Lewis regretfully turned the bottle upside down, watching the clear liquid flow into the sea below him. At the last second, he turned the bottle upward and screwed the lid back on. He could feel a bit of the perfume still sloshing inside the bottle, but he made his face look regretful.
"There. All gone." He stated, his face a solid blank.
Zane screwed his face into a disappointed expression before he stalked away.
Lewis held the glass bottle up to his face, looking at the bit of ambergris that still lay in the bottle.
"Lewis?"
Lewis wrenched his eyes away from the bottle and managed to focus on Charlotte, who had clearly been trying to get his attention for a few seconds.
"Uh, yes?" He tried to pretend like he'd heard every word.
Charlotte was staring at him as if he were stupid. "I've just asked if you want to see a film this evening?" She repeated slowly, looking at him closely.
"Oh, yes. That sounds great." Lewis gave Charlotte a brief smile before turning his attention back to the bottle he held in his hand.
"Are you holding onto that?" Charlotte reached for the bottle.
"No." Lewis said quickly, holding the bottle behind his back. "I just need to dispose of it properly. Recycle it, you know?"
"That's why I'm crazy about you." Charlotte wrapped her arms around Lewis's waist. "You're so concerned about the earth."
"Erm, yeah, you know it." Lewis awkwardly slid out of Charlotte's grasp.
"Is everything alright?" Charlotte's eagle eyes looked Lewis up and down.
"Of course!" Lewis smiled, falsely. He liked Charlotte, really he did, but it seemed like she kept him under constant supervision. She questioned him closely whenever they spent the slightest bit of time apart, and she never seemed to believe him when he told her that he was glad that she was his girlfriend.
Charlotte left shortly after that, headed on her way with an unconvinced air that plainly said that she knew Lewis wasn't being completely honest. She felt like that frequently, like Lewis wasn't telling her everything. But she liked Lewis enough to overlook his oddities.
Lewis hurried back home with his bottle hidden under his shirt. He was anxious to run some tests on the ambergris left in the bottle.
He arrived home in a matter of minutes. He hustled inside and pulled out his most powerful microscope and a petri dish.
Lewis removed the bottle of ambergris from where he'd ended up hiding it inside his back pocket and examined it carefully. It didn't look like anything special, just an antique bottle with clear liquid inside it. Clear liquid, he reminded himself, that would make Cleo melt at his feet.
Lewis shook his head, looking at his feet. He was not going to use this stuff on Cleo. He wasn't. Though...
Purely out of temptation, Lewis gave the bottle just one squirt onto his lapel.
He regretted the move as soon as he'd made it. The stuff stunk as it clung to his clothes. Lewis patted at his shirt, trying to get it to fade away.
It didn't.
Lewis ended up having to change clothes to get the smell to fade, and even then, what was left on his skin was strong. Lewis brushed at it, but it didn't fade. Lewis worried about it for a second, but he had no plans to meet Cleo that day. What harm could come from him having the slightest bit of ambergris on him? He'd shower later to wash it all the way off. Lewis tossed the brown shirt and jeans into the laundry hamper.
Lewis poured a few drops of the perfume over a slide and slid it under the microscope. He examined it for several seconds, noting the properties of the liquid on a pad of paper he had in front of him. He worked for several hours, trying to keep notes on every aspect of the liquid. For the most part, the ambergris seemed normal. It stunk, and badly, and it certainly succeeded on keeping Lewis from having anyone else look at it. It smelled too bad.
Lewis examined the slide closely. He couldn't determine what was making the slide so hard to read. He'd read many droplets before, but this slide had properties that he'd never seen before. He took careful notes. After writing down as much as he could, Lewis leaned back in his chair with a long sigh.
Lewis turned the bottle over in his hands, looking at the liquid inside. He couldn't help it, before long he found himself deep in a day dream. He walked in the juice net cafe, Cleo ran to him, jumped in his arms, and then-
The ring of the doorbell made Lewis jump out of his dream and back in to the present. He shook his head and headed down the steps and to the front door.
"Hi, Lewis." Cleo said casually as the front door opened.
Lewis's eyes widened as he saw Cleo on the other side of the door. Immediately, he slammed the door shut in her face.
"Um, Lewis?" Cleo frowned. "Is everything all right?"
Lewis's face appeared in the clear-glass window beside the front door.
"Oh, hey there Cleo." He said casually, through the glass.
"Hi..." Cleo said, bewildered.
"What?" Lewis shouted, holding one hand up to his ear.
"I said hi!." Cleo yelled back.
"Oh, right! Hi, Cleo!" Lewis grinned.
"What's going on?" Cleo gestured to the window. "Can I come in?"
"No!" Lewis said quickly.
"No?" Cleo said, bewildered.
"No," Lewis repeated, this time more casually. "I'm not feeling so great." Lewis coughed into his hand. "And I would hate for you to catch whatever it is that I have."
"You're sick?" Cleo looked concerned. "Let me come in and have a look at you, I can make you some soup-"
"Nope!" Lewis shouted. "I'm sure it's just a bug, but you know how it is. I give it to you, you give it to the rest of the town, and soon enough we've all got the black plague."
"Ok..." Cleo was completely flabbergasted by Lewis's behavior. "Well, I was just coming by to return your biology notes..."
"Fantastic. Slide them through the mail slot?" Lewis pointed to the opening in the door.
Hesitantly, Cleo folded the notes in half and pushed them through this slot in the door. She stood, examining Lewis closely.
"You don't seem sick." She observed.
"Oh, I am." Lewis coughed several times, and threw in a sneeze for good measure. "Really. You should go."
"Ok." Cleo turned around slowly, keeping one eye on Lewis. She looked at him suspiciously for a few seconds longer before walking away.
"Whewwww." Lewis slid down the wall to sit on the floor. He hadn't wanted Cleo to get a whiff of the ambergris that still clung to his skin.
Quickly, before Cleo could return, Lewis dashed upstairs and took a shower.
A couple days passed. Lewis had examined the ambergris closely, but without doing testing on the mermaids there wasn't much more he could do with it. He had locked the bottle in a metal chest and pushed it up into the attic, where no one could ever find it.
The group had a huge biology exam looming over their heads, and they agreed to meet at Cleo's house to study.
Rikki, Emma, Lewis, and a reluctant Charlotte arrived at Cleo's at the same time and rang the bell. Charlotte hadn't wanted to join, but she also hadn't wanted Lewis to go alone. She didn't trust Cleo.
The group stepped back as Cleo opened the front door, a pained look on her face. Loud shouting came from inside the house.
"I told you I'd do it later!" Kim's shrill voice came from inside.
"And I told you to do it now!" Cleo's dad's voice yelled back.
Cleo stepped outside and shut the door behind her, silencing the screaming voices.
"Hey, guys." She said apologetically. "I don't think my house is the best for studying today."
"Eliot has friends over at my place." Emma said.
"We can use my house?" Charlotte suggested.
"Lewis!" Cleo said quickly. "Why don't we go to Lewis's house?"
"Sure." Lewis blinked.
Cleo and Rikki locked eyes. There was no way they were going to go to Charlotte's house. They rolled their eyes and started walking towards where Lewis lived.
They spread out in Lewis's living room and pulled out their books and notes. An hour later, Rikki stood up and stretched.
"I feel way smarter." She said. "I think we can call it a night?"
"Are you crazy?" Emma looked at Rikki as if she'd grown a second head. "We've only just started."
Reluctantly, Rikki sank back down onto the couch and picked up her biology book.
A phone rang shrilly, making the group jump.
"Sorry guys," Charlotte apologized, picking up her phone. She stepped out of the room to answer and came back just a few seconds later.
"I have to go," She said, disappointed. "My mom needs help with a catering project."
"Aw, really? So soon?" Rikki couldn't hide the sarcasm in her voice.
Charlotte didn't notice. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked Lewis.
Lewis nodded. "Yup."
Charlotte pecked him on the cheek and headed out the door.
"Thank goodness she's gone." Rikki said loudly.
"I'll second that." Cleo said under her breath.
"Now guys..." Lewis started.
"We know, we know," Rikki walked into the kitchen to get a drink. "Didn't you see how nice I was today?"
"Sure did." Lewis said sarcastically. "Good job."
Rikki nodded, pleased with herself.
After a few more hours of studying, led mostly by Emma, the group began to disperse. Emma headed out first, followed by Rikki.
Cleo hung around for a few more minutes, enjoying a rare moment alone with Lewis. They laughed at a television program before Cleo stood up to go.
"Big plans tonight?" Cleo asked Lewis, who was jogging up the stairs.
A few seconds later Lewis reappeared, carrying a laundry basket. "Oh, huge plans." Lewis said seriously. He held up the basket. "Laundry."
Cleo giggled. "Need any help?" Really Cleo just didn't want to leave yet.
"Um, sure." Lewis didn't need help, but he didn't want Cleo to leave either. And laundry was complicated, wasn't it?
The pair told jokes and laughed as Cleo handed the contents of the basket to Lewis, who put them into the washer. Cleo picked up the last item, a brown shirt, from the bottom of the basket and handed it to Lewis. She froze as he took it from her.
Cleo inhaled deeply. "Lewis, what is that?"