I NEED ANSWER RIGHT NOW I’m Not Just Cool... I’m Also a Scientist

1Olive was sitting on her best friend Jessica’s porch with about a dozen other kids from school. It was the beginning of the school year, and they had all decided to catch up over pizza and talk about their summers. They were all shrieking with laughter from a story that Lizzie had just told about her summer job.

2So far, Lizzie’s summer had been the most eventful. She had been a counselor at a soccer camp where they were so serious about soccer that they made the kids do everything with their feet. Lizzie was once caught using her hands to hold her toothbrush and had to sing “I’m a Little Teapot” in front of the entire camp! Olive laughed so hard at Lizzie’s story that grape soda came out her nose, sending everyone into another fit of hysterical laughter.

3After the kids had caught their breath, Alex reached for another slice of pizza. “What about you, Olive?” he asked, smiling at her. “What did you do this summer?” As everyone turned to Olive to hear her story, Olive’s giggle slowly faded. This was the moment she’d been worried about all summer. How would she explain her summer job to her friends without sounding like a complete geek?

4There were two things that Olive loved most of all: science and mysteries. Her favorite books, TV shows, and movies, were always about murder mysteries, heists, and solving crimes. Over the past year, Olive’s science teacher, Ms. Welborn, noticed that Olive showed a strong aptitude for science and moved her to the most advanced chemistry class, where Olive held her own among much older students. Finally, just before summer break, Ms. Welborn had asked Olive if she’d be interested in working over the summer in a professional laboratory. “There’s one thing I should clarify, just so you understand,” Ms. Welborn had told her. “This isn’t just any kind of lab—it’s a crime lab. And so, well, sometimes, you might be examining and analyzing some grisly stuff. It’ll mean a lot of hard work and critical thinking. You very well might be involved in a few cases.” Olive’s eyes had nearly bugged out of her head. Mrs. Welborn continued, saying, “Would you be interested? I’d understand if you said no.” Olive said yes so loud and so suddenly, Ms. Welborn jumped. “Well,” she grinned, “that’s excellent, then. I’ll call my friend and set it up.”

5The entire summer had been incredible. Olive couldn’t wait to get up in the morning to help the crime lab find missing children and convict criminals. In school she had learned about chemical composition, molecular structures, and isotopes—everything that had just been concepts and chapter headings in her textbooks suddenly became real, living science. The schedule was grueling—Olive was up at five o’ clock every morning and often collapsed into bed near midnight—but she knew that this was definitely what she wanted to do for a living.

6The problem was, would her friends understand? All summer Olive avoided hanging out with her friends or being social in any way. She was terrified that they would think she was a complete weirdo for wanting to spend her summer cooped up in a windowless laboratory, wearing a lab coat and goggles. She had considered being really vague, avoiding the questions, or even just outright lying and saying she worked somewhere else—or didn’t even have a summer job at all. But now, after everything she had learned this summer, Olive wasn’t afraid to be honest about who she was. Hanging out with her friends, sitting on her best friend’s porch on a warm September night, Olive felt invincible.

7“I worked at a crime lab,” she said casually. “It was really cool.”

8There was a stunned silence as everyone reacted to what Olive had said. “You mean, like, you did science stuff all summer long?” Alex asked. Olive nodded, her nerve faltering a little. Colby, a tall boy with frizzy hair, sort of giggled. “Wait, a crime lab—so, there was blood and stuff?” Olive nodded again. She was really beginning to wish she had just lied and said that she worked at a fast food place in the mall. But then, she glanced over at Alex, who was looking at her with raised eyebrows. “That’s pretty awesome,” Alex said. Colby nodded, too. “Cool,” he added.

9Olive felt her shoulders droop in relief, and a smile spread across her face. “Yeah,” she agreed. “It was cool.” She reached for another slice of pizza and sat back in her chair. “How about you, Alex? What did you do?”

“I’m Not Just Cool... I’m Also a Scientist” by Lacy Coil.

Which of the following is the best example of a grueling task?

A

going to bed

B

carrying pounds of heavy equipment

C

running a simple test on an unusual specimen

D

making a bowl of cereal