☫ Chapter 27 ☫

Jaxon's birthday party was a big deal.

     As big as it could appear to a kid, at least.

     I remember feeling overwhelmed at the number of people that were there. It was a fancy party. The type of party where you would have to wear a suit and tie or a dress that sparkles. My parents and I agreed on a salmon-colored button-down dress shirt along with simple black pants. Mom said it would be appropriate to wear either a bow tie or a regular tie. So I chose the blue bow tie. Dad laughed and said it brought out my eyes. I felt myself swell with pride on the decision I made.

     "So... a basketball?" Dad grinned and used his fingers to do cool tricks on it. 

     I had been excited about this event since Jaxon started hinting to me his new found obsession with basketball. My parents brought me to the store and I went directly to the sports aisle. I grabbed the basketball that appeared the best and matched itself with a price within budget. 

     "Hey!" I quickly caught the ball and clutched it to my chest. "No touching."

    Mom gave dad a playful stern glare and a sassy wiggle of her finger. "You heard the man. No touching."

     "So you two are in cahoots now are you?" Dad questioned us with an astonished expression. He shook his head in dismay. "That's fine. I have Jeff. Right, Jeff?!" He shouted over dramatically. 

     "Be quiet!" Jeff called back from the kitchen. "I'm trying to do my homework."

     "Pfft. Nerd!" Dad barked, sneaking a wink at me.

     I hid my face behind the basketball and giggled. 

     By the time we entered Jaxon's party and it was present time my buzzing anticipation had started to turn into anxiety. I wanted to hide. No, I needed to hide. All the confidence I had towards my choice of getting a basketball diminished greatly with each present Jaxon was unwrapping. I lacked the nerve to even hand it to him. I tucked the ball under my seat, my feet concealing it from anyone's view. Jaxon wouldn't notice it despite me sitting right beside him.

     "Happy birthday!" One of our classmates smiled at him and handed over his present.

      Jaxon quickly ripped the wrapping paper, opening it with a curl of his lips and eagerness in his eyes. 

     "Oh! Look, Jeremiah." He turned to me. "It's one of those glowing penny boards!"

     "C-cool," I responded sheepishly, not sharing the same enthusiasm.

     Another few minutes passed by and Jaxon's presents were getting bigger than the last; more expensive and shiny. I got nervous when it came to my turn. My stomach churned and my eyes started to sting. I didn't want to cry, especially at my best friends birthday party and especially over something so stupid. He wouldn't like my present. At least not in comparison to everything else he already received.

     "Jeremiah?" Jaxon's lips tugged from ear to ear. 

     I was going to say that I left the present at home. Then I could buy him something else. But he looked so ready. His eyes were so earnest. I couldn't just not hand him something. With heavy arms and a painful thumping heart, I picked up the present.  I avoided eye contact and gave it to him.

     Unlike all the other presents, he carefully and ever so slowly unwrapped the gift, only adding to the sweat that formed by my temple. I gulped when he removed the crumpled newspapers and got a good look of the basketball. My face began to burn and I felt small in my chair. 

     "Is that it?" Someone whispered in disbelief.

     I shrunk at the eyes of the other kids.

     "No way!" Jaxon boomed, almost falling off his chair. He attempted to do one of the tricks dad did earlier on. Only Jaxon didn't actually know what he was doing. "How did you know I wanted one?"

     "You said you wanted to be a basketball player," I answered, finding his smile contagious.

     "Yeah." He laughed. "I did say that. Thank you, Jeremiah."

      Of course. We're best friends. 

     "Alright!" Coach blared through his megaphone. All the students came forward, surrounding Coach.  Some reluctant, like myself, and others somehow enthusiastic.

     I spared a glance over at Jaxon, watching as he conversed with Chad. He was holding onto a basketball, mindlessly tapping his fingers against it. At that moment I wondered if he still kept the basketball I gave him back in middle school. I quickly shook my head. If I start thinking about that I'm going to end up getting emotional again. Last time was incredibly embarrassing, to be perfectly honest. I don't want to go down that road again.

     "Captains are Jaxon and Chad, " Coach announced as the two of them went over to the front.

     At first, I stood with everyone and as the pace of choosing the members of each team escalated, I was alone. The last person to get chosen. I can't say I'm exactly astonished at the outcome as it is per usual, but it doesn't necessarily make me feel any better.  It was evident that neither one of them wanted me on their team and the feeling was entirely mutual but the hope behind it was futile. I would inevitably end up against one of them and with the other. That's just how the Jeremiah luck works. 

    I mean, I don't believe I'll ever see the day that Coach makes me captain. I sighed out loud as Chad narrowed his eyes at me, his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth opening and closing repeatedly, like the words he was about to utter physically pained him. I felt that. I frowned with a slight pout. I wish Jude had P.E. with me, but he works with the Track team during these times.

     "Jeremiah," Chad gritted through his teeth, breathing through his nostrils and if I wasn't so terrified I might have laughed.

     "What's so funny?" Chad asked, scrunching his nose up with distaste.

      Oops. Did I just laugh out loud?

     "N-no, nothing." I hurriedly waved my hands around as I walked next to the members of our team. "N-nothing at all."

     Chad simply raised an eyebrow and seemed like he didn't want to waste time and investigate my actions. Which I was appreciative of. But like any other circumstances, nothing goes without some sort of casualty or consequence. 

     See there's somehow always that one kid in P.E that takes it too seriously.

      And while on any other day I would find the situation amusing and at some point even a sight that can only be comprehended as shocking, it's difficult to have that sort of perspective when you're the victim of the serious P.E kid.

     Chad, well, he wasn't attempting to be subtle in any shape or form. His glare was pointed directly at me with a clenched jaw that was in dire need of release. He's going to hurt himself if he keeps that up. Despite my evident discomfort, he continued to focus his intense gaze on me. I rolled my eyes at his immature display of well...immaturity...? To be perfectly honest, I can't quite think of a synonym other than that and the fact that he's being completely immature.

     I'm sure if this was pre-powers me I'd be shrinking under his menacing stare, sweat would be dripping down my temple, and a nervous lump would gradually develop in my throat, forcing me to gulp it down. And maybe all of those were occurring at this very moment but the difference now is that I can't spare the time to think about all that.

     I was slowly getting over the fact that I was stuck on his team.

     "Blue team," Coach pointed to Chad, making him pass the blue jerseys to the rest of us.

     I groaned and trudged forward, not exactly excited to participate. Chad wasn't the only serious kid in P.E, Jaxon was as well. It might have had something to do with the fact that they were on two different teams. My theory is that Chad and Jaxon are feeling competitive and somehow Chad believes I'll destroy his plans on winning. I'm not saying he's wrong. I do, in fact, suck at sports. But I mean, he didn't have to be so theatrical about the whole ordeal. It's just a game and we were both unlucky to be on the same team.

     I'm not even sure what's worse, being on Chad's team or being against Jaxon's team. Either way, the predicament of both still stands.

     "Vincent," Chad muttered under his breath as he shoved the blue jersey to my chest. I looked up at him, eyes wide at the how close he was when threatening me. A shiver ran up my spine when he hissed. This feels too similar to the other day. "Stay back and don't bother playing."

     I took the jersey and mutely nodded. I watched as he handed the rest of the jerseys to the other members of the team, not expressing the animosity he greeted me with. I still don't understand what Chad has against me. It used to just be petty but now the air is tense around us. I think he genuinely hates me.

     The Coach's whistle blared, signaling the start of the game. I blinked, startled and quickly followed the rest of the students to the basketball court.

     I stayed put on the side, just as Chad instructed. I avoided any contact with the ball but acted as though I was really into the game. I didn't want Coach yelling at me and failing me because of how inactive I was being. Not passing P.E is ridiculous. 

     I must have been doing a stellar job because the next thing I knew the ball was thrown to me.

     Of course, I caught it.

     Of course.

     "Jeremiah! Are you kidding me?!" Chad yelled as the ball rolled to the out of bounds area.

     Clearly, I didn't catch it.

     I offered him a sheepish expression and held my hands up in surrender. "Sorry," I mouthed, pulling my lips up awkwardly.

    His eyes rolled so far back that I winced at the view. He breathed in through his nostrils and mumbled something while shaking his head. Oh, I'm so going to get it from him. I'll have to avoid him for the rest of the day.

     The game continued to be a mess. Apparently, no one on the team got the memo that I wasn't actually playing and Chad was growing more and more frustrated as the game commenced. At this rate, I'll have to avoid him for the rest of the week! I looked over at the scoreboard. 15 to 17 and were the ones losing. Okay, that's not too bad. I glanced over at the time. Alright, so we have one minute left. Not stressful at all.

     If I want to survive another day I have to make sure we win. If I recall correctly, we need a three-pointer shot. That's the one near the middle of the court, right? I think so. There's no way I can do that but if someone on the team is in that position I can make sure the ball goes in.

     "Pass it over!" Chad demanded. The other member quickly threw it to him. I watched as Chad got into the position and jumped, throwing the ball towards the hoop. I gaped at him, shocked at how well and fast he was. I shook my head, not allowing any further distractions and focused at the ball. The air was thick with anticipation as the ball rolled around the rim of the net.

     I smacked my lips together, squinting my eyes to see and raising my hand, prepared to push the ball in with some gravity manipulation. Before I could lift another finger the ball went in just as the clock went off.

     Huh. I smiled. He did it.

     Not realizing what I was doing, I turned to Chad and beamed, giving him a thumbs up. Maybe it was the relief of knowing I received one more day to live or maybe it was the lack of sleep in addition to the adrenaline pumping that made me act like that. He raised his eyebrows at me, giving me a strange look. I slowly dropped my hands. Why did I just do that? Why am I excited that we won? We're not friends.

    I went over to grab a cup of water, sensing a person approaching me from behind. I turned to see Coach. I smiled at him, trying to appear neutral. I even let out a long exhale to look tired. That way I could really seal the deal that I participated. 

     "Do a couple of laps," Coach said, escorting me off the court. "I saw you weren't really into the game."

     My smile immediately fell, my shoulders going slump at the thought of having to run.

     And here I thought I was a good actor or something.

     "Hey, Jeremiah!" Kyle ran next to me. "Coach is making you do laps too?"

     I nodded painfully.

     "Lucas too," he informed me and then pointed to Lucas who was wearing all black and talking to Coach. "He's obviously trying to finesse his way out."

     We watched as Coach strictly shook his head and folded his arms over his chest, not budging. The funny part was how Lucas was attempting to utilize his most infamous tactic, that being his glare, and still failing miserably.

     "And he obviously failed." Kyle chuckled as Lucas made his way over to us, not even hiding how fast he could run.

     Does he think that no one will make any connections to him and Dark Wonder?

     "Hey," Lucas said nonchalantly.

     Memories of last night suddenly appeared in my mind, forcing me to stifle a laugh. I can't believe he called me Tinkerbell. And I can't believe I got away with calling him Batman Wannabe.

     "Hi," I replied easily, a soft smile accompanying my greeting.

     Memories of the other day with Lucas appeared as well. Memories of him helping me out of the bathroom. I blushed, embarrassed and looked down as we ran.

     It was kinda strange. The way everything was turning out.

☫ * ☫ * ☫ * ☫

        The school labs aren't actually well funded despite the fact that so many important students are enrolled here. I feel as if that's sketchy in itself but that's just my take on it. It's a good thing it's lunchtime, though, so no one is here.

     "How am I going to do this?" I thought out loud, holding my chin in deep thought. 

     All I have to know is if they are the same substance. That way I know Dr. Robertson has some connection to this superdrug. Maybe he made it or maybe someone stole it. But we'll be one step ahead if we can compare the two. I assume most of this stuff is synthetic and probably not something a school lab could really handle. Thing is, should I attempt to identify the elements based on reactions? That feels sort of impossible. But then again, superpowers feel impossible too. I could turn the drug into a powder and then make it a liquid that way I can compare the two more efficiently. I don't know.

     Hmm.

     "Oh!" I snapped my fingers. "If I just--" I bent down, opening up the cabinet and reaching out for a bunsen burner, a stand, glass plate, and a couple of Erlenmeyer flasks. "And I'll need these." I slid the drawers open, grabbing a lighter, a clamp, and a couple of other scientific equipment. This is going to be an extensive experiment.

     I grinned, feeling the excitement.

     "Goggles, goggles, goggles," I paced around the room reiterating the word so I wouldn't lose my train of thought. I pulled on a white lab coat and gloves while looking around. "Where are the goggles?"

     I used my bird's eye view to scan multiple areas at once. Turning my head from side to side I managed to find a pair of goggles left on the counter.

     "Maybe after I'll do titration stuff," I muttered to myself half-jokingly while setting everything up. I just like doing titration. I went over to my backpack, taking out my earphones and mp3. I'm going to need music to do this properly. I smiled when Dancing Queen by ABBA began to blast into my ears. I laughed and sang along to the song under my breath as I went on with the experiment.

     I blew out a puff of air and crushed the drug into powder, separating a few bundles of them so I could do different trials and have more accurate results. I poured a reasonable amount of the 'evolutionary' liquid to different flasks, preparing everything for the actual experiment.

      "Now that will dissolve and we'll just have that go there." I held onto one flask, stirring the power with a bit of water. With my other hand, I turned on the bunsen burner and put one flask there to be heated. 

     "I wonder..." I whispered, grabbing a pencil and paper to record the reactions and a few theories. I glanced at the flasks and the change of color that the superdrug was undergoing. Its initial black appearance was turning to the color similar to the 'evolutionary' drug. "That's interesting."

     I increased the heat to the super drug, eyes widening at the bubbly reaction. "Okay, okay. Maybe that was too much. Sorry," I apologized to the drug. "Shoot!" I quickly fixed it and went forth as if I didn't just almost destroy everything. 

      This went on for a good amount of time. Me running around the lab to find the appropriate equipment and figure out different ways to manipulate the drugs. Surprisingly enough, this was working well. Only a couple of mishaps and spills and I did trip over my own feet at one point but that's irrelevant. Besides, the substance didn't get contaminated. So this is becoming a nice success. 

    I nodded my head to the music and wrote down everything I saw, whispering lyrics and playing with the drugs. 

     That's when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

     I immediately jumped, startled and overtaken by the new presence.

    "M-Mrs. Birch," I struggled to speak, the thumping of my heart reaching to my throat. "Hi?" 

     Think. Think. Think. 

     "Jeremiah Vincent!" Mrs. Birch shook her head, her tone harsh like she was going to scold me. "You amaze me, really." Why do I feel like she's not complimenting me? "You come late to my classes, sometimes you don't even show up or participate and here you are in my lab doing your own experiments."

     I audibly gulped.

     "You know how dangerous that is?" She asked me, remaining to look extremely disappointed with me.

    I'm slightly aware, yes. Had a couple of wild experiences with labs and all.

      "Y-yeah...?"

     She sighed and ran a hand down her face. "Want to at least tell me what you were doing?"

     "Um, well, uh, you see I--" I looked down at the floor, attempting to come up with something conceivable. "You know, h-how we have medicine?" Yeah, that's a good start. 

     "Yes," she answered, crossing her arms in an unimpressed manner.

     "I wanted to, um, know like, if, uh...you know, if--" I stammered, feeling my cheeks turn red. Heat began to creep up my neck. I rubbed the back of my neck and looked away. "If it were p-possible to...I don't know h-how to say this. Ugh," I groaned extra loud for theatrical purposes.

     I think that was detailed enough to not draw concern but understanding, yet also vague enough to not give anything away. Like I'm just a distraught teenager who doesn't know how to communicate. Essentially that is me.

     She gave me a look. Her lashes fluttering in disbelief and annoyance but there was something else too that Mrs. Birch was expressing. Something I wasn't able to comprehend fully.

     "You mean to tell me, that you, a high school student was genuinely intrigued and had a hypothesis so you snuck into the lab to conduct your own experiment?" She stared at me. "Is that it, Jeremiah?"

     If she didn't hate me already, she must truly hate me now.

     "S-something like that," I replied honestly.

     She didn't say anything for a while, only humming to herself. I didn't know what to make of it but I just can't get detention right now.

     "You know that's not allowed right?" 

     I nodded my head. Of course, it's not allowed. If they allowed no supervision while teenagers did experiments who'd know what would happen. I have a couple of ideas and none of them end peacefully. 

     "I'm sorry, Mrs. Birch," I rushed out my words. "I was scared to ask for permission. That I would get a no. So I...I didn't ask. But I'll clean this all up now. And I can make it up--"

     "What do you think about doing an honors project?" She smiled.

     I blinked, taken aback. "An h-honors what?"

☫ * ☫ * ☫ * ☫

     Tobe had his friends over today. Nico was here and Tom too. Layla already fell asleep and the boys were working on homework. 

     I sat with them in the dining room. They were all helping each other out with algebra problems. I felt myself growing proud when Tobe was showing his older friends how to do a problem. He's really progressing.

     "What?" Tobe looked at me, offering me the infamous judging expression that he likes to give me.

    "Nothing," I brushed off. "I'm just proud of you."

     I raised both eyebrows at his reaction, confused. His eyes had gone wide and he was turning red. His jaw went slack and his eyes immediately avoided mine. Why was he so shocked with that comment?

     "Don't say things like that," Tobe mumbled and shyly turned away.

     Wait is he embarrassed? 

     I gave a smile in return and nodded, respecting his wishes. "So, you're going to tell me what you told Jude yesterday?"

    His face somehow turned even redder. "No! Stop talking to me, Jeremiah."

    I chuckled and shook my head. I'll find out some way or another. For now, I have other things to focus on. 

     I gathered up all the material and results from the lab. I read and reread each note I had down. Feeling the anxiety built up at the information. An uncomfortable pit in my stomach began to build up, making my heartbeat accelerate. As I continued to study everything the conclusion was beginning to become undeniable.

     Dr. Robertsons is definitely behind the making of the super drugs.

________________________________________

A/N

Heyyyy humans!

I miss you T_T. I just wanna say a quick apology before we catch up. I'm sorry for taking so long. Like shiz has been real and all but like, I dunno why it took so long!?!?!?

I had to get everyone I know to reread this for me and help me out so I don't screw us over, you know? Lol, things are happening guys. Things are happening. Did you like the chapt? I hope you did ^_^.  Chads a basic mf™ and Jer is a subtle sassy dramatic cutie™. AND DR. ROBERTSON DRAMA ENSUES. Ahaha so what do you guys think will happen next? Share your thoughts? Motivate me to hurry and update again XD. Also, disclaimer: this is fake comic book science don't hate me. I barely got through my last chem class. It was a blast and me and the proff were best friends but that's beside the point. I obviously can't write science rn.

Mrs. Birch lowkey impressed.

:) Fun fact, the party scene happened in real life but mine didn't turn out as nice as his and I didn't give a basketball. Now you know. But Jer is a real chapt aint he? Also, I watched Rocketman with my grandma. lolololololololo I like avoided eye contact at the inappraiate scenes. It was a moment.

STORYTIME: so you know, how like, in wattpad there's that 2013 ridiculous trope where like the mc girl's family leaves for vacation and she stays at home with a cute boy? Lol, ya'll not gonna believe how my summer started. It's a twist of that. Essentially I'm taking summer classes and my family went on vacation. So for my case, it's me home alone with my three bros cuz they didn't go. As a result, that also means their friends are around. And I kinda feel like it's wattpad 2013 all over again. Ahaha, good shiz, except it's not bec we have to be independent and take care of the house. And here's the thing. We ran out of toilet paper and that's not good. That's a serious problem. So when I was at college, I was in the bathroom genuinely debating the ethics of taking a toilet paper roll bec I'm too broke. I was there for a good while and went with the decision to not take it. But what do you think? Is that stealing? 

#theadultlifeoncrack

Please vote, comment, share, smile, live life!

P.S: if you have any tips, ideas, suggestions please pm me, that would be awesome. Any idea is good because I could just base a chapter off of it and update quicker ;-). So if there's a certain thing that you want to happen just comment it!

Love ya'll <3

Yours truly,

A N O N Y M O U S