Spy School High School (Highschool AU) [ONGOING]

07. Chem Project due 😅😳😫

October 15, 2019

During the new few weeks, Ben and Erica continued to work on their Volcano Model Project. They found out that the only days they could work together were after school on Tuesdays and Fridays, but they made it work. They made their project as complex as they could while still keeping it efficient, using what they knew about chemistry to their advantage. The days flew by, and before Ben knew it, it was October 15th, the day the project was due.

After homeroom that fall morning, Ben and Erica rushed to the Science Lab, avoiding the falling leaves that dropped from the trees. Ben arrived in front of the Science Lab out of breath but completely untouched, save for the one leaf on his hairline. He delicately used two fingers to pull the leaf off by the stem, tossing it in the air and letting the shallow breeze carry it away. Ben took a deep breath, then stepped in.

The classroom was set up the way it had been on the first day of school, save for the presentation table at the front of the lab. The tables and stools were all coordinated, organized in a way there would be 4 people per table. Ben sat down at a table in the middle. Erica plopped down right next to him. Ben casually turned to the right and his eyes stopped dead.

"Um...what?" Ben asked.

"It would look bad if I sat halfway across the room," Erica said, sighing and rolling her eyes. Ben nodded, still processing what was happening.

The bell rang, and Mr. Morris stepped into the classroom. He closed the door behind him rubbed his arms.

"It's windy today, isn't it?" Mr. Morris asked as he took his coat off. The class mumbled replies back. Mr. Morris frowned a bit.

"Still sleep? Well then, I'm sure today's presentations will be sure to wake you up," he said, pulling out his clipboard. Groans filled the class. Mr. Morris chuckled for a second, but then he focused again.

"When your names are called, please bring your project and place it on the presentation platform. Then, introduce yourselves and begin," Mr. Morris said. Then he pulled out a chair and sat down on it, his eyes scrolling down the clipboard.

"Now. The first pair will be Frank and Hazel," Mr. Morris said. Frank brought their project up, and the presentations officially started.

Erica had been right. Over half of the class used Volcanos as their natural phenomenon. Some just had a model, but the majority had a model that used the typical baking soda plus vinegar combination. Ben noticed Mr. Morris's eyes dim slightly at the sight of another stereotypical volcano explosion.

'Hopefully, we can change that!' Ben thought. Little did he know Erica was thinking the same thing. The projects continued, until finally...

"Ben and Erica."

Ben's eyes widened at the sound of his name, and he robotically got up and walked to the back of the lab, picking out their project and bringing it to the front. Erica was already waiting on the side of the platform. At the sight of their project, Mr. Morris sat a little straighter.

The first thing you would notice about the project was the detail. The outside of the volcano was covered in lots of greenery. You could tell the difference from the bushes to the trees, and even the different kinds of trees. Near the bottom, there were more trees, but as the mountain got closer to the proximity of the top, the bushes began to invade the scenery. Ben and Erica had spent a lot of time on the greenery, making each one individually, using paint, and a special kind of moldable plastic. They also added small molds of animals here and there. Ben took a deep breath, then began talking.

"For our project, we made a model of a volcano," Ben started.

"We used moldable plastic to shape the greenery realistically, and paint to color it..." Ben continued talking, but his voice halted.

'What was the line again?' Ben thought to himself, sweating slightly. Luckily, Erica saved him.

"We also made the simulation as realistic as possible, incorporating effects of the 'lava' on the surrounding environment," Erica said, making quotation marks with her hands when she said lava. Ben shot a grateful glance at Erica. She nodded slightly.

"We'll show the experiment part now," Erica said. She lifted the beaker that contained the chemicals needed to set off the reaction and then tipped it into the volcano tip. The class edged forward in their seats a bit more to see what was happening.

'Please work," Ben begged. Then Ben smiled as he saw the first sign of the reaction.

The mixture was frothing and increasing volume, pushing it to the tip of the volcano. The 'lava', colored a mixture of red and orange, reached the tip and poured out in all directions. Ben was even more pleased when the special chemical they had added worked. This chemical would shrivel up any kind of plastic with the right amount of its counter-chemical on it. Ben and Erica had coated all the greenery with the counter-chemical, so as the lava ran down the sides of the mountain, all the plastic shriveled up, turned black, and fell. The student's eyes widened at the sight. After the whole 'eruption,' the volcano was left with the mountain and a pile of black clumps surrounding it. The class turned silent.

"The black clumps represent the greenery that burns after lava runs through it. And errr....that's all," Ben finished.

Somebody in the back started clapping, and then the whole class burst into applause. Even Mr. Morris joined along. Ben let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and glanced at Erica. To his surprise, she was smiling. A genuine smile. Ben smiled back.

"We make a good team," he said.

"I don't know about good. Maybe...halfway competent," Erica offered.

"Okay, I'll take it," Ben said, shrugging. Just then, the bell rang. The class got up and left.

"Good job. On the project, I mean," Ben said. He held out a hand. Erica just sighed and walked away, leaving Ben standing there.

"Um...I think I pushed my luck too far," he said to no one in particular. Then he walked out of the Science Lab, only half-conscious about the smile on his face.

Erica had only truly revealed her emotions for a minute, by smiling. And Ben knew that was the only emotion he was going to get out of her in a long time.

But still, she'd smiled.

It was a start.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!

- Cookie