Forever and Always His

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

                “Before you start, I want you all to remember that frogs have internal and external similarities to humans.” Mrs. Jamison said, as she walked around the classroom in her white lab coat. “When you’re following the steps to dissection, I want you to look out for anything you see that might look familiar to you. You might be surprised at what you find.”

                I stared at the slimy frog that was laid out in front of me, as I held back to urge to pinch my nose. Jared glanced over at me, letting out an amused chuckle. “Are you ready, Riley?” he asked, pulling on a pair of latex gloves over his hands.

                I let out a groan, before lowering my goggles so that they were fixated on my eyes. “No.” I bluntly said, before picking up the instructions sheet that was laid out on the table. I took in a deep breath, before reading out the first step aloud. “Okay, step number one, laid the frog so that the belly is facing up.”

                Everett, who was to my right, leaned over me to flip the frog over. “Easy enough.” He muttered, before sulking back in his seat.

                I shot him a look, before my eyes shifted down to the second step. “Make your first incision by slicing horizontally across the throat.” I immediately winced after the words escaped my lips, as I passed the tool to one of the guys. “Who wants to do that?”

                A shrill immediately rang in my ears, as everyone in the class turned to the back to see who screamed. We all found Stacy backing up from the frog that was in Jonah’s hands, looking as if she would burst into tears any minute. “Get that away from me!” she screeched, her nasally voice making my head start to spin. “Mrs. Jamison, tell him to stop!”

                Mrs. Jamison immediately rushed over with a trash bucket in her hands, as Victoria puked her guts out into it. Mrs. Jamison then proceeded to turn to Jonah, who still had the rubbery frog in his palms. “Jonah Van Dubois,” Mrs. Jamison hissed, looking furious, “I would suggest you put that frog down right now before I give you an immediate zero for this lab.”

                Jonah, who had a weak smile across his face, placed the frog down slowly. “Sorry, Mrs. J.”

                Mrs. Jamison shot him a glare, before crouching down to make sure if Victoria wasn’t dead. When Victoria pulled her head out of the trash can, her face was pale, and she still looked a bit queasy. When she looked down at her blonde extensions, and noticed that she got her own guts in it, she let out whine. “My hair is ruined!”

                “She’s fine, everyone!” Mrs. Jamison turned back to all of us, as we watched the scenario unfold upon us. “Get back to work!”

                I suddenly didn’t feel too good as well, as my head began to throb. “Riley?” Everett asked quietly, leaning against my ear. “You’re okay, right?”

                I snapped back into reality, ignoring the pain that was burning in my head. I gave him a shaky smile, before nodding quickly. “I’m fine.” I said, my voice not sounding too convincing as I handed him the scalpel knife. “Can you slice the throat?”

                Everett looked at me uneasily, before reluctantly taking the blade from my hands. With a quick cut, he sliced the throat open, lifting a load off my shoulders. “Thanks.” I gave him a weak smile, before continuing on with the third step.

*

                Jared, Everett and I all agreed to go to Everett’s house after school to finish up the questions that followed after the lab. We sat around his living room, the exact same spot on the floor where Everett and I literally kissed a few nights ago. I tried to push that thought away from my mind, as I put all my focus into the work. After all, the faster we get over with this frog dissection project, the better. I was still a bit worked up from all of the intestines we pulled out that little frog a few hours earlier.