Shape of You

Chapter 26

~ !!CAUTION!! Trigger Warning: This chapter will contain psychological distress. ~

The internet: one of man's greatest inventions. It is useful when you're stuck on writing a thesis with the what of polyethylene glycol cell fusion, or even writing a lecture on the fundamentals of cytopathology.

If you look up the dictionary on Google, the second edition of the 1989 Oxford English Dictionary contains 171,476 words in current use, 47,156 obsolete words, and 9,500 derivative words included as sub-entries. Seems like the English language should have more to it, right? Words are invented by the dozens on a yearly basis, and it only continues to grow.

All those damn words, but nothing I could use to explain what it feels like to have your gut wrenched out, like the atmosphere around you is splitting at its ends.

This sensitivity drills into me every time Frisk was in danger. Whenever her emotions sprung erratically, it was like instinct for me to go and protect her. 

Even if I reacted like a lightning strike, I was always a second too slow in reaction time. I wished I could be a second faster than I was now.

I never thought that I would come so close to losing her again. And just imagining it absolutely terrified me. 

"Dr. G, I've twinged the equation a bit," Jeff, my human intern, hesitantly speaks up to me.

"I thought if you added these chemicals to the equation... there would be a different outcome."

He snapped me out of my moody thoughts and brought me back to reality. Which was in front of a white board, with a chemical equation that looked like a child simply ate it and vomited it back out.

"What the hell is this gibberish?" I growled as I snatched the marker from Jeff. I erased all the chemical compounds, that could've negatively reacted, and threw the marker back at my intern's face.

"Didn't your high school chemistry teacher teach you anything? Mixing nitrogen, hydrogen, chlorine, sodium, hypochlorous acid, ammonia and hydrolic acid, in these specific levels, is basically mixing ammonia with bleach! If you had followed this formula, with the way you were going to, you might've released a toxic vapor that could kill everyone in this lab."

Jeff nodded slowly, but unsure of his answer. It didn't seem like he knew how to act without annoying me. The same look in his eye made me feel somewhat ashamed for yelling, but I couldn't let him make mistakes. I'm not sure if it was Frisk rubbing off on me, but I feel like I've become a bit softer on how I treat humans. 

"Look, Jeff. I chose you as my intern, with a future possibility as my assistant, because you had strong recommendations from your professors and outstanding grades. I know you aren't completely stupid."

I patted Jeff on the shoulder to console him. Yeah, I was annoyed, but he didn't have to look like he feared for his life.

"You are making these mistakes because you're scared of me. I get it. But if you keep making mistakes like that, you're going to end up hurting yourself and others. Please redo the formula this time. I'm not going to re-correct you again. Do you hear me?" I lowered my voice and sighed, feeling the aching pains of a headache seeping at my temples.

"Y-yes sir!"

Jeff scrambled back to the drawing board and erased the entire formula off the board. He simmered through any advanced chemistry books in his reach, and took his time to read chemical properties. 

I feel like was teaching a child how to read Chinese. It was difficult and excruciatingly painful. 

"Sans, I would appreciate it if you were a bit nicer to your interns." Unexpectedly, King Asgore turns up behind me and shakes his head disapprovingly.