fandomhigh | Mythbusting, Tuesday, Period 2

Class started too early in the morning, in a science classroom equipped with lab tables, Bunsen burners, and the faint smell of past explosions gone wrong. Safety goggles and gloves were at each workstation, as were supplies that might look familiar to anyone who'd taken a class with Professor Durden before.

Said professor leaned against his desk, watching and assessing the students as they came in.

"Hey," he greeted the class. "Welcome to Mythbusting. If you've taken a class with me before, welcome back; if you're new, welcome for the first time; and if you want to talk about Fight Club" -- a long pause, here, as he made himself say something besides don't -- "wait until after class."

"This semester is going to be about doing cool experiments, things that test cultural beliefs. I'll explain the science, don't worry, but most of it is going to be about actions, reactions, and getting things to happen. For that reason, we're going to go kind of fast, but if you need more explanation, let me know and I'll slow down. We'll only be using the danger shop to speed up reaction times, and we'll be playing with a lot of things that can get you hurt. I'm not your mom, I'm not going to chase you down and force you to wear goggles and gloves -- though I recommend it -- but don't be stupid. If I tell you to quit doing what you're doing, quit it. You put the rest of the class in danger, you get detention. That's my one big rule." He would come up with smaller ones if he had to. "The syllabus will be --- whatever I feel like doing."

"This week, and I know this is old hat for some of you and not really much of a myth, we're making soap to get used to proper lab procedures. Technically" -- he grinned -- "we are creating the alkali salt of a fatty acid." He went through a thumbnail lecture on the science of that. "If you've done it before, try to do it better, or add scents or herbs this time. If you haven't. be careful. Lye is nasty stuff, and one byproduct of soap? Glycerin. As in nitroglycerin."

"But first, introductions. Name, grade, why you're here, and who you would fight if you could fight anyone, living or dead, fictional people included." He jabbed his finger randomly toward a student. "You first. Oh, and Ino, Anemone, congratulations. You get TA duty this time around."

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Because it's the assignment.

Ino was an old hand at this by now and was amusing herself with trying out different scents with the soap.

Mmmm citrusy flowers.

Shhh, it was totally her studying how the chemicals reacted. Yes. Totally.

Helen found the soap making quite fascinating and even was able to do some experimenting with scents.

Claire had no difficulty making the soap. It wasn't much different from cooking, just with different ingredients and results.

"Having fun?" Sam asked with a smirk. "I was hoping we'd have this assignment today."

"Definitely not what I was expecting, but it's fun," Claire said.

"Tyler's a good teacher. I've taken a few classes from him before," Sam said. "Are you taking lots of fun things this time around?"

"I think so. Yesterday I had healthy living, today is this and then Flight & Flying and on Friday I have strategy games," Claire said. "What about you?"

Re: Make Soap [7/7]

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Okay, Chuck totally didn't want to do this. He was kind of doing it (or at least making himself appear busy) but, really, he was spending his time smelling the different scents.

"You're totally doing it wrong," Parker informed him.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not planning to be a soap maker when I grow up, isn't it?" he said.

"It's not about the soap," Parker told him. "It's about the explosives."

"And why would I want to make explosives?" he asked.

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"I wouldn't have thought you'd have any interest in this subject," Sam said, giving Chuck a curious look.

"I don't," Chuck said. "Science so isn't my area of academic expertise."

"Tell me this was an accident, and you didn't actually sign up for this class," Sam said.

"Of course it was an accident," Chuck said innocently. He was a total liar. "What other reason would I have to be in this class?"

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Making soap wasn't of much interest to Parker. Making nitro glycerin however was. Consequently, Parker was very diligently following the instructions and making lots of soap. Because it could in the future lead to things blowing up.

Turtle was making soap, yes. And it would appear that soap was all Turtle was making.

In truth, though, (and probably noticeable by anyone who knew her) she was making far more than that. She was making a whole plan of sale based around quaint little handmade soaps to offer exclusively at Turtle & Canary in the future.

Especially if the Face-Spitter turned back up in the fall like he was supposed to. Cute little quaint soap sales had dropped significantly since he left.

And Rose was making soap.

Which was really pretty weird, but that seemed like par for the course in this school.

Francine had done this before, yes, but that was okay. Going through steps that were half familiar, seeing if she could make it smell a little better and be not as squishy this time, gave her something to concentrate on. Or at least something to look at while she failed not to think about the answer she hadn't given this morning, and had last night.

Spock was proficient at following instructions, which made making soap a breeze.

Alex was following the instructions on how to make soap and decided to add some scents to it. She might end up keeping some for later, if it was allowed.

What? She liked scented things.

For someone who had never been in a science lab before, Kyle did pretty well. He followed the instructions and came out with a decent amount.

Jack made a decent batch, without causing an explosion or giant mess.