Chemical Attraction (Student/Teacher Relationship)

Chemical Attraction Chapter 7

Chapter 7

At the start of the next period, the technicians arrived with the practical work. I remembered doing the experiment myself and I chuckled. It hadn't ended well and visions of concentrated sulphuric acid all over my old classroom danced across my eyes as I reminisced. My sniggering was ended abruptly as a shadow fell across my desk and I glanced up to see Mr Cooper staring at me with a bemused expression. My heart skipped a beat at the sight.

"Having fun?" he asked, his eyes twinkling with amusement. I guessed me sitting alone at a desk and laughing at apparently nothing was seriously weird behaviour. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind.

"Absolutely." I replied with a wicked grin which he slowly returned. He plonked himself back down in his wheelie chair and twirled around in a circle, before coming to rest with his elbows on my desk, chin cupped in his hands. I laughed even harder at his antics; he was just like a little kid!

"Sorry, I love this chair. It puts me in such a good mood!" he admitted cheerfully. "So, how far have you got with the reading? Need anything explained?"

"Err, yes actually. I don't really get why increasing the pressure increases the rate of reaction. The book doesn't explain it very well." I gazed at him expectantly.

"Oh, that's quite simple really! Okay, imagine a football field with ten people running around as fast as they possibly could with their eyes tightly shut. Got that?"

I raised my eyebrows quizzically at his analogy; this guy sure had a unique teaching style. "Yeah, I got that."

"Ok, so even though they can't see, because the space is so big and there are only ten of them, they wouldn't bump into each other that often, right?"

"I would hope not," I smirked. "It could get a little nasty."

"Exactly! But in this situation, we want them to collide." He smiled evilly while I looked at him with mock horror.

"You're really quite sadistic, you know."

"I know." He winked at me and I blushed for about the millionth time. "So, being the criminal mastermind that I secretly am, I abduct these ten unfortunate people and put them in this classroom and order them to do the same for my own amusement. This time, as the space is so much smaller, they would bang into each other much more and probably get horrific injuries, right?"

"I'm starting to get a little apprehensive here." I teased him. "Are you sure you're allowed to be teaching us, considering you have such abnormal and scary fantasies?"

"You like my fantasies really. I can see that secretly you appreciate my way of thinking. Anyway, the same principle applies to gases. Increasing the pressure simply means you have the same amount of gas particles in a smaller space, so they collide more frequently and therefore the rate of reaction increases. Comprende?"

My eyes lit up with understanding. "Yeah, I get it now! Thanks!"

"No problemo. Happy to help."

"You didn't really need to freak me out with your creepy desires though." I shuddered theatrically. "I'll have nightmares tonight!" My words tumbled out before I could stop them and I inhaled sharply. It was just a joke but it was dangerous territory, considering what happened last night.

"Ah, but at least this way, you will never forget how it works." A thoughtful expression settled on his face, he had clearly picked up on my choice of words.

'Damn.'

He shifted uncomfortably and leaned in even closer towards me than he had been earlier. He was so near that I could smell his aftershave, and I felt slightly light-headed. He stared earnestly into my eyes, and I cowered away, avoiding his gaze. His eyes were such a warm brown and incredibly caring, and I knew if I looked into them my resolve would be lost forever.