Girl Meets Him

Girl Meets STEM

Farkle walked into the classroom with me, scatting. I giggled as I sat down in my seat. Zay was my partner for the semester.

"Science," Maya said simply, making me smile.

"Morning, Farkle. What's new?" Mr. Norton asked.

"I'm reading this great book on anti-gravity. I can't put it down," Farkle joked.

"Ha!"

"I hate this class," Maya groaned as Zay walked into the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to join me on a journey of discovery. Your midterm experiment," Mr. Norton explained. "In front of you, each team will find a beaker of a clear, liquid solution. And next to that—and here's where it gets exciting—A mystery marble! Right after school, precisely at three-fifteen, one member of each team will drop the marble into the beaker. The elements in the marble will break down overnight and turn into sludge. Then the other team member will discover what that sludge is and what it takes to turn the beaker back to clear."

"Who's supposed to do what?" Riley asked.

"Well, that's up to you. You're a team. Divide the responsibility as you see fit," Mr. Norton answered. "I've been conducting this experiment for thirty-five years. I've kept thorough notes. Very few have cracked it."

"Well, you can add (Y/n)'s and my name to your journal right now, sir," Farkle said.

"I hope so, you two. Let the games begin!"

"Alright, so-"

"You drop the marble." Zay pointed at me.

"And then just sit back?" I questioned in disbelief. "That's your thing."

"You want an A, right?" Zay asked, leaving me speechless.

~~~

"I don't like this," Riley stated.

"I don't like this either," Maya and I agreed.

"Something's wrong. Why do we have to drop the marble while the boys do all the work?" Riley questioned.

"Why is school over and I don't got a chimichanga?" Maya questioned.

"Girls, something's wrong. I feel like there's a real problem here, but I just can't see what it is yet." The three of us walked into the classroom. "Now I see it."

"I see nothing unusual," Maya said.

"Social injustice."

"Drop your marble and go," Maya demanded.

"If you drop these marbles, you are buying into a system where the women, what? Buy shoes? While the women learn the science," Riley explained.

"Shoes. Let's go."

"The system works."

The three girls dropped their marbles. I watched in disbelief as they ran out the door.

"No!" Riley protested. "Girls, I am very disappointed in our sisters. They don't believe we can do what the boys can do."

"Chi. Mi. Chan. Ga." Maya made a blatant motion of her eating said food.

"You are not going to drop your marble," Riley decided.

"Oh, I'm gonna drop my marble, but to make you feel better, I'm gonna drop it like a dude. Maya, huh, takes the in-bounds pass. She dribbles down the court. Three seconds left on the clock. Her opponent's a tall, useless goose. Maya fakes left, turns right-"

"Just stop! Tell me which way you're going!" Riley screeched.

"She shoots... Scores! Nothing but beaker." Maya turned to Riley. "Your turn, goose."