"Okay, students, all the equipment you need for this experiment are on your respective benches," Mr Walker drones in a monotonous voice that screams 'I hate my job someone please do me a favor and put a bullet to my brain'. "Read the instructions printed out for each pair and do the experiment. And please, try not to cause an explosion. I don't want to deal with the paperwork again."
"Aren't you gonna put on your goggles?" Juliette asks me as she eagerly sets up our materials.
"Nah, I don't do goggles. Why would I want to cover up these gorgeous eyes?" I wiggle my eyebrows at her.
She picks up the goggles on the bench and shoves them on my face before I can react.
"Exactly. I want to see those eyes for a long time, so I'd rather not risk letting them get blinded."
I scrunch my nose up in displeasure, and she giggles.
I place my elbow on the bench and lean my head on my hand, gazing at her intently as she works.
"I wouldn't have taken you for such a science nerd."
"What do you mean?"
"The way you do all these experiments with such zeal I would think you were a little kid opening their presents on Christmas. You're a nerdy girl, it's cute."
"Pfft, I don't get that excited."
I drop the piece of sodium into the prepared tank of water and it immediately begins to dart on the surface of the liquid, fizzling, producing tiny sparks. Almost automatically her mouth falls open slightly as she gasps and moves in closer to watch with wide eyes as if it's some kind of magic show.
I chuckle. "Point proven."
Suddenly an idea hits me. "You know... if you like this, there's somewhere I can bring you that I think you'll love. Are you free after school today?"
***
"Sodium boats?" She looks at me with wide questioning eyes.
"They're like speedboats, but without an engine. They're powered by a thin layer of sodium coating the base of the boat, which reacts with the water to propel the boat forward. A product of the reaction is sodium hydroxide, which neutralizes acidity in the lake; an unorthodox way of countering the problem of acid rain in the area, so it's eco-friendly," I explain as we walk, hands interlocked.
The twinkle in her eye as she listens reveals her intrigue, but she pulls an uneasy face. "Is it safe?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a merry-go-round... But what's life without a bit of thrill, right?" I gently squeeze her small hand in mine. "I used to come here every month, and I'm still here standing in one piece. The choice is completely yours, I'll respect your decision. Just say the word and we can go back—"
"Let's do it."
"Really?"
She nods enthusiastically, smiling widely, that twinkle in her eye changing into a mischievous gleam. "I've been living too much on the safe side. I just wanna say 'damn you' to the consequences and throw my inhibitions into the wind, do something adventurous."
I stop for a while, just looking at her and the radiant smile across her face stretching from ear to ear, pulling her eyes into two crinkled crescents.
"Why? You having second thoughts now? Chickening out, Crawford?" She narrows her eyes at me, though the smile stays.
I give a low chuckle, pulling her tightly to my side before hooking my arm between her head and shoulder, leaning in to brush my nose against her cheek. She shrieks, but then starts giggling uncontrollably. It's probably the most beautiful sound I've heard. "Just blown away by how amazing you are, ally," I mumble against her skin, feeling her shiver slightly in my hold, and plant a kiss on her cheek before releasing her.
We continue walking, and when I turn to look at her she's chewing on her bottom lip, attempting to rub away the rosy blush at her cheeks with the back of her hand, but making in worse instead. I laugh and pull her hand away from her face, lacing my fingers through hers.
I see our destination not too far away: a small roofed hut made of streaked square tiles of wood of different brown tints, surrounding a red door separated into two parts, the top half folded open. Resting in the frame, with his arm perched on the small ledge extended from the upper surface of the bottom half of the door, is a man in a blue plaid shirt.
When he spots me, he lifts the hat on the top of his head, exposing his few sparse brown strands combed over to emulate a full head of hair.
"Stephan Nite! I was wondering when I'd see you again."
"Hey, Lance."
"And who's the beautiful girl? You've never brought anyone here before, Mr Nite."
"She's..."
"Josephine, Cage."
I look at her, lifting my eyebrows. She doesn't look back at me, rocking on the heels of her feet, seeming slightly nervous.
"What a lovely name to suit a lovely lady."
"One boat, two vests," I cut in.
"Coming right up," Lance nods to me," Mr Nite," and her, "Ms Cage." He closes the upper half of the door, disappearing behind it.
"You sure have a knack for making old people fall in love with you, Mr Nite."
"Also babies. It's the in between that I have trouble with. Don't you agree, Ms Cage?" I give her a pointed look.
She presses her lips together, appearing to be having an internal battle within herself. After a while, she finally speaks up, "You're not the only one who can use an alias." With that, she quickly walks off, in the wrong direction, I might add.
I stand in my spot for a few seconds, pondering upon her peculiar words and actions. I shake my head, and quickly go after her before she unknowingly falls into a ditch or something, knowing her track record with unfortunate situations.
I help her slide the orange vest over her body and buckle it twice in the front.
"You know I'm not a toddler, I can do this myself."
"Of course you can, but I want an excuse to be close to you," I say, bending down so we're eye-level, our noses just a few inches apart, "so I can do this." I lean forward quickly and peck her on her lips before she has time to react. Her eyes widen, and that deep crimson blush creeps back on her skin. While she's still in this dumbstruck state, I ruffle her hair lightly, grabbing her hand limp by her side before she has a chance to gather her senses and uses it as a weapon against me.
I get on the boat suspended a foot over the water first, which shakes slightly under my weight, then I hold out my hand for Juliette and ease her carefully onto the boat as well. Once we're both safely seated, I reach over to the side for the red button on the dashboard that releases the boat with a click, and place my hands on the steering wheel.
As soon as the boat hits the lake, a hissing sound can be heard as the water at the base of the boat begins to foam and spit up bubbles of spray, throwing the boat forward.
"Hold on," I tell her, and she immediately grasps for my arm, giving a high-pitched yell as the boat speeds up and races away choppily on the surface of the water, swerving and bouncing rapidly every which way though maintaining the general direction I steer it in.
After a while her hold on my arm loosens a little, then she releases it completely, throwing her hands in the air, sending a loud holler into the sky. She flips her head to the side and looks at me, silky tresses flying, painting a ray of sunshine across her features.
The most beautiful smile can't be put into words. It gives a feeling inside you that starts off as a warm ball in your chest, growing, expanding, spreading throughout your entire body until it feels like it'll spill out from your fingertips. It's addictive, like a drug, and you'd do anything to simply witness it one more time.
I find myself grinning back stupidly. I can't help myself, my cheeks automatically pulling up, like an idiot, unable to ease back down, but at this point I can't bring myself to care either.
Suddenly the hissing sound intensifies, moments before a bright spark crackles and bursts on the left side of the boat, tossing it roughly to the right. I tense my grip on the steering wheel and jerk left until the edge of the boat slaps back down on the water, reverting back to its milder irregular bouncing.
"Are you okay?" I ask her. She nods, still smiling, seeming oblivious to the potentially dangerous situation we were just in.
This has happened only once before. Albert explained to me that most of the time the sodium plate isn't one-hundred-percent pure. It's fine if the other metals present in the plate are inert to water, but if there are pockets of potassium, which has an explosive reaction in water, it can cause the boat to go berserk.
The boat appears to be back to normal, so I continue steering, trying to maintain a cool composure so she doesn't get worried, hoping she doesn't notice how my knuckles on the steering wheel have turned white. I keep my ears peeled for any other strange sounds coming from the boat hinting at another potassium pocket in the plate.
Sure enough the loud hissing sound starts up again, and this time, it escalates quickly, and numerous smaller sparks begin to consecutively go off at the front of the boat. I have a bad feeling about this.
I twist my body toward her and ask urgently, "Do you trust me?"
"Huh?" She looks confused at my sudden question.
"Do you trust me?" I repeat, looking deep into her eyes with my wide desperate ones.
"Yes," she utters, instantly followed by my words, "Good, now close your eyes and hold your breath," as I lunge forward, grabbing her by the torso, and leap off the tail of the boat.
There's a loud splash as we plunge into the cold lake. With her wrapped up in my arms, I swim as hard as I can to get the maximum distance between us and the boat.
Only when I hear the boom from a distance away do I stop and emerge from the water, both of us gasping for breath. We surface just in time to see the boat flip in the air before landing upside down with a huge impact in the water, remnant sparks flickering a few times before dying down.
I still have her pressed tightly to my chest, and I gingerly pull away, praying that she didn't get hurt.
But when I peer down at her, she's... laughing.
Shit. She must've hit her head on the back of the boat and now she's gone delirious. Oh no. What if she incurred brain damage and lost her memory? What if she forgot our past few months together and goes back to having feelings for Blackwood? No, no. Please, Juliette, don't do this to me. I can handle you as a wacko in a crazy house, I'd come visit you every day or even admit myself, but if I have to see you and Mer-man starting a fairytale love story I think I'll actually drown myself.
"That was so fun!" she exclaims before hooking her arms around my neck and pulling me back into a tight embrace, "Thank you, Mr Nite, for giving me my thrill, making me feel alive."
She molds our lips together, moving one hand to the nape of my neck, pulling me closer. The kiss is passionate but short, as she gingerly pulls away after a few seconds, our foreheads touching, staring into my eyes with her hazel that have flecks of green dancing across them.
I look down at her in shock.
Okay, so maybe she didn't hit her head, since she seems to be pretty much fine. But she's... thanking me? I made her feel alive by nearly killing her?
Trying to ignore the uneasiness gnawing at my stomach, I force a stiff smile on my lips.
I make sure she's safe and warm wrapped in a fluffy towel in the limo before shutting the door, waving at her, and heading back to the boat shop.
I slam the red door shut behind me, panting as water drips from my clothes onto the wooden flooring. Lance emerges from the back room and takes in my appearance.
"Did you decide to go for a dip, Mr Nite?"
"You gave us a faulty boat, Lance."
His face turns a pale shade that shouldn't be possible on his skin tone.
"It's my mistake, Mr Nite. Mike's been off, and I've been having trouble doing the work of two men, so I must've been careless when checking the plates—"
"Why this one?" I cut him off in a robotic voice.
"I'm sorry?"
"Why this boat, out of all the boats? Why this time, out of all the times I've come alone? You know I don't care much for my own safety, but she..." I run my hand through my disheveled hair, tensing my jaw. "She could've gotten hurt, and then I don't know what I'd do to myself."
I take a deep breath to collect my emotions, looking back at Lance with stony eyes. "If someone like her had come alone and didn't know any better, they would've capsized with the boat, and possibly gotten trapped under it, knocked out, drowned..."
He fumbles with the cash register. "Here, I'll give you a full refund."
"I don't need your money, or your explanation," I say coldly, shooting him a withering glare. "I just need you to make sure this doesn't happen again, to anyone."
I don't wait for his reply before storming out.
It's getting late, and colder. The chilly wind bites across my skin, but all I feel is surging hot blood pumping through my veins.
Deep inside I know that the anger I'm projecting at Lance is actually misdirected. The person I'm really angry at is myself.
It's my fault she got on that boat. It's my fault that she nearly got put in danger because of it. If she had gotten hurt, because of me, I don't know how I'd be able to live with myself.
I look at her profile through the limo window.
She's my light, the only light in my god-awful life, and I'd nearly shattered her.