You got it this time?
Yeah, I got it. You’re spotting me still, right Max?
Yep.
Okay – thanks, buddy. I’m gonna go for the same spot as before… *Carlos gets close to the fire pit and, much slower this time, he starts to lower the pot back to the ground*
Alright. *the pondscum slid off the stick he was holding, resulting in Max silently swearing*
*Carlos glanced at him, confused.* You okay, buddy?
Yep, totally, all good. *he doesn’t sound too sure but it’s just pondscum it’s fine*
*Carlos hums and finally gets the pot on the ground* There we go! Second time’s the charm!
I’m,,, really tempted to kick it,, but I’m not gonna. *he takes a couple pods from his pocket* y’know what’s cool? I can fit a bunch of stuff in this hoodie. 20 pudding cups, or a book for examplez
*Carlos smiled at him and nodded* I know, right? I used to stuff all kinds of things in my hoodie when I was a kid – dirt, notebooks, joy buzzers, my pet rat…
Yeah, currently the only things I have in it now are tide pods, a book, and a zipbloc of pondscum- wait hold up pet what now?
Yeah, I had a rat when I was your age. Her name was Ratney. Almost didn’t keep her though because I thought I was allergic to her… *just keeps smiling*
That’s cool, I guess? I’ve seen mice around here, if that relates any.
Yeah? That’s cool. Too bad that I’m allergic to them now though. I miss having a furry pet.
Unless the platypus counts, I’ve never had a pet that wasn’t a fish, anyway, how many pods are we putting in?
Well, I’d start with a low number. But this is your experiment, Max. How many do YOU want to put in?
Well I don’t know, you’re the scientist, I only have like 4.
Ah. Well, let’s start with just one then, and see how fast it dissolves. Since this is cold water, what do you hypothesize?
That’s like a science guess right? Uhh things dissolve faster with hot water, right? So would it pretty much be the opposite?
That’s a great theory! *he looks at his watch to get the time.* It’s 3:20 in the afternoon right now… so that’s our start time.
*max nods. He puts the pod into the water and sits by the pot*
*now here’s the boring part, Carlos thought. He wondered how long this would keep Max’s attention* So… how have things been going in camp, Max? Anything interesting happen?
*Max shrugged* Dunno. Haven’t really been paying attention.
What do you mean you haven’t been paying attention?
I’ve been doing other things y’know? I still have to do the activities but,
But…?
What?
Just… you stopped at ‘but’. What have you been doing, then?
Stuff.. Wanna see what I have in my pockets?
Uh… sure, I guess? You said you had a book.
Yeah, *the digs around in his hoodie pocket and pulls out 3 tide pods, a small box of tic-tacs, and a book that’s marked a bit over half way done* it’s a pretty big hoodie.
Uh-huh – I see. How’s the book going?
It’s pretty good, actually. I’m almost finished with it. *he looks into the pot* has the pod dissolved yet?
*peers in* I dunno… there’s a lot of scum on the top right now…
*max grabbed a stick and poked around the pot* I don’t see it.
*Carlos takes out his phone and shakes it, turning on the flashlight. He shines it into the pot* Don’t you? That’s quicker than I thought it would be…
*max shrugs* do you see it?
Mm… nope. THat’s interesting! Okay, so that’s very interesting!
How long was that?
Like… seven minutes. Goodness… what’s in that water? *he looks toward the lake, a little concerned*
How long does it normally take?
Longer than that. A wash cycle is on average about fourty-five minutes, and these things are supposed to dissolve in hot water. You… you aren’t swimming in that lake, are you?
Damn. Not that I know of. Canoeing is a camp activity though.
Yah… maybe don’t participate in that anymore. I’ll… I’ll let Angela know too. I should take samples of the lake… *looks at it again, a deep frown on his face*
The Perfect Scientist 