Mad Science/Club (Alyssa) 2

From Create Your Own Story

You decide to lower your hand. Barrie does too, as well as one of the other kids. But the other two raise theirs. Allison counts the hands.

"It's decided then. Our class mascot is a dragon. Okay, anyone who wants to can draw a dragon for tomorrow. We'll vote on the pictures then, and the best one is our mascot image. For now, it's off to your first class."

You suffer through the boring normal-paced learning of your Math, English, and Social Studies classes. But after that it's fourth period, Club Period!

Each student has been allowed to pick a topic for "self-directed study". This is kind of like a class, but the students work together to learn, and teachers are only there to be a resource. Rather than a class, they call it a "club", and it can be in just about any field where five or more students could be found with a common interest. You took Variant Science as your first choice, and apparently so did enough other people. That meant that in fourth period you came down to the sub-basement, room B201.

There are a couple dozen other kids in the room, from all grade levels. They're mostly boys, but there are a few other girls here. You spot Barrie from home room; as soon as he recognizes you he heads over.

"Hey! Good to see you, fellow Mad Scientist!"

"Mad Scientist? I thought this was Variant Science."

"It is, but the seniors call it Mad Science; it's a joke. Did you do anything interesting with VS? I launched my little brother's tricycle into the next county - it took a week to find it!"

That was good. "Not bad. I made a death ray to shoot down mockingbirds. The stupid things scream all morning. I'm Alyssa, by the way."

"Trevor."

Taylor runs in, out of breath. "God this place is hard to find. I just barely made it."

"Just in time, Emmie." Trevor turns to you. "Emmie, this is Alyssa. Alyssa, this is Emily Taylor, my girl. Come on, let's sit together." He finds three empty chairs and sits down in the middle one. Emily smiles and sits on the opposite side of Trevor from you.

A few seconds later the Teacher Rep arrives. It's Allison. Every male eye in the room is riveted on her; some of the female eyes too. You glance over at Trevor in case he's unnerved by the desk-thumping to come, and notice him glancing over at you. He blushes slightly and turns to look at Allison. If Emily really is 'his girl', things are going to get complicated.

"Hello again to you Sophs and Seniors, and welcome to our new crop of bright young freshmen!" She punctuates it with a desk slap. "It's great to see so many interested in Variant Science, or as we prefer to call it ... Mad Science!" A flash of light goes off behind her, accompanied by a low rumble of thunder.

"If you're continuing an old project, I need your updated plan. If you're starting a new project, I'll need a brief summary of what you intend to do and how you intend to do it. It's probably best for you freshmen if you join up with a senior student for a few classes to help you get the hang of the equipment, but that choice is yours. Snap to it!"

"It'd probably be good to watch the seniors for a bit." Trevor was very rational. Not you. An idea for a project is already forming in your head.

• You want to build a time machine.
• You want to turn lead into non-radioactive gold.
• You want to create anthropomorphic animal servants.