Infinite

Bundle of Stars- Part 3

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I jerk my head out of the container of water, spraying it everywhere with my hair. The crew I am helping out right now is testing the effects of a new eye wear for potential encounters with water on another planet. It's a reach project, but still provides beneficial data for technological designs coupled with water.

"Hey, Clarke, I need you for a minute." Cooper grins at me from the doorway. I can hardly see him because the goggles are starting to drip water into my eyes.

I pull them off and rub my face on the towel I had resting in my lap.

"Okay, one sec," I say as I stand up to dry my hair off. I reach up to my head with the towel as I walk towards Cooper and then quickly shake my head like a dog, covering him with drops of water.

"I deserved that!" he yelps as he runs into the hall., holding his hands up in surrender.

"What do you need my help with?" I ask him through a nose laugh as I rub my neck with the towel.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot that I had somethin' to tell ya before I was drenched,'' Cooper teases as he wipes his face off on his shirt. "Rachel's here."

I freeze and dart my head to stare at him.

"What? Why? Is she okay?" My heart starts to pound as I'm overcome with worry. She didn't call me at lunch today, and I don't know if she had to stay home sick or not.

"Yeah, man, she's fine. She has something to show you." Cooper grins at me mischievously as he starts to walk down the hall.

"Hey, where are you going?" I call out after him.

"Just follow me, Clarke!" He starts sprinting before he rapidly turns a corner.

"Coop!" I weave through people carrying folders of lab results and carts full of equipment as I chase Cooper around the Space Center. It feels like he is taking an unnecessarily long route, probably just to mess with me.

I finally catch up to him when he stops outside the room with the telescope.

"What the hell did you eat for breakfast?" I drop my hands onto my knees as I try to steady my breathing.

"Potato chips," he chokes out as he coughs and holds his stomach, breathing equally as hard. "Rachel's inside."

Just as he says this the doors to the room swing open and I see Rachel and Anne step out.

"What happened to you two?" Anne asks as she pats Cooper on the back. He wraps an arm around her waist and brings her in for a big hug.

"I was just proving to Clarke how we are going to beat them in the next paintball match," Cooper jokes as he continues panting.

"You may be fast, Coop, but you are as uncoordinated as a fish out of water," I tease him. "How many people did you bump into while you were running?"

He laughs heartily and starts to pull Anne away from the door. Rachel takes a step towards me and gives me a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"Why are you all wet?" she asks with a grin as she wipes her mouth with her purple sleeves.

"Science, sweetheart," I say in a deep voice to make her laugh.

She beams at me and grabs my hand. Her cheeks are bright pink and she's grinning from ear to ear. Her expression is contagious, and I can feel my heart filling with joy. I nod at her as she pulls me into the room and closes the doors.

The room is massive and has a large screen that takes up most of the back wall. It's made up of about twenty smaller screens that you can sync together to form one image, or look at all different sections of space. We use this telescope to watch supernovas, track star clusters and asteroid movements, and so much more. I have no idea what Rachel would want to show me here, though.