Part 414: The Challenge
September 4th, 2009
The classroom was filled to near capacity. It was basic chemistry 101. Eddie sat at his corner desk, with his best friend Tristan. Bonnie sat up two spots from him and she sat with her best friend Maddie. Mr. Roderick has taught the class since he came to the school and he was known for his quest to find smart students; not just people who want to get a C and be happy about it. “Today’s experiment will be simple.” The bald man walked through the sea of students, “You will pair up in groups of four. The experiment is to monitor how long it takes sugar to ignite under a Bunsen burner. And when sugar reaches ignition, it melts and when it melts, it becomes . . . .what?”
The class was silent; to the point where you could hear dust falling. “Anybody?” Roderick grunted, “Anybody possibly know?”
Eddie slowly raised his hand. Roderick smiled. “Yes, Mr. Trascal?” he grinned.
“It becomes caramel, sir.” The young man whispered.
“It does?” Sharon winced.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what you just heard was not wisdom but common sense. However, I have a good feeling that by the time my class is over in the semester, Mr. Trascal will be the one walking out of here with wisdom and common sense, since it seems he can use both,” Roderick pinched the bridge of his nose, “Pair up and get on with it.”
Eddie smirked as he and Tristan stood up. They walked over to the nearest stations, picking up goggles and aprons. As Eddie placed them over his head, Bonnie walked up to him with Maddie in tow. “Hey,” she smiled.
“Hey,” Eddie smiled back.
“Mind if we join you?” she said with a gleam in her eye.
“Naw, not at all,” the young man then pointed to the Asian friend by is side, “This is my friend Tristan. This is Bonnie and . . .”
“Maddie,” the brunette shook Asian’s hand.
“Nice to meet both of you.” He grinned.
The four friends began their experiment. Eddie turned on the Bunsen burner and ignited it. Bonnie scooped up sugar into a spoon and got ready to hold it up to the flame. Tristan checked his watch. “Go,” he told her.
The redhead placed it into the flame. The fire then started to cook the sugar and brought it to a boil. Then in the flash of a eye, it became brown and black. “Take it away from the fire.” Eddie told her.
Bonnie giggled as she brought it back. The fire quickly died down and all that was left was a smoldering clump of burned caramel. Maddie laughed and held her nose. “It smells like that time I burned my mother’s cookies.” She commented.
“I’m sure the actual caramel making process is a lot more refined,” Eddie chuckled, “What’s the time, Tristan?”
“Looks like 12 seconds.” He said, writing it down on their sheet.
The rest of them began writing down the same answer. Tristan looked up to Bonnie, who was giving Eddie the “goo-goo” eyes treatment. The Asian teenager just shook his head; wondering how she could have fallen for him so fast. Eddie was about to ask his friend what he was shaking his head about, when he looked past Bonnie and saw Brian flirting with his girlfriend, Kimberely. The blonde cheerleader was giggling and not paying attention to what she was doing.
Then her spoon of sugar flared up in front of her face, making her scream and throw the spoon to the side. The flaming sugar landed on an open textbook, catching it on fire. “HOLY CRAP!!” Brian screamed as he ran toward the other end of the class room.
Eddie looked at him as the quarterback ran toward the fire extinguisher mounted on the far wall. He grunted as he tried to pry it off. The young man then parted from his station and walked over to his. Bonnie, Maddie and Tristan looked at what Eddie was doing. Brian finally managed to get the extinguisher off the wall and he started to run toward his stations, only to see Eddie at the flaming book. “TRASCAL, GET OUT OF THE WAY!” the quarterback screamed.
Eddie just looked at him in disgust, took one end of the book and closed it. Then he slowly opened it back up and the pages smoldered but no longer were on fire. The quarterback looked at him, with a slight bit of confusion. “No oxygen to fuel the fire, Mr. Sage,” Roderick said behind him, “Or did you miss that in sixth grade?”
The class laughed at the teacher’s joke, making the quarterback seem more like an idiot than he was. The chemistry teacher motioned for them to shut up. “Mr. Trascal, you and your lab partners get an A for calm thinking in a crisis situation.” He smiled.
“Thank you, sir.” The young man politely bowed his head.
“You, Mr. Sage,” the teacher grunted as he snatched the fire extinguisher from his hands, “Get a C+ . . . for panicking.”
Brian looked at the teacher then over to Eddie. The young man could see the rage in his eyes. He didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to solve the fire but he made Brian look like a fool in front of his girlfriend and the whole chemistry class. Eddie walked past him and they purposely bumped shoulder.
Sadly, Eddie knew this was going to come to a head eventually.
During the lunch break, Eddie munched on his chicken sandwich. At least he thought it was chicken. He calmly sipped on his lemonade, trying not to think about. Tristan ate some of his fries and made a sour face. “Why do high school fries taste like crap?” he grunted.
“Because they are baked, not fried.” Eddie smirked.
“I knew that, Eddie. It was a rhetorical question.”
“Then you shouldn’t have asked me.” He laughed.
The two friends laughed under their banter. It was always fun to have a conversion with Tristan as far as Eddie was concerned. He was smart and creative; kinda reminded him of both Brendon Battle and Walt. The young man often wondered if Tristan had been with him on the Island, would they have survived together? Would Eddie have had to kill Woogie and could he have saved Bunny? Eddie found himself thinking more and more of the Island. He ate some more of his chicken sandwich, only to be interrupted by a pair of fists slamming on the table.
Tristan and Eddie looked at the group that surrounded them. Brian glared at him, and he was surrounded by the majority of his football team. The young man stared up at the quarterback for a few seconds, then calmly continued to eat his chicken sandwich. Then abruptly Brian knocked it out of his hand. Tristan then began to stand up, but Eddie stopped him with a wave of his hand. Brian glared at the Asian man, then back at Eddie. The young man was simply wiping his mouth with a napkin. “You know . . .that chicken sandwich wasn’t particularly good,” Eddie whispered, “However, I was eating it. I take it your folks didn’t teach you manners, Brian?”
“Good job in chem class, loser,” the quarterback hissed, “Yeah, good job of embarrassing me in front of everybody.”
“All I did was put a fire out, Brian,” Eddie looked up at him, “You embarrassed yourself. You didn’t need my help.”
“I’ve had it with you, Trascal.” He hissed, “Before we graduate, I promise you . .you are gonna bleed.”
“You don’t want to be making threats you can’t keep, Brian,” Tristan chimed in.
“Shut up, Kato.” A football player said behind him, “This don’t concern you.”
“Oooh. Kato. How original.” The Asian said, eating his horrible fries.
“It’s time you put up or shut up, Trascal,” Brian said, “Tonight you are meeting me at the Brickyard. You got a motorcycle, isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, so what?” Eddie asked.
“You meet me at Brickyard, to the main access to the LA river basin. We’re going to run the Flag Gauntlet.”
“The Flag Gauntlet?” Tristan said with a raised eyebrow.
“And why would I want to do that?” Eddie inquired.
Brian then maneuver over and got in his face. Eddie could feel his foul breath caressing his cheek. “Because I am going to embarrass you the way you embarrassed me,” he hissed, “And if I am lucky, I’ll be doing your little redhead before the night is up.”
Eddie then glared at the quarterback. Brian slowly backed off; happy that he finally got a reaction out of him. If looks could kill, the young man’s just might after the quarterback had so little class, he threatened the girl he was starting to care about. “Fine. I’ll be there.” Eddie hissed.
“See you there, loser.” Brian said as he walked away with his entourage in flow.
Eddie sipped on his lemonade. He slowly took a deep breath and then as he looked across the cafeteria, he saw Bonnie looking at him with a concerned stare. All he did was reply with a wink, telling her everything was going to be okay. Then the tapping on the table got his attention. “Eddie, are you listening to me?” Tristan replied.
“Huh?” he said, looking at him.
“I said, the Flag Gauntlet is a severe race. I’ve seen people walk away with broken bones and flesh scraped off their bodies,” his friend looked closer, “My brother . . .you don’t have anything to prove.”
“I’m not doing this to prove anything,:” he said, as he ate his fries, “I’m doing it to shut this bastard up once and for all.”
The classroom was filled to near capacity. It was basic chemistry 101. Eddie sat at his corner desk, with his best friend Tristan. Bonnie sat up two spots from him and she sat with her best friend Maddie. Mr. Roderick has taught the class since he came to the school and he was known for his quest to find smart students; not just people who want to get a C and be happy about it. “Today’s experiment will be simple.” The bald man walked through the sea of students, “You will pair up in groups of four. The experiment is to monitor how long it takes sugar to ignite under a Bunsen burner. And when sugar reaches ignition, it melts and when it melts, it becomes . . . .what?”
The class was silent; to the point where you could hear dust falling. “Anybody?” Roderick grunted, “Anybody possibly know?”
Eddie slowly raised his hand. Roderick smiled. “Yes, Mr. Trascal?” he grinned.
“It becomes caramel, sir.” The young man whispered.
“It does?” Sharon winced.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what you just heard was not wisdom but common sense. However, I have a good feeling that by the time my class is over in the semester, Mr. Trascal will be the one walking out of here with wisdom and common sense, since it seems he can use both,” Roderick pinched the bridge of his nose, “Pair up and get on with it.”
Eddie smirked as he and Tristan stood up. They walked over to the nearest stations, picking up goggles and aprons. As Eddie placed them over his head, Bonnie walked up to him with Maddie in tow. “Hey,” she smiled.
“Hey,” Eddie smiled back.
“Mind if we join you?” she said with a gleam in her eye.
“Naw, not at all,” the young man then pointed to the Asian friend by is side, “This is my friend Tristan. This is Bonnie and . . .”
“Maddie,” the brunette shook Asian’s hand.
“Nice to meet both of you.” He grinned.
The four friends began their experiment. Eddie turned on the Bunsen burner and ignited it. Bonnie scooped up sugar into a spoon and got ready to hold it up to the flame. Tristan checked his watch. “Go,” he told her.
The redhead placed it into the flame. The fire then started to cook the sugar and brought it to a boil. Then in the flash of a eye, it became brown and black. “Take it away from the fire.” Eddie told her.
Bonnie giggled as she brought it back. The fire quickly died down and all that was left was a smoldering clump of burned caramel. Maddie laughed and held her nose. “It smells like that time I burned my mother’s cookies.” She commented.
“I’m sure the actual caramel making process is a lot more refined,” Eddie chuckled, “What’s the time, Tristan?”
“Looks like 12 seconds.” He said, writing it down on their sheet.
The rest of them began writing down the same answer. Tristan looked up to Bonnie, who was giving Eddie the “goo-goo” eyes treatment. The Asian teenager just shook his head; wondering how she could have fallen for him so fast. Eddie was about to ask his friend what he was shaking his head about, when he looked past Bonnie and saw Brian flirting with his girlfriend, Kimberely. The blonde cheerleader was giggling and not paying attention to what she was doing.
Then her spoon of sugar flared up in front of her face, making her scream and throw the spoon to the side. The flaming sugar landed on an open textbook, catching it on fire. “HOLY CRAP!!” Brian screamed as he ran toward the other end of the class room.
Eddie looked at him as the quarterback ran toward the fire extinguisher mounted on the far wall. He grunted as he tried to pry it off. The young man then parted from his station and walked over to his. Bonnie, Maddie and Tristan looked at what Eddie was doing. Brian finally managed to get the extinguisher off the wall and he started to run toward his stations, only to see Eddie at the flaming book. “TRASCAL, GET OUT OF THE WAY!” the quarterback screamed.
Eddie just looked at him in disgust, took one end of the book and closed it. Then he slowly opened it back up and the pages smoldered but no longer were on fire. The quarterback looked at him, with a slight bit of confusion. “No oxygen to fuel the fire, Mr. Sage,” Roderick said behind him, “Or did you miss that in sixth grade?”
The class laughed at the teacher’s joke, making the quarterback seem more like an idiot than he was. The chemistry teacher motioned for them to shut up. “Mr. Trascal, you and your lab partners get an A for calm thinking in a crisis situation.” He smiled.
“Thank you, sir.” The young man politely bowed his head.
“You, Mr. Sage,” the teacher grunted as he snatched the fire extinguisher from his hands, “Get a C+ . . . for panicking.”
Brian looked at the teacher then over to Eddie. The young man could see the rage in his eyes. He didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to solve the fire but he made Brian look like a fool in front of his girlfriend and the whole chemistry class. Eddie walked past him and they purposely bumped shoulder.
Sadly, Eddie knew this was going to come to a head eventually.
During the lunch break, Eddie munched on his chicken sandwich. At least he thought it was chicken. He calmly sipped on his lemonade, trying not to think about. Tristan ate some of his fries and made a sour face. “Why do high school fries taste like crap?” he grunted.
“Because they are baked, not fried.” Eddie smirked.
“I knew that, Eddie. It was a rhetorical question.”
“Then you shouldn’t have asked me.” He laughed.
The two friends laughed under their banter. It was always fun to have a conversion with Tristan as far as Eddie was concerned. He was smart and creative; kinda reminded him of both Brendon Battle and Walt. The young man often wondered if Tristan had been with him on the Island, would they have survived together? Would Eddie have had to kill Woogie and could he have saved Bunny? Eddie found himself thinking more and more of the Island. He ate some more of his chicken sandwich, only to be interrupted by a pair of fists slamming on the table.
Tristan and Eddie looked at the group that surrounded them. Brian glared at him, and he was surrounded by the majority of his football team. The young man stared up at the quarterback for a few seconds, then calmly continued to eat his chicken sandwich. Then abruptly Brian knocked it out of his hand. Tristan then began to stand up, but Eddie stopped him with a wave of his hand. Brian glared at the Asian man, then back at Eddie. The young man was simply wiping his mouth with a napkin. “You know . . .that chicken sandwich wasn’t particularly good,” Eddie whispered, “However, I was eating it. I take it your folks didn’t teach you manners, Brian?”
“Good job in chem class, loser,” the quarterback hissed, “Yeah, good job of embarrassing me in front of everybody.”
“All I did was put a fire out, Brian,” Eddie looked up at him, “You embarrassed yourself. You didn’t need my help.”
“I’ve had it with you, Trascal.” He hissed, “Before we graduate, I promise you . .you are gonna bleed.”
“You don’t want to be making threats you can’t keep, Brian,” Tristan chimed in.
“Shut up, Kato.” A football player said behind him, “This don’t concern you.”
“Oooh. Kato. How original.” The Asian said, eating his horrible fries.
“It’s time you put up or shut up, Trascal,” Brian said, “Tonight you are meeting me at the Brickyard. You got a motorcycle, isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, so what?” Eddie asked.
“You meet me at Brickyard, to the main access to the LA river basin. We’re going to run the Flag Gauntlet.”
“The Flag Gauntlet?” Tristan said with a raised eyebrow.
“And why would I want to do that?” Eddie inquired.
Brian then maneuver over and got in his face. Eddie could feel his foul breath caressing his cheek. “Because I am going to embarrass you the way you embarrassed me,” he hissed, “And if I am lucky, I’ll be doing your little redhead before the night is up.”
Eddie then glared at the quarterback. Brian slowly backed off; happy that he finally got a reaction out of him. If looks could kill, the young man’s just might after the quarterback had so little class, he threatened the girl he was starting to care about. “Fine. I’ll be there.” Eddie hissed.
“See you there, loser.” Brian said as he walked away with his entourage in flow.
Eddie sipped on his lemonade. He slowly took a deep breath and then as he looked across the cafeteria, he saw Bonnie looking at him with a concerned stare. All he did was reply with a wink, telling her everything was going to be okay. Then the tapping on the table got his attention. “Eddie, are you listening to me?” Tristan replied.
“Huh?” he said, looking at him.
“I said, the Flag Gauntlet is a severe race. I’ve seen people walk away with broken bones and flesh scraped off their bodies,” his friend looked closer, “My brother . . .you don’t have anything to prove.”
“I’m not doing this to prove anything,:” he said, as he ate his fries, “I’m doing it to shut this bastard up once and for all.”
posted by Jason | 11:27 AM
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