“What was that about?” The question was out of Maci’s mouth as soon as we stepped out of the science building, preparing to go our separate ways. Her shiny, near-black locks spilled across her face as she turned toward me, eyebrows raised.
“Not sure yet. He said something about a research project.” A sense of interest stirred again, and I felt my heart rate increase ever so slightly as I tried to imagine what the meeting held in store.
“Weird. I didn’t even know they did those here.”
I shrugged, a lingering feeling that his invitation was related to my lab report gnawing at me. “Me either.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re going to hear him out. Stuff like that is great for your transfer application.”
I smiled. Maci was a great friend for many reasons, and her determination and knowledge about all things “going places in life” was one of them. Who needed an academic advisor when your best friend knew all the transfer requirements from memory?
“Yeah, that’s true. Have a good weekend.”
“Text me how the meeting goes.”
“I will. See you later. Have fun with Jace.” I smiled coyly at her, and she waved me off.
I hurried to Psychology. We were working through the first unit on sensation and perception, which I normally found quite interesting, but I was unable to focus on Professor Tara’s words today. The impending meeting with Professor East had my mind wandering.
I wasn’t used to meeting with instructors one-on-one, so that was slightly intimidating, but I also couldn’t shake the feeling that his request had something to do with what had occurred during the lab that day. Why else would he single me out for a project?
When the class finally ended, I tuned in just in time to look up at the screen and jot down my homework assignment. Most of my classmates took a picture of the screen, but I preferred to use an old-fashioned notebook. Maybe because it was another place for me to doodle. I scribbled quickly as Professor Tara erased the board.
Sure enough, I finished writing the homework assignmentand realized I’d been scribbling plant tendrils around the edges of the week. There were a series of leaves sprouting out of theminSeptember. I quickly cleaned up, preparing myself to return to the science building.
The nerves that had changed target while I hurriedly noted the Psychology homework shifted gears again as I entered the science building and made my way to the second floor, where Professor East’s office was nestled in the corner.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door of Office 213. Professor East called, “Come in,” and I entered. He waved me into the seat across from his desk, and I slipped my backpack off my shoulders and sat.
“How was Psychology?” he asked. I opened my mouth to answer before looking at him in confusion. Had I mentioned that I was going to Psychology after his class?
I shook it off and replied, “It was good. I enjoy that class.”
Professor East nodded. “And how about Biology? What do you think of the class so far?”
Was this a trap? Of course, I wasn’t going to say anything less than flattering about his class. Though, in this case, I didn’t have to lie. “It’s fun. So far, I think it’s my favorite science class I’ve ever taken.”
“Are you planning to take any other science courses?”
Yikes. I was walking a dangerous line. I was planning to take the bare minimum of science required to meet the general education requirements. Same for math. Those were subjects I had always struggled with during high school. I intended to pack my schedule with as many art and humanities courses as I could over the next two years and, ideally, keep my grades high enough to be accepted to art school.
I swallowed, not wanting to offend my instructor, who was looking at me kindly. “Just the two that are required for transferring. I plan to major in art, so more than that won’t be needed.”
“Ah, yes. I looked over your lab report and was impressed with your drawings. It’s a valuable skill in a science class.”
I sat up a little straighter and smiled. “Thanks. It’s always been a hobby of mine, and I love when I can apply it to my classes.”
“I think your… skills could be useful in another program I work with. I’m guessing you’re eager to know more about why I asked you here. As I said, there is a research opportunity I think you might be a good fit for.”
Professor East turned toward the microscope that was stationed on his desk. Based on the placement, I had a feeling that it didn’t normally reside there and wondered if he had pulled it out for this meeting.
He quickly confirmed my suspicions when he slid the microscope my way. “Can I have you look at that slide and let me know what you see?”
I bit back my question about what the microscope had to do with the program and bent my head to the eyepiece. The slide was already in focus. “I see plant cells.”
Professor East nodded in my limited peripheral vision, and I took that as a cue to keep going. “There’s movement in the cells. It almost looks like there are cells between some of the cells. They’re more oval-shaped. And it looks like little bubbles are going in and out of them.”
“Could you sketch it for me?” Professor East asked, sliding a piece of paper toward me.
