Author's Note: Just another small addition and quick update to pull more readers into the tale. Granted, the exposition is slow, but the details within what I've written is key in future chapters. I plan to update on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for this story. Enjoy and review my good friends! Your praise and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Once situated in the lab, each student took a seat adjacent with their partner. Equipped with thick plastic goggles and a thin blue instruction manual, Freddie flipped to page eight to read the instructions for the lab:
"Aluminum metal reacts with hydrochloric acid to form hydrogen gas and an aluminum chloride solution" Freddie stated. "Step One: Mass out .25 grams of aluminum foil"
Nodding, Missy meticulously tore away at the provided foil and massed the piece, compensating for the tare.
"All set. What's next?" she beamed.
"Well, it's just a bunch of steps. All we gotta do now is predict the amount of products, and write the balanced equation for the reaction" Freddie said with gloom.
"Don't get discouraged – it's not that difficult" Missy justified. In cursive script, she wrote the equation for the reaction effortlessly in fin,e cursive script. Placing her purple pen down, she passed the lab sheet to Freddie.
"Correct?" she inquired. She knew full well it was correct.
Bewildered but intrigued by Missy's knowledge and grace, Freddie yearned to see more of her intellect:
"Impressive" Freddie noted. "You even noted the states of matter for each reactant and product"
"Just following directions" she explained. She grinned, sensing Freddie's subtle admiration of her academic potential.
"Say, uh, do you mind doing the rest of the molar conversions for the lab?" Freddie asked.
"Not at all. Just give me the numbers as you perform the reaction" she requested.
"With pleasure…" Freddie whispered. As he performed the experiment in silence, he felt his once powerful hate fleet away with the vapors from his flask. His focus faltered as he tried to comprehend the actions and gestures of girl he had yesterday regarded as a foe. Somehow she wasn't the girl she used to be – or was she?
Missy, meanwhile, had long finished the calculations for the experiment – she even took the liberty of filling out Freddie's report as well. Satisfied with her work, she scrutinized Freddie and sensed his distress, his confusion, his feelings. Grinning, she peered around the room to see all other pairs drastically behind in progress.
"That should do it" Freddie abruptly remarked, pushing the hot flask away with his pencil. He turned towards Missy and gave her an uneasy smile.
"That was easy!" she beamed.
"Yeah, I have to admit though, I figured it would take longer..." Freddie admitted sheepishly.
"Why so?"
"I figured you we would have been embroiled in an argument of sorts for the entire class. After all, we didn't exactly leave each other on good terms"
"That's true. I'm partially to blame for that"
"Wholly" he corrected.
"Okay, I'm wholly responsible. When I came back last spring though, I only sought to rekindle my close friendship with Carly. I had the best of intentions."
"Sam didn't do anything to you…" he reminded her, his bitterness returning.
"She was my adversary for Carly's attention. What I did was justified!" Missy defended.
"You poisoned Sam. You wrecked her phone. You gave her a false address!" Freddie declared.
"Terrible things to do, no?"
"Of course those are terrible things to do!" Freddie boomed, attracting the attention of nearby students.
"You do realize Sam has done all of those callous acts to you, at one time or another. What makes her wrongs less than mine?"
"The intention" Freddie declared. "Her acts weren't malicious"
"Honestly?" Missy replied incredulously. "I'll admit the frequency of my acts were closer together, but you can't possibly say Sam's pranks with you were, are, and will be well-intentioned"
Freddie, intrigued yet revolted at her suggestions, fell silent as he heard her out.
"She sent your phone to Cambodia. That had to have been rough" Missy commented.
"Phones are expendable" Freddie spat, still staunchly defending Sam's sinister tendencies.
"Perhaps for some, but not for you" Missy stated. "You had to sacrifice your entire allowance to purchase a new phone. All two hundred and thirty nine dollars."
"How do you even know this?" Freddie said in shock. His shoulders shot up in distress and his visage was one of terror. The girl knew him too well.
"Carly told me all about you when I came back last spring – that is – before I went away" Missy explained.
Freddie, now with his faith shaken in Carly, bit his lip and looked away from Missy. If he couldn't confide in Carly about his small allowance and embarrassing home life, he reasoned, then he had nobody he could trust. Sam wouldn't care to listen to his problems on a consistent basis. Disturbed at this notion, he decided to keep his troubles a secret from that moment forward.
"Typical…" Freddie murmured, still grappling with the reality Missy knew his life inside and out.
"I don't mean to incite any ill will between you three though. I'm just pointing out I'm not as devious as you, or Sam, might have perceived me to be."
Finished with her argument, she turned away from Freddie and focused on a glass plate resting in front of her. Daintily, she ran her finger in small circles through the crystals, while waiting for Freddie's reply.
"I guess not. Sorry about everything" Freddie conceded.
Before Missy could reply, the bell rang signaling the end of second period. As the class cleared the lab, she left him with a few parting words signaling they would meet again:
"I'll see you later Freddie" she beamed.
Collecting her belongings, she flung her bag onto her back and flirtatiously ran her finger across Freddie's forearm. Winking, she strode off, with Freddie's eyes watching on in great admiration and greater distress.
Things certainly weren't going to be the same. As he stiffly filed out of class, he frowned at the thought of Carly. His best friend spilled his secrets. Of the two girls though, he reasoned, it seemed she was the lesser of two problems he would need to contend with in the near future.
"Those blondes..." Freddie whispered silently.