. "That cheeky little comment just earned you the honor of volunteering to help me prove my hypothesis, Miss Varner." Venia felt a shiver run through her.
Chapter 17
Once at his house, he gave her the first instruction. "Please go into the bathroom and change into the clothing you'll find there. After you are dressed, you may come to the office."
"Yes, sir."
Jeffrey watched as she walked away, looking back over her shoulder. He gave his head a shake and pointed towards the hallway. Hearing the bathroom door open and then close, he hurried down the hall to enter his office. He'd spent an hour earlier that morning setting up his own special project. By the time he had donned a fresh lab coat and clipped a form to a clipboard, he heard the chair move just a bit outside the door.
"Ah, Miss Varner," he said as he opened the door. "Thank you so much for coming. I'm sure you know why Principal Humphries sent you to my lab?"
Venia's blush was beautiful as she looked up at him, the saddle shoes and white knee socks drawing his eye as she crossed and uncrossed her ankles. Continuing his perusal of the school-girl uniform he'd provided, he grinned as her fingers attempted to tug the short, pleated skirt down to cover more of her thighs. A crisp white blouse was tucked into the waistband of the plaid skirt, an embroidered patch above her left breast indicating she was a student in Humphries Scientific Academy. He could see her chest rising and falling more rapidly than usual as she struggled to come up with an answer. It was obvious to him that she had decided how to play when she gave him a beautiful smile, cocking her head to one shoulder.
"Oh, I'm sure he meant that he was pleased to know I volunteered to assist you, Professor Einstein. You know how much I adore learning about science."
Jeffrey pulled a pen from his pocket and tapped it against the clipboard as he pretended to read something. "Hmmm, actually, Miss Varner, it says here that you failed to turn in your science project on time."
"But, Professor, it wasn't my fault that my—um—dog ate my project!"
"Seriously, that's the oldest excuse in the book. I must say that as an Honors English student, I expected at least something far more c
reative even if it is still a lie."
He watched as her arms crossed over her chest and she tapped her foot against the floor. "I'm serious! I told my brother to keep Glutton out of my room but, of course the little brat didn't. I had just put on my uniform and was going to my room to get my project and bring it to school when I discovered that the dog ate it. I guess next time I'll use icky clay or mud or something for my volcano instead of Rice Krispies." She uncrossed her arms to gesture wildly. "Oh, you should have seen it, Professor. I had used red food coloring to dye white chocolate and it spewed down the sides. It was like, totally awesome!" He listened trying not to burst out laughing, as she continued. "I had a sign saying the judges could eat it when the fair was over. Wasn't that cool—I mean, instead of adding to the landfill, I discovered a way to make science edible!"
"And, of course, you have evidence of this, destruction?"
"Evidence?"
"Yes, Miss Varner. Surely your parents would have sent a note to explain what had happened." He loved seeing her squirm and tug at her skirt again. When she didn't answer, sighing heavily and hanging her head, he laid a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump.
"Now, that story would most likely get you an 'A' in your creative writing class, but, unfortunately does nothing to bring up your atrocious science score. However, since I've been told that you've volunteered as my subject, let's see if I can't help you complete a project, shall we?"
"Oh, thank you, Professor Einstein," Venia said softly and when he tugged on her arm, she stood, one hand instantly reaching behind her to tug down the incredibly short skirt.
Jeffrey led her through the door. He watched as her eyes darted about the room, coming to rest on a table he'd set up to one side. A three sided poster board like those used in the fair was standing, large labels indicating the places where he listed what was required for the experiment, a hypothesis, the evidence of the experiment and finally, the last label to indicate the results.
