CHAPTER FIVE:
DUSTIN'S NEW PET
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LIZ WAS CONFUSED once she sat down in her regular seat and didn't see brown curls in front of her. It was strange but she just assumed that Dustin was sick or just woke up late. The door opened and in came Max, which made Liz's eyes light up. She smiled at Max as she walked in and Max smiled back at her. Mike lightly hit her arm, and she looked at him as he gave her an annoyed look, "What?" He just shook his head.
As class started, Liz put her head in her hands as she listened to what Mr. Clarke was doing, and talking about as he used to the projector. There was picture of a human skull on it.
"The case of Phineas Gage is one of the greatest medical curiosities of all time. Phineas was a railroad worker in 1848 who had a nightmarish accident. A large iron rod was driven completely through his head." Mr. Clarke explains, using a marker to draw a line through the skull. "Phineas miraculously survived. He seemed fine. And physically, yes, he was. But his injury resulted in a complete change to his personality. So much so that friends that knew him started referring to him as No longer Gage. At the time, this was known as the American Crowbar Case. Although it wasn't a–"
Liz jumps slightly as the door gets slammed open by Dustin who runs into the room, panting, "I am so sorry, Mr. Clarke. Really, I'm so sorry. Please continue with the class. Don't mind me. Really, continue, please."
"Although it wasn't a crowbar, it was a rod, as I said." Mr. Clarke continues.
Dustin turns around and the group leans forward to hear him better, "We have to meet. All of us. At lunch, AV Club."
"Why?" Mike questions.
"I have something that you won't believe." Dustin explains. The group nods and they go back to listening to Mr. Clarke, except for Dustin who proceeded to mouth to Max what they were doing at lunch so she could join. Liz almost didn't want Max to join them, but not for the same reason as Mike. She doesn't want Max to get tangled up in the things that happened to them last year. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if Max got hurt because of it.
"Dustin!" Mr. Clarke scolded.
"Yes, my lord?" He questions, turning back to the front of the room.
"Would you care to join the class now?" Mr. Clarke questions.
"Please, yes!" Dustin says, getting his book out of his backpack.
"The case of Phineas Gage."
"Phineas Gage."
"Page 104."
"104? 104."
"Focus."
"Focusing. Focusing." Dustin mumbles, opening his textbook. Liz smiles at him as she turns her attention back to Mr. Clarke.
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Once lunch rolled around, Liz started walking straight to the AV Room, not even going towards the cafeteria. She runs her hand through her hair, and wonders what it is that Dustin has to show them. A hand touching her shoulder makes her jump slightly but she smiles once she sees the familiar redhead, "H—Hey Max."
"Hey, Liz." She smiles. Liz loved her smile, but she hardly ever smiled around the boys, unless she was looking at Liz. "You going to the AV room?"
"Yeah." Liz answers, a small blush trailing up her neck, which she desperately tried to ignore. "Wait... are you?"
"Yeah, Dustin invited me." Max answers. She notices Liz's nervous face, and puts on a confused one. "What's wrong?"
"It's just... whatever Dustin wants to show us probably isn't going to be cool or fun... so... maybe you should just go to lunch instead." Liz suggests, trying to get Max to not come. Liz wanted to be friends with Max, just friends, but she doesn't want Max to get tangled up in everything involving the Upside-Down and Eleven.
"Trust me, whatever Dustin has to show us is going to be a million times better than sitting in that lunch room alone." Max says, chuckling slightly. Liz sighs, not realizing that Max still didn't have any other friends. She smiles at Max and they continue walking to the AV room.
They finally get there and Liz opens the door causing Dustin to sigh, "Finally! Why took you guys so long? Lock the door."
Liz lets Max in before shutting the door and locking it as Dustin requested. She walked over to the table that everyone was crowded around and stood between Max and Will.
"Okay so, the thing that is in this box was found by me in my trash, and could possibly be a new scientific discovery." Dustin explains before clicking the button to open the box making the group peer over the table to look in it. Liz's eyes widen at the lizard creature, but she has a bad feeling that it's not what it seems.
"His name is d'Artagnan." Dustin informs. He puts his hand in the box, and picks up the creature, holding it in his hands. He smiles at it. "Cute, right?"
"D'Artagnan?" Mike questions, confused about the name.
"Dart for short." Dustin states.
"And he was in your trash?" Max questions, making Liz furrow her brows.
Dustin nods, "Foraging for food."
"You wanna hold him?" Dustin asks Max.
"No, no." Max shakes her head. Dustin tells her that it's fine, and that he doesn't bite. He holds out his hands and forces Dart into Max's hands. "I don't want to–Oh, God, he's slimy!"
She quickly turns to Liz who shakes her head, but Dart gets put into her hands anyway. She cringes, and quickly passes it onto Lucas.
"Ugh, he's like a living booger." Lucas cringes, passing it onto Will.
"Ugh, oh, God!" Will exclaims. He gives it to Mike who moves his hands up towards his face to get a better look at Dart.
"What is he?" Mike questions.
"My question exactly." Dustin states with a smile. He grabs a stack of books from his backpack, all of them about lizards and reptiles, and sets them on the table. "At first, I thought it was some type of Pollywog."
"Pollywog?" Max questions.
"It's another word for tadpole." Dustin explains. Liz put her hands on the table, and leans her weight on them, accidentally touching Max's hand. Both girls look at each other and Liz's cheeks redden slightly, not admitting to herself that she loves the feeling of Max's hand. Liz pulls her hand away slightly, but smiles once Max's hand touches hers once more. "A tadpole is the larval stage of a toad–"
"I know what a tadpole is." Max informs him.
"All right, then you know that most tadpoles are aquatic, right?" Dustin asks, making Liz nod. "Well, Dart, he isn't. He doesn't need water."
"Yeah, but aren't there nonaquatic Pollywogs?" Lucas questions.
"Terrestrial Pollywogs? Yes. Two to be exact." Dustin states. He opens one of the books to a page that he marked. "Indirana semipalmata, and the Adenomera andreae. One's from India, one's from South America. So how did one end up in my trash?"
"Maybe some scientists brought it here, and it escaped?" Max guesses.
"Do you guys see that?" Mike questions, looking at Dart. Liz leans over and looks at Dart. "It looks like something is... moving inside of it."
The group look at Dart and Liz moves the light right over him, so they can see better. This only leads to Dart screeching loudly, causing everyone to gasp. Liz jumps back as she hears it, and Dustin quickly catches Dart before he can jump off the table, "It's okay, it's okay. I got you, little guy. I know you don't like that." Dustin looks up at the group. "And there's another thing. Reptiles, they're cold-blooded. Ectothermic, right? They love heat, the sun. Dart hates it, it hurts him."
"So, if he's not a Pollywog or a reptile..." Liz starts.
"Then I've discovered a new species." Dustin smiles, as he holds Dart.
Liz glances at Will who hasn't spoken a word during the whole time they've been in the room. She watches as his eyes widen as he continues to stare at Dart, as if he's realizing something. He looks like he's almost remembering something horrible. She reaches over to touch him and ask if he's okay, until the bell rings, signaling that lunch is over. Will jumps at the sound, and the group starts to exit the room.
"We gotta show him to Mr. Clarke." Lucas says as they walk out of the room.
"No! What if he steals my discovery?" Dustin panics.
"He's not gonna steal your discovery." Mike tells him.
"You know, I'm thinking about calling it Dustonious pollywogus." Dustin states, making Liz chuckle before he turns to Max. "What do you think?"
"I think you're an idiot." Max laughs.
"You know, when I become rich and famous for this one day, don't come crawling back to me, saying, Oh, my God, Dustin, I'm so sorry for being mean to you back in 8th grade. Oh, my God." Dustin mocks Max in a weird voice causing Max to laugh and roll her eyes. Liz smiled at the sound, but she was still worried. Worried about what made Will so scared in there, and worried for Max's safety involving whatever the hell Dart was.
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A/N:
[ 1581 WORDS ]
fifth chapter!!!
i love this book so much and i'm shipping
max and liz so hard!!