One rainy May afternoon, at a small, yet totally ordinary high school, around 30 seniors waited (im)patiently at their tables in a small biology classroom. Idle chatter filled the room, talking, making jokes, sharing things on their phone, with the talking becoming louder as time went on.
"Hey, where is Mr. Adams anyways..." One girl spoke up.
"Didn't he say he was going on a trip last week?" Another guy answered her from halfway across the room.
"Sorry I'm late!" Called a voice as an unfamiliar man walked into the room carrying a briefcase.
This man was... Odd looking to say the least. He seemed to be on the younger side, maybe just shy of thirty, a far cry from the aging Mr. Adams. He was dressed in incredibly flamboyant clothing, with a pair of light colored ripped jeans with chains hanging off of them, some basketball shoes, and a bright pink t-shirt. He was also wearing a pair of glasses. A few kids snickered as he walked in.
"Just had to grab something for our next project that Mr. Adams and I talked about... Oh, that's right, my name!" He seemed more than a little disorganized.
"I'm Dr. Harrison, and I'll be your substitute teacher for this week."
Whispers filled the room, mainly regarding Dr. Harrison's appearance and title. Most students were not taking him seriously at all, as they would most substitutes.
"Settle down, I'll let you have some free time to study in a little. I just need to cover your next lab that Mr. Adams had me assign." A collective groan echoed, and probably was even audible outside the classroom.
"I know, I know, labs in the class definitely kinda suck, but this one is a little more hands on. Pay attention, cause I'll only say this once." Dr. Harrison said with a smirk, leaning against the front desk. He pulled the case towards himself with the handle.
"To coincide with your zoology unit, we'll be using some of my state of the art research to observe certain features of animals up close and personal." He sounded much more excited now, looking out into the sea of confused faces before him.
He flipped open a latch on the front of the briefcase, lifting open the top. A few students stood up in their spots to get a better look. Inside was a dark padding all around, with small divots in the lower half. Inside those divots were tiny flattened cylindrical metal shells, thirty of them, to be exact. On the top portion was a wordy looking document, with far too fine print for any student to make out. Dr. Harrison slid the pamphlet out and placed it behind him. He picked up one of the small metal shells and held it up.
"In here, is a special pill that is required for this project." He tapped on the shell before twisting the top open. It popped off, disrupting the container's smooth appearance. Inside was a cotton pad with a single somewhat large aqua blue tablet in the center. He took it out and held it up.
"Don't worry, it's chewable." He attempted to elicit a chuckle from the class, but they were too confused to comment.
"This pill has been proven to give greater insight into the nature of animals, and forms of it have been used by isolated cultures for generations. You will be using it to answer a series of questions provided in this packet to complete the lab." He set down the pill and held up a stack of documents.
The students were now extremely confused. How does taking some 'magic' pill assist them in a bio lab? Is this even allowed? Were some of their thoughts.
Dr. Harrison passed out the stapled packet of questions to everyone in the room. Eventually, a short, nerdy looking girl raised her hand.
"Yes, what is it?" Dr. Harrison answered.
"Um... Kinda speaking for the class here, this is SUPER weird, isn't this just a drug or something?" She looked skeptical.
"Don't worry about that, it's completely safe, the school okayed it, and Mr. Adams actually contacted me directly to do this lab with this class. Plus it's worth 15% of your grade..." He responded. This put the students a little more at ease, but it didn't stop rumors from flying around at light speed.
"Now for some basic directions before I pass these out and let you have some study time. The effects last roughly 5 days, so the remainder of the school week. Accommodations will be made for it as well. Please take your pill when you get home tonight, preferably after you eat something. Each person will get a random, unique pill as well, so your answers for the lab will be slightly different for everyone. Got it?" He rambled on and on, fiddling with one of the containers. Nobody raised their hand for further questioning, possibly too scared or even excited for what was coming.
Dr. Harrison brought the briefcase around the room, letting each student take one small container. Once everyone got one, he returned to the front.
"Alright, make sure you keep these absolutely safe until you take them after a meal tonight. When we hold class tomorrow morning, I'll be excited to see you all again." He chuckled suspiciously before checking the clock behind him.
"Oh crap, looks like I went on for too long. You guys have about 10 minutes to study, and then you're free to leave." He closed the briefcase and sat down at his desk, checking his phone.
Not much studying was done over the remainder of the class, as students feverously discussed their upcoming lab, trying to comprehend what the hell it was even about. Eventually, the 10 minutes passed, and everyone filed out of the room.
"Alright, see you guys! Have a nice day, and remember to start your lab tonight!" Dr. Harrison waved as they streamed out of the classroom. Most students responded positively, mostly to be polite. After all, he seemed nice enough, but was still definitely odd.
The students filed out of the classroom, collected their belongings from their lockers, and made their way home, by either car, bus, or simply walking.
This story follows...