Brace Face

It Was an Accident

"A little bit of zinc oxide, a tid bit of sodium hydroxide, and a pinch of nitric acid." I wipe the sweat off of my forehead and stare at my color changing solution. Do I know what this will do? No. I was bored, pulled out my cheap chemistry lab and started mixing chemicals safely. You see, I'm a genius, I know what chemicals cause what. For example, never mix ammonia and bleach, that causes a chloramine vapor. Yes, such a basic answer but it's true.
     If I were to choose my favorite subject in school, it's chemistry. I love it!! All of the different chemical combination makes me happy! Plus the cheesy chemistry pickup lines are hilarious. Weird that science makes me happy, but it's true. I could duplicate a living cell if I truly wanted to with science. I'm mean it's basically the key to everything, well almost everything. I can't make a solution to fix my jacked up teeth, I have to deal with the worst things in the world..... Braces.... Yep, braces. I've had them for a year and a half now and I hate it, absolutely hate it. Being a freshman in high school with braces is terrible, I mean I get called brace face all the time. It sucks!!! It probably doesn't help that I'm the smartest kid at the school, I'm scrawny, short, not the best in fashion, and I wear bulky glasses. My classmates say that I'm the definition of a nerd, now this, I don't mind.
Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with who I am, but it would be nice to be seen by others for good. Especially girls. I would love to have one girl say that they like me, but that's never going to happen.
     "Liam!! Come up here now, dinner is ready!!" I don't understand why, but my mom always yells even though I can hear her when she talks normally. My mom is really loud because she is the coach for the local college girls basketball team. My dad on the other hand, is the opposite. He's quiet, like me, and is a professor at the college.
     "Got it mom!" Now I have to yell because there is no way she would hear me if I talked normally. I slip my goggles of and place them on the counter next to me. I stare at my laboratory (aka the basement) and smirk to myself. I feel like a real scientist!!! I snicker at my thought, bring the tube with my solution up stairs and outside. I pour the mixture and let it sit outside. I think I might want to work on it some more later tonight.
     The door slams shut behind me and I head towards our dining room. I slump into my seat and stare at my empty plate before me. I honestly just want to be in my laboratory and start creating something new and become a famous scientist! That would be the life! However, right now that is impossible for me to do. I'm really smart and all but I'm not at that level quite yet. I will be there one day though!
     My mom and dad sit down at the table and we start dishing up the lasagna my mom made. "so, Liam, what did you do today?" I groan at the question. My dad asks the same question every day and I answer with the same answer every day.
     "I worked on a new chemical solution." Yep, my everyday thing. I did what I was born to do, chemistry.
     "What's this solution going to do?" My dad and I have gotten into the routine of the same questions and the same answers. He doesn't switch anything nor do I ever answer differently.
     "All it does is change colors." We go back to awkwardly eating our meals and sipping on our drinks.
     I hurriedly finish my meal and excuse myself. I walk out and stare at my front door, do I want to work on my solution or do I want to sleep. Sleep. Yep, I'll go to sleep. "Liam, before you go back to your laboratory, your orthodontist called and said that you have an appointment tomorrow to get your braces off at 10:00 am. I forgot that we discussed  this at your last appointment." My mom gives a light hearted chuckle and goes back to talking about whatever she was talking about with my dad. No more braces as of tomorrow!!! A high pitched yay escapes my lips and I run downstairs to where I my cot is.
     I have a room on the third floor, but I prefer to sleep in my laboratory. It's where I practically live. The cot creeks under my weight as I go to sit on it. The front door shuts and I know my mom and dad are doing their usual night walk with the rest of the neighborhood. Weird, yes, hence why I don't participate in it. Our community is really into being close and everyone is friends so they have each neighborhood do something ridiculous together. It's crazy, I know, so I always opt out. My parents really want me to join in on these stupid things but I refuse, usually say that I have homework.
Tonight though is different. They didn't even ask me if I wanted to go. Hurts a little but I'll get over it quickly. I pull out my yearbook from last year and stare at Rylan Dondee's picture. I have had a crush on her since elementary. She's perfect. She is smart, athletic, musical, and artistic. And her looks, don't get me started on her looks. She's gorgeous and I mean gorgeous. She is quite popular at school and practically all the boys at our school are after her. There is no way she would ever fall for the nerd that people refer to as brace face.
I sigh at my sad thought and close the annual. Well chemistry will always love me!
***
     I wake up to shuffling feet. I honestly don't remember when I fell asleep, it just happened. This shuffling, though, is annoying. I look at my alarm clock to see 7:35 am flashing in red at me. Well not too early. My parents aren't usually up this early, then who is walking around?
     "Mmmnnnguuuhhh!" Was that my mom? She made a noise of mindless hunger. That is unlike her... What is going on?
The cot slowly groans as I get up. I walk slowly up the creaky stairs and enter the foyer. Nothing suspicious here.
"Mom! Dad!" Like calling for them is going to do anything!!!!
"Mmmnnnhuuuhhh!" There it is again! I go towards the sound, stupid, I know. I get to the source and I instantly  go pale. It's my mom alright but she doesn't look, well, good. Her skin is pale and her eyes are bloodshot. Her once good hygiene is taken place by dirt, blood, and a foul smell. This does not look good....
     "Uh...mom...are you alright?" A dumb question to ask but what else do I do?
     She answers by lurching, or at least I think lurching, at me. I scream like little girl and run, as fast as my little legs will go, out the front door. I look around for my solution to see that it is gone. Frick, what happened last night? I look around me to see my neighbors acting and looking the same way as my mom. Did I just start the zombie apocalypse? More importantly, who is going to take me to my orthodontist appointment?