Some Teacher: Second Semester!

(5.4) Work time!

"Ackghaarghopthoofugni!" Ushiwara articulated loudly from his greenhouse where he was currently trapped under a large spotted plant.

After examining samples from the plant he'd taken home from class a while ago, Ushiwara had been trying to reverse engineer a plant growth formula that wouldn't turn the flora purple with orange spots. Needless to say it hadn't worked as planned, and now, Ushiwara was trapped under an azalea bush the size of a car wondering if he shouldn't have done this experiment outside.

It had grown even faster than the plant from the classroom, and it was still growing, though markedly slower than when he'd first introduced the solution. At least it wasn't purple, but it still had those horrible orange spots. Based on what he had observed from underneath the monster rhododendron, the spots were not directly linked to the solution, but appeared as a result of the unnatural growth, like stretch marks. It could also be a reaction to the flowers' toxicity.

In hindsight, he should have picked a safer plant to start out with. Ah well, hindsight was just foresight for later experiments, no point groaning about it. For the present time, Ushiwara had to figure out how to untangle himself from the azalea stalks, and get the plant out of the greenhouse if that was at all possible.

Pushing aside stems the width of his wrist, Ushiwara struggled against the flowers toward solid ground. He managed it, forearms growing sore from having to work so hard in such a cramped space, but he wasn't done yet. He had to find the roots so he could pull this monstrosity out of his greenhouse.

The roots had broken out of the flower pot, but fortunately they didn't seem to have sunk themselves anyplace too damaging. Ushiwara tugged and yanked the roots out of what little soil they'd managed to find, and maneuvered them to the door of the greenhouse, knocking down several other plants in the process, including his hanging roses, which would be a particular bother to clean up, what with all the thorns, but that was a problem for afterwards.

His next concern was whether or not the gargantuan azaleas would be able to fit through the greenhouse door. He managed, with a lot of adjusting and readjusting to get the roots out, but the foliage was another matter. He whistled loudly and his dogs came running.

Hana and Hoga, Ushiwara's two large mutts, were generally not allowed in the greenhouse, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He may not know what breed his dogs were, having found them both by a dumpster, but he knew that they were both powerful creatures.

Ushiwara had his dogs pull the plant as hard as they could by the roots, while he shifted the stems and stalks so they might fit through the door. It was quite a laborious effort on both parts, but after a long while, they managed to get the disastrous experiment out of the enclosed space.

"Good dogs!" Ushiwara commended, crouching down and beckoning Hana and Hoga to him for scratches and belly rubs. "Good, good girls! Who wants treats?" He took them both to the house and brought out two water bowls and a bag of treats for them. He took a seat on the back step to feed them. "You must be tired, huh. That was hard work, but you did a good job, and now you get a break. I still have to clean up whatever mess that thing made in the greenhouse." He gave the dogs one more scratch behind the ears, and headed back to the greenhouse.

The mutant azaleas had already rerooted themselves in the harder soil of the backyard; the bush was now taller than the fence, though it wasn't getting visibly larger anymore, thankfully. Ushiwara sighed. He wasn't sure what he'd do with it yet, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

He stepped through the greenhouse door and glanced at the lamentable state of it with a frown. Pots broken, plants tipped over, dirt and giant petals everywhere, and then he caught sight of the camellias in the corner. His mother's Japanese camellias which he had so lovingly tended to since her passing, had been crushed in the chaos. Leaves and petals littered the floor, many of the stems were broken, and Ushiwara was overcome with anguish that quickly turned to rage bubbling up inside him.