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CINDY HARRINGTON RESTED her chin on her hand, her eyes following the flickering images her science teacher projected onto the chalkboard.
"The case of Phineas Gage is one of the great medical curiosities of all time. Phineas was a railroad worker in 1848 who had a nightmarish accident.
Mr. Clarke drew a straight line through the image of Phineas Gage's skull, "A large iron rod was driven completely through his head."
Cindy's eyes widen as the man lifted his hand, standing back to look at the inky line that projected behind him.
"Phineas miraculously survived. He seemed fine. And physically, yes, he was. But his injury resulted in a complete change to his personality. So much so that friends that knew him started referring to him as 'No longer Gage'."
"At the time, this was known as the American Crowbar Case," Mr. Clarke raised both hands, fiddling with the erasable marker in his left hand, "Although, it wasn't a crowbar—"
The classroom door whipped open, slamming against the wall forcefully. Each of the student's eyes snapped in the direction of the sound, watching as Dustin Henderson tumbled into the room.
"I am so sorry, Mr. Clarke," The boy panted, making his way towards his assigned seat, "Really, I'm so sorry. Please continue with the class. Don't mind me."
Cindy quirked a dark eyebrow, her eyes trained on her friend as pulled his backpack off his shoulders and sat down in front of Will.
"Although," Mr. Clarke sighed, removing his eyes from the Henderson boy and refocusing them on his class, "it wasn't a crowbar, it was a rod, as I said."
After he had settled into his desk, Dustin turned to face his friends, whispering as they leaned in closer to hear him.
"We have to meet. All of us. At lunch, AV Club."
Mike shook his head slightly. "Why?"
"I have something that you won't believe," Dustin glanced at each of his friends, watching as Mike nodded silently in response.
The rest of her friends focused back on the lesson, hanging on to every word their teacher spoke, yet Cindy couldn't refocus, not with Dustin noisily turning around in his seat to face Max at the back of the classroom.
"AV Club," He whispered, "Lunch."
He was a terrible whisperer, Cindy determined, and she had to place her hand over her mouth to keep herself from letting a giggle escape her lips.
