The World According to Susie

Ch 16: I Think It's a Date

Vivienne and I are wrapping up the experiment, and by wrapping up, I mean she's diligently writing down the results and conclusions while I'm fumbling around with numbers, trying to calculate the percent error. Cleaning the lab station? Also me, though I'm doing it in a way that's closer to chaotic flailing than actual cleaning.

"So..." Vivienne's voice breaks through the flurry of lab activities, and I glance up. She's got this sly smirk on her face, like she's waiting to drop a bomb. "Any plans, Susie? With that girl?" She wiggles her eyebrows in the most teasing, annoying, and accurate way.

The question makes me freeze mid-swipe of a spilled reagent. I can feel my face turning as red as the chemical I just spilled. "Actually... yeah," I admit, smiling like an absolute idiot. The kind of smile that probably screams I'm in way too deep.

Just then, my phone vibrates. I nearly drop the glassware I'm holding because my brain is already short-circuiting at the thought of Georgia. I fumble to check my phone, hands shaking like I'm in a disaster movie.

Georgia: Where should we meet? I'm in the O'Hara building for business. Where are you? I can meet you halfway?

Halfway?! Oh my God. I type back, trying to act like I'm not already in full panic mode.

"Currently in the Hidalgo Science Center," I type, with a speed and precision that could rival any Olympic sport. "I can meet you at the engineering building? Would that be considered halfway?"

Georgia's response is almost instant, like she's got her phone ready—which only makes me more nervous.

Georgia: Okay, sounds good.

I throw my phone into my bag like it's a ticking time bomb and start speed-running the closing shift on our lab station. Scrubbing glassware? Check. Wiping down surfaces? Check. Trying not to spontaneously combust? Still working on that.

Vivienne looks up from the notebook, totally oblivious to my internal chaos. "You okay? You look like you just ran a marathon."

"Yep! Totally fine! Just—" I laugh awkwardly, wiping down the counter like my life depends on it. "Just in a hurry! Big plans, y'know?"

"Uh-huh..." she eyes me suspiciously, but shrugs, going back to her notes. "Guess you really like this girl, huh?"

Oh. Oh no. My face turns another shade of crimson. "I mean, yeah, she's... cool." I try to sound casual, but the words come out so squeaky that I might as well be confessing my undying love in front of a live studio audience.

"Just... cool?" Vivienne raises an eyebrow, a knowing smirk playing on her lips.

"Yep. Cool. Just cool," I mumble, rapidly putting away the last of the lab equipment. Internally, though? I'm dying. My heart's racing faster than it ever did during that cardio class I skipped last week.

I glance at the clock—five minutes until I'm supposed to meet Georgia. Five minutes?! How am I supposed to get my act together in that time? I can't meet her looking like I just survived a chemistry explosion!

Vivienne gives me a weird look as I start scrubbing the already-clean counter with more intensity than is necessary. "Okay, seriously, what's going on with you?"

"I—uh—nothing! Just... gotta go!" I laugh, but it's more of a shrill cackle. Vivienne raises an eyebrow but says nothing as I throw on my backpack and dash out the lab like my life depends on it.

I'm halfway down the hallway when I realize... I forgot my phone. Classic me.

I rush back into the lab like a tornado in a frenzy, trying to retrieve my phone. In my haste, I knock over a roll of paper towels sitting innocently on the counter, sending it bouncing across the floor like an overcaffeinated hamster. Of course, as I try to pick it up, I manage to kick it even further, the roll unraveling like some cursed scroll that won't stop. I give up momentarily, attempting to walk away, hoping no one notices my disaster.