A/N: OH! I'm so excited! We're really getting into the story now! Pazza! Reviews always welcome!
Professor Z had been sitting quietly in his still ice-layered office, when he heard a quick rap on the door. Before he could protest, the door swung open to reveal Josie with Lucas following her. They steeped into the room, sliding slightly on the floor and looking around in disbelief. Marshall and Corrine were right behind them as Z hastily came around and shut the door behind them.
After a pause in which the students of the Science Club gathered their wits, Josie looked at Professor Z with a raised eyebrow. "So, what've you been up to?"
Z grinned at the looks on their faces; feeling better then he had in days, and shrugged, "Not too much."
Corrine turned to Z, "You did this?" At his nod, she continued, "But…how?" she demanded incredulously.
Lucas interrupted, "Need I remind you that we are standing in an office with a wormhole?" Corrine shot him a dirty look and Z broke in.
"I'm not sure, exactly, how it happens. I've been trying to figure it out for the past day or so." His voice slid into lecture mode and he began to pace, slipping slightly on the icy floor.
"My theory is that when I physically touch an object, its temperature is lowered to thirty-two degrees or even lower." He spun on his heel and paused with his index finger in the air. "However, it appears that the way it freezes seems to differ." He stopped at their blank looks. "For example, my desk has very little liquid, possibly none at all, yet I can spread a thin layer of ice over it."
The professor walked over to his desk and put the fingertips of his right hand on it. A short moment later a sheet of ice spread from his fingers toward the edges of the desk. The ice made its way around the various items on the desk, moving slowly at first then faster until it came to the corners. Professor Zachary removed his hand and the ice stopped suddenly.
Throughout this performance, Marshall had been staring with his mouth dropped open. Corrine's eyes had widened considerably, Lucas's had done the same. Josie had just stood there looking at her professor in disbelief.
"In the case of dry objects, my theory is that water vapor from the air condenses then collects on the surface of the aforementioned object, then its temperature is lowered. All this happens virtually instantaneously." Professor Zachary continued his explanation without looking up to mask his smile from his students.
"Now, in object with larger amounts of water already in them, such as a plant," Z walked over to a windowsill and grabbed one of the small potted plants and touched a finger to the uppermost leaf.
A frost quickly traveled down the length of the main stem and branched off along the thinner vines, up through the veins and across the face of every leap simultaneously.
The outcome was the green plant looking as though it had been dipped in diamonds. The overhead light and the light from the windows sparkled as it reflected off the small ice crystals.
"Z, it's beautiful" Corrine said softly.
The others could only nod in agreement.
Professor Z's smile widened as he continued his explanation. "Plants already have moisture in them so to ice it over; I don't need as much water from the air. The water is somehow pulled from the plant to the surface where its temperature is lowered."
Zachary set the potted plant carefully on one corner of his desk leaving behind white spots where his hand had touched.
Marshall shook his head in cheerful disbelief. "This is…unbelievable."
Josie looked to Professor Z, "Is this why you canceled your classes?"
Z's smile vanished. "N—no. Not exactly." He said heavily. His eyes darted unconsciously to his desk drawer where the doctor's letter and his mother's note resided.
The younger members of the Science Club noticed his sudden melancholy and shared a glance.
Corrine was the first to speak. "Is something wrong Z?"
It was the question he'd been dreading. Of course something was wrong and he wanted to tell them so and know he had their support. But he couldn't tell them. This was his personal problem. He was a teacher and these were students. He shouldn't and couldn't bother them with his own troubles.
Noel realized this and was about to tell them so when Josie spoke.
Josie had been watching the emotions battle inside her mentor and decided she needed to help them along. "You know you can tell us anything Z."
Professor Zachary flinched as though he'd been punched. Now it was worse. The same argument but now he knew he would have their support.
Z mentally looked around for an escape and jumped for the first one he saw. "It's a bit warm in here, don't you think?" He walked around to the back to his desk and took off his outer jacket. He sat down in his chair and smiled unconvincingly at the group.
Josie stared. "Are you serious?" she demanded. He was trying to change the subject! Something had happened to give him this power, something he didn't want to tell them, and he was going to change the subject?
"Yeah," Lucas agreed, "it has to be around forty degrees in here. Geeze! Are you sick? It's really cold!" He added to this statement by rubbing his hands along his upper arms to warm them.
Professor Z stopped and stared at Lucas, uncertainty spreading across his face. "Are you serious?"
"That's what I just asked you!" Josie exclaimed, frustrated as Lucas nodded slowly confused at the question.
Z turned to Marshall and asked, "What about you, Marshall, is it cold in here?"
Marshall nodded in much the same way as Lucas.
Zachary turned to Corrine and repeated the question. When the answer was also repeated, he gave Josie a puzzled and slightly worried look. He didn't need to ask her, because she had already shaken her head no. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked from student to student.
Marshall finally broke through the silence. "Why don't we just…turn up the heat?"
Josie looked closely at Z. "Marshall, I don't think that's the problem." She addressed Professor Zachary, "It doesn't feel cold to you, does it?" She asked slowly.
Z shook his head while staring at an indiscriminant point behind them. His thoughts were a blur in his mind. He was the only one feeling the different temperature, was something wrong with him, or was it everyone else? His stomach dropped at the thought of one of his students getting hurt, especially the Science Club. No, it has to be me. Lucas's question brought him out of his daze.
"Z, are you feeling okay?"
Noel shook his head again, this time to clear it and looked to Lucas. "Yes! I feel fine." He paused. "Except for maybe being a little warm…"
Marshall looked closer at his science teacher. "You look a little pale," he said, then added, "and tired."
Z looked at him and tilted his head to one side then the other, thinking. "Well, I guess I am a little tired. A lot has been happening." He gestured around the room.
"I'll be right back," Corrine said suddenly and walked purposefully out the door.
Z small protests were ignored as the Science Club watched her leave. They fell into a comfortable silence. Marshall and Lucas started fooling around while Professor Z watched and tried to ignore Josie's stare.
Corrine walked back into the room a couple minutes later in time to hear Lucas yell, "Ouch! I'll get you for that!"
Josie was laughing and even Z was smiling. Corrine cleared her throat to get their attention.
Lucas glanced to her then jabbed a finger at Marshall. "You, me, foosball, later." He said with a grin.
"You're on!" Marshall replied with a mirror image grin.
Josie turned to Corrine. "So, where'd you go?"
"Nurse's office." She answered matter-of-factly, then, by way of explanation, added, "if Professor Z is sick, we can't take him to the hospital, or anywhere else in his condition, so the first thing we have to do is determine whether he's sick or not."
The rest of the Science Club looked at one another and Lucas shrugged, it seemed like a logical place to start.
"What did you have in mind?" Z asked a little cautiously.
"Well, I think, being as you're warm while the rest of us are cold, you might have a fever or something." Corrine said walking farther into the room. She held out an oral thermometer to Professor Z, who reached out, across his desk to take it from her.
"Wait!" Josie said loudly.
Z and Corrine stopped in mid reach and looked at her, waiting.
Josie stared back, wondering how they didn't understand. "Come on, Corrine!" She waved a hand around the frozen office.
"Oh, right!" Corrine looked back to Z, who looked from his hands to the thermometer in Corrine's.
Corrine seemed uncomfortable about sticking anything in her teacher's mouth.
Z looked equally uncomfortable.
"Maybe if I just use the backs of my hands…" he suggested, half-heartedly.
Josie threw her hands up and said, "Oh, I'll do it!" She walked up to Corrine, snatched the thermometer and stuck it quickly and carefully into Z's mouth. He was so surprised, it almost fell back out, but he managed to hold it in place.
Josie came up beside him and watched the thermometer in a way that reminded Zachary of his mother.
His mother…Noel's heart plummeted, her surgery was today, in fact, he checked his watch, it had begun almost an hour before.
Josie gave a small shout of surprise and the thermometer beeped. She yanked it out of her teacher's mouth and stared at the read-out.
"Forty-six degrees." She read slowly.
"What?" yelped Z, "That's impossible!" he grabbed the thermometer, which was instantly ice covered and read zero.
Lucas walked forward and carefully took the thermometer from Z, "Professor Z, from the looks of this, I don't think you should be throwing around the 'I' word."
Professor Zachary slumped back in his chair looking and feeling exhausted.
"All right, now that we know what's wrong, we can start working to fix it." Corrine said clapping her hands together. "Lucas, Marshall," she said getting their attention then rolling her eyes when Lucas saluted, "you two go check the internet and see what you can find on low body temperature. Josie, you and I will go to the library. Z," she turned to him with a concerned look in her eyes, "you just stay here and try to rest, or at least relax."
"Right." Marshall slapped the icy desk with his palms, then winced and rubbed them together. He, Lucas, and Josie filed out, leaving Corrine to follow.
Corrine hesitated as she made her way to the door. "Professor Z, you have such a low temperature, you need to warm up." Noel nodded miserably.
Corrine turned up the thermostat as she went out.
Professor Z sat in the broiling heat for about five minutes until he couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up, went over to the wall and turned the temperature back down. Then, he went back and sat down at his desk, rested his head in his arms and tried to relax.
A/N: That's All for now! I'm going camping; I won't be back 'til Monday! Have a good weekend and READ AND REVIEW!