"Wear your lab coats, get your goggles, and please—please—don't burn the lab," said Ma'am Clarisse, our Chemistry teacher who looks nice but always carries an alcohol spray. She looks like she's ready for an emergency—an emergency like me.
The moment I stepped into the chem lab, I could feel the tension. I felt like a contestant on MasterChef, but instead of food, I'd be dealing with chemicals. And the worst part?
My seatmate is Kairo.
As in... Kairo. The genius. The boy who probably dreams in periodic table format.
"Hi," I said. Casual. Chill. No trace of panic in my voice. Well, that's just in my imagination because I was seriously nervous.
He looked at me and nodded. "Good morning."
OH MY GOD. He said good morning. In English. So crisp. So cool.
We sat down. In front of us were test tubes, an alcohol lamp, and instructions for the mini lab activity: a simple acid-base reaction, they said. Simple, huh?
I glanced at Kairo while he read the manual. Like a robot. So fast. So serious. No expression on his face—until...
"Can you read this part?" he asked, pointing at the chemical instruction.
"Me? Uh… okay." I took the paper. "Add two… milli… mililiters—eh, milliliters of the… sodium… something-something into the test—uh…"
He blinked.
"Test tube."
"Yes. That."
He touched his forehead. Not in a mean way—but more like a 'how are you still alive?' kind of way.
"Don't worry. I'll measure. You just—don't touch the acid," he said calmly.
"Noted, boss."
And then I shut up. Then, he chuckled. CHUCKLED.
Did I just… make Kairo chuckle?
"Did you just—" I blinked.
He shook his head, smiling a little. "Nothing. You're… entertaining."
Damn. That sounded like a soft insult.
From the next table, I heard River laughing while Merry panicked.
"Why is your solution so salty?!" Merry shouted.
"Sorry, I thought the stuff in the beaker was salt!" defended by crocs girl.
Meanwhile at our station, Kairo had everything perfect. Calm. Neat. His mixture looked like it came from a science video on YouTube.
Me? I was just staring at the beaker like: Lord, what is happening?
"Kairo, are you sure about this?" I asked.
"Yes. Just watch. This should fizz a little and—"
BOOM!
There was a sudden burst of bubbles. Not from our station, but from the back. A test tube exploded. Everyone screamed.
"OH MY G—"
"CHILL! DON'T PANIC!" shouted Ma'am Clarisse. "Put the fire out! FIRE EXTINGUISHER!"
I jumped in shock. I hit our table. Our beaker tipped.
But before it could fall, Kairo caught it. With one hand. Like an action movie.
He looked at me. "That was close."
For real, huhu! I'm such a disaster.
I stared back. "Kairo… you just saved my life. And the experiment."
He raised a brow. "Just your experiment."
OUCH! But why am I blushing?!
~•~•~