a random assortment of teenagers generated by a computer
from the gawky, stringy computer geek
to the cheerleader with the ass that makes ’em hard
laze about in groups of 4 around 6 black lab tables
i work diligently, nose to the grindstone
mixing and combining chemicals over a burner
taking down copious amounts of observations, recording every move i make
enjoying the feverish sense of completion of a difficult, tedious task
my group comprises of
the cheerleader, sitting on a burnout’s lap
playing with his hair as he sniffs her neck
and a mildly talented athlete, playing games on his iTouch
i love this group, they don’t get in my way
i work and the teacher nods over at me appreciatively every now and again
as she watches the lack of motivation of her other students
helplessly from her desk in the far corner
the bell rings suddenly, shocking the teens out of their daze
suddenly they are very lucid and vivacious
as they all animatedly, and quickly sprint towards the door
i offer to clean up once the room is empty
the teacher hands me a paper, a test she had been grading, with a
+30/25 on it and smiles
thanks me, as i thank her (there had been no extra credit on the test)
and leaves the room
i begin to smile too, and set it down on the black table
take the flask full of what i mixed: SO2 + H2O2 to yield
H2SO4, sulfuric acid
and down it quickly
i calmly rinse out the flask, place it in the cupboard
as i fall to the ground writhing;
marveling at what a great chemistry student i’d become
as my +30/25 floats down, blown off the table by an unexplained breeze
i lay there
dead and smiling
you can almost hear me repeating to myself
SO2 + H2O2 → H2SO4
