A huge chunk of biochemistry requires a lot of lab work within and outside of school. Lucky for the audience, this chapter only focuses on the school part. I decided to take a course in a genetics laboratory on campus where we did some independent research on our own.

Of course, any lab is prone to error just as scientists are prone to human error. In other words, we make mistakes. Half of science is happy accidents that end up being good enough for papers.

Anyway, there was an issue in our experiment, specifically with extracting DNA, so my lab partner was troubleshooting and trying to work out a way for us to use what DNA we had left to continue the experiment with minimal risk to all our hard work.

DNA isolation takes hours. No one wants to redo it.

I figured that while she worked on that, I could continue the experiment with what we did have, so we wouldn't fall behind. Checking around the bench, I made sure I had everything I needed to do a full plate titer, which required a serial dilution. To minimize contamination, we change our pipette tips all the time, so I needed a box of sterile ones.

"Do we have any 10 microliter tips?" I asked my partner.

"Yeah, they're at the bench."

Fair enough. So, I set everything else up, meaning my plates, microcentrifuge tubes, pipette, and all that good science stuff. My partner walked away briefly to collect the materials she needed from across the room, and everyone else in the lab was busy with their own experiment or at the other lab to document their progress.

I assumed that no one was paying attention to me.

Lo behold, I go to pick up the pipette tip box, and whatever moron was in the lab before never closed the lid properly.

A loud crash and burn was heard throughout the room of plastic falling everywhere.

Yes, the box broke the second I touched it and all the pipette tips went flying out. Some even landed on my hijab. In complete and utter humiliation, I stood there staring blankly at the mess before me, hand still holding the defected box before that too fell from my grasp, clattering against the bench.

I faintly heard laughter in the background, but I was too stunned at myself to comprehend who it was.

"Well this is awkward," I muttered, still in the same position.

My eyes glanced over to my partner, who gave me a knowing smile. "I'll get a new box," she reassured.

But she wasn't the one who was laughing. In fact, no one else seemed to notice it was me.

Footsteps came from behind, a deep chuckle finally becoming clearer as a fog of confusion disappeared. I registered the voice of my TA, who was still laughing full-heartedly.

He was right next to me. Why did the world hate me so?

"I was looking at you and saw the whole thing unfold," he said, trying to stifle his laugh. He was a very white, British man. He laughed so hard that his face was turning red. "It was the fact that you just stood there in absolute disappointment."

"God, that's embarrassing," I cringed at myself. "I was really hoping no one saw."

He leaned in close, helping me clean up the remaining pipettes. "I'm sure no one else but me saw," he whispered, voice low but I could hear the smile in it. "You do some funny things when you think no one is watching."

"I wish I could tell you that I'm not normally like this, but then I'd be lying."

He shook his head playfully at me. Wild as all this was, I really never heard my TA laugh so much, and it was nice to see a more relaxed and playful side to the person who held my grade in their hands.

Even though mistakes felt like a disaster, sometimes it was a door that opened a path to friendship. Being amicable had its charms, and in my case it broke the ice between us.

----

I could write a book on all my lab failures. Might make that a mini series in this book. Who knows, maybe I'll look back at this in the future?

Got another cell biology exam :') I'm gonna cry, and all I've been doing is writing up research papers for lab.

Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow!