Chapter 5 - After class

"That's it for today." The professor dropped the chalk in the tray and dusted off his hands. "Please read the next two chapters for our next class."

Joanna observed a cold smile on Professor Johnson's face, which she found intriguing. Was he perhaps just as bad at smiling as herself, emitting the same cold aura as she had been struggling with her entire life? But she supposed he had never had any issues with it. It was mostly women, who were told to smile more. Apparently, smiling wasn't that important as a man?

"Joanna?" Bailey put her hand on Joanna's shoulder, which pulled Joanna out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering if I should wait for you so we could walk to lab together?"

"That would be wonderful – actually, why don't we go introduce ourselves to our instructor?" Joanna suggested with a smile.

"Together?" Bailey asked glaring towards George, who was slowly making his way towards them. The room had almost emptied by then. "But he asked to talk to you. Are you sure, you don't want to be alone with him?"

"No, it is just fine. Come on." Joanna gathered her stuff and dragged Bailey with her out the row of chairs and down to George.

George had a crooked smile on his lips when he saw Joanna approached him with Bailey in tow after her.

"Joanna Charleston, it is good to see you again. And who is your new friend?" George's eyes moved away from Joanna for a brief moment before he looked back on her.

"I'm Bailey, Mr Petersen," Bailey said whilst staring at the floor.

"Any friend of Joanna can call me George," he said. "Now, Joanna, I was wondering if I could take you up on your offer of being study partners?"

Bailey looked up from the floor and moved her head from Joanna to George to Joanna to George and then back at Joanna again. Joanna wondered if she wouldn't risk causing pain in her neck and shoulder muscles.

"That would be great, I'm on the lookout for study partners," Joanna answered before thinking. Oh no, she couldn't be alone with him that often. It would drive her mad to sit so close to him. To look at his perfect smile. She would have to make sure their relationship was kept entirely professional somehow. She improvised a plan in a matter of seconds and turned towards Bailey. "Would you like to join our study group? I assure you George is an excellent student." Joanna looked at George out of the corner of her eye. He better be an excellent student, she thought, she wouldn't like to spend her time studying with someone far less qualified than herself. She scolded herself for being snobbish, but it would simply be no good to surround oneself with people of bad influence.

"Study? With you?" Bailey asked, doing the same motion with her head as before, looking from Joanna to George to Joanna and… "are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" Joanna said, nodding eagerly.

George lifted one eyebrow. "Of course," he said.

"Well, alright then," Bailey answered, "I will be happy to join you."

Great! Joanna thought. This way she could stay focused whilst studying as she and George wouldn't be alone.

"Let's meet this weekend at my place. How about Sunday?" Joanna suggested.

George and Bailey nodded, and they all shared their contact information and addresses.

"You live in an apartment?" George asked.

"Yes – a rather boring building itself, but the apartment is nice."

George smiled, "I live in a small house downtown. If I'm not mistaken this address is uptown?"

Joanna nodded, "just past the big green water tower."

"See you Sunday then – I have a class to get to, and I think Cameron is waiting to introduce you to the labs." He made a slight bow and walked off.

"Girl!" Bailey laughed when he was out of earshot. "He's totally into you. Why on earth didn't you grab the chance to be alone with him?"

Joanna laughed nervously, "well, no. I can't. I have to focus on my studies."

"I bet he will help you focus on your studies," she said and mockingly.

Joanna shook her head and laughed earnestly. "Come on. Let's get going. We don't wanna be late for lab."

Cameron walked into the lab with a massive grin on his face. He looked out over the group studying 'Mixed Sciences' and clapped his hands together causing a sound that might have broken the sound barrier.

"Attention everyone. It is with great delight, that I can introduce you to the labs. You will spend much of your time here, so please familiarize yourself with the rules quickly." Cameron turned around and started waving his hands around as he explained."Take a look at the lab - we have the coats and security glasses and so on over here. You know the drill. The different equipment in the closets down in the back. The computers are connected at all stations, but you will have to couple the needed equipment up to it yourself every time. And of course, over here we have the chambers with process ventilation systems." Cameron walked around the lab as he spoke and showed off the different equipment.

"And now I will leave you for your lab instructors: Jane and William." Cameron made a slight nod with his head to Jane and William before leaving the lab.

Jane and William instructed them in the rules of the lab before letting them explore the workings of the machines and conducting a simple experiment.

"When do you think we will get to do real, groundbreaking experiments?" Joanna asked Bailey whilst they put on their lab coats.

"I figure it will take a while. They must be certain we won't destroy the lab or hurt ourselves."

"Well, we're not idiots are we." Joanna laughed, put on her protective glasses and set up the computer with the correct settings.

"I would like to think not," Bailey answered, shaking her head and smiling. "This should certainly be an easy exercise."

Joanna and Bailey had quickly set up their experiment and all there was left to do was wait.

Joanna stared at the liquid they were observing, keeping a close eye on the color of it so that when it changed, she could quickly stop the titration. If all went according to theory, it would turn reddish in about... she looked to see how far it had come. It would still take a while.

"He seems very friendly and energetic, doesn't he? And handsome," Bailey spoke out in the air, without looking away from the liquid. "Isn't he just adorable?" Bailey asked as she stared at their experiment.

"Mhmm, who is?" Joanna brought her eyebrows closer together, as she couldn't think of who Bailey was talking about.

"Cameron of course. You know, the student in the blue shirt, who has been showing us around the university?"

"Of course, I know Cameron," Joanna answered and pushed Bailey gently away, making sure not to put their experiment at risk. "And yes, he does seem quite... enthusiastic." Joanna wasn't entirely certain if she meant this as a compliment or an insult. She didn't find the trait that intriguing in a person, but she did appreciate it in people, whom she didn't have to be acquainted with.

"Isn't he just..." Bailey put her chin in her hands, cupped her cheeks, and started dreamingly at the liquid.

The liquid turned red right at that moment.

"Wow," Bailey said, and Joanna turned off the titration.

"What do you intend to do about it?" Joanna asked as she noted down the numbers for their experiment on a piece of paper and then put it into the schemes on the computer for further calculations.

"Intend to do about...?" Bailey lifted her head and looked at Joanna. "Well nothing, I must admit. I hadn't planned to do anything."

For a moment Joanna wondered if maybe Bailey and she had more in common than she first suspected. Perhaps Bailey too was ambitious and would distance herself from love to achieve

great academic recognition? "Do you have something else or someone else to spend your time on?"

"That isn't the problem," Bailey answered. "I just don't have the courage."

"Tell you what," Joanna said, "he will be back after this class to see how we did... and then I will help you," Joanna promised Bailey, though she had no idea what she would do, or even why she did this for Bailey. It wasn't like she didn't have enough problems of her own. She had a feeling that this plan would go horribly, horribly, wrong.