Chapter 6 Cells
It had taken about two hours, but Lemmy had somehow managed to clean his classroom. The teacher's desk, which was situated in the left hand corner of the east wall, was now completely free of clutter. The desks for the students (although, they weren't desks so much as shiny black tables) were resting with a sort of expectancy. As Lemmy sat at the teacher's desk, he couldn't help but blankly stare. He could practically see the high school kids sitting at them.
Lemmy let out a breath. Teaching high schoolers was going to be a chore, he could already tell. After all, what was so great about high school biology? Biology was so boring. It was definitely different from preschool. Preschool was a time of whimsy and wonder. Kids who went there were just starting to learn about the world, make friends, and learn what was truly fun. High school, on the other hand, was a time where everything was as drab as the color gray. The workload was harder, the teachers were meaner, and nothing about the subjects stood out. They just blended together into one messy clutter of homework, detentions, and acne.
"This is going to suuuccckkk," Lemmy groaned. Right at that moment, he heard a rap tap tap on the door. He got up and opened it to see Iggy standing on the other side. Lemmy's younger brother was grinning like a goon. He had a sparkle in his eyes, a crazy sparkle that reminded Lemmy of a super villain.
"Oh, hi Iggy," Lemmy said. Iggy squealed and came inside.
"Oh, Lemonade!" Iggy exclaimed. "You have no idea how jubilant I am feeling!" His eyes scanned around the classroom. "As soon as Bowser told me that you were teaching Biology, I just knew that I would have the time of my life supervising you!" He giggled and stared at Lemmy, his teeth providing a sight to see. "This is going to be awesome!"
"Yeah," Lemmy said. His shoulders started to slump, and his head was directed toward the ground. "Awesome."
Iggy didn't seem to notice Lemmy's downcast body language. He just walked around the classroom. Lemmy could tell that he was searching for something, although what that something was, Lemmy didn't know. He went into the closet on the right hand wall and let out a squeal.
"LEMMY!" he exclaimed as he rushed out of the closet. "You have got to witness what is in here!"
Lemmy sighed. Dragging his feet, he started to make his way over. When he got to the closet, he shrieked in terror.
"Oh my developer, is that a skeleton?"
Iggy just chuckled like a serial killer.
"It's a life size model!" He picked up the koopa skeleton and displayed it to Lemmy. "Feel it! It is constructed out of plastic!"
Lemmy couldn't help but feel relieved as he grasped the skeleton's foot. Despite his mood, he managed to put on a smile.
"That's cool!" He gasped. "Hey! Maybe we can put it out for the kids to see!"
"That was precisely the plan that I was formulating!" Iggy exclaimed with delight. As Iggy got a stand out of the closet, Lemmy entered. As he examined the closet, it became much more clear to him that his classroom was not completely clean. Textbooks laid on the floor. Dust was caking the walls and the shelves. Old posters, stained with who know's what, were rolled up in the far left hand corner. Lemmy felt his heart sink.
"This place is an absolute mess!" he said. Iggy dismissed the statement with a wave of the hand.
"Pfft. Please! This isn't nearly as bad as the room that you sleep in."
"Hey!" Lemmy said as he shot Iggy a glare. Iggy laughed.
"It's true!" He poked his head into the gloomy storage area. "In all honesty, this probably will not take too much time to rearrange. It's only 5 feet in area."
Lemmy nodded, and together, the two Koopalings started to clear out the closet. The textbooks looked like they would crumble into dust at any moment, and the shelves weren't in any better condition. The whole place was as brittle as a little old lady. By the time he was finished with clearing it out, Lemmy was surprised that nothing from the shelves had fallen on top of him. He carried the posters out underneath his arms.
"You were right, Iggy; that didn't take a lot of time."
"See! I told you! I do know what I am talking about every once in a while!"
Lemmy laughed, surprising himself. He set the posters down on one of the tables, mounting a stool so he could get a better view of them.
"What are we supposed to do with these?"
"What you are supposed to do with any old posters; hang them up!" Iggy said. He grabbed hold of one of the posters and uncurled it. As he stared at the poster, his smile grew bigger. "Woah! This is in reallygood quality!"
Lemmy dismounted the stool and stood beside Iggy. He had to admit, the picture was very colorful. It's display was very detailed and alien to the littlest Koopaling.
"What's that!"
"Why, a cell, of course!" Iggy said. Lemmy looked at Iggy in confusion.
"You mean like a prison cell?" he asked. Iggy shook his head.
"No! It's a plant cell!" He set the poster down on the table, smoothing it out so that it laid flat. "These things are the building blocks for all plant life!"
"How so?"
"Well, for starters, they are microscopic," said Iggy. "They compose the body of a plant, and contain the necessary elements to help the plant live." Iggy pointed to a big ball right in the center of the cell. "See that? That's called a nucleus!"
"Nucleus?" Lemmy asked. He squinted at the picture. "What function does it serve?"
Iggy grinned a sparkly grin.
"Within the center of that organelle is the DNA for the entire plant!"
Lemmy stared at the nucleus.
"ReallY? That's neat."
"It is!" He sighed and stroked the picture. "Plant cells are truly amazing. They have so many features that animal cells just don't."
"Wait, animal cells?" asked Lemmy. "Animal's have cells too?"
"Uh, of course! How else do you think animals are supposed to survive?" He pointed over toward the textbooks, laying on the table. "I would highly recommend searching through the textbooks. While the information regarding cells is very rudimentary, it is still inherently fascinating. I think you should read about them."
Lemmy looked at the picture of the cell. He then looked at the textbooks, a smile slowly starting to grow on his face.
"Yeah. I think I will."
