As usual I had no idea where we were headed once we were on the street. Myrintha reminded me of this. “Where do you suppose we’ll find Tommy?” she asked.
“I’m guessing at the college,” I said. “He’ll probably be working in that lab.” I wished to know exactly where he was and I got the answer that I expected. He was indeed working in the lab. “We’ll check there first and go from there.”
Our walk to the college was uneventful except for the turned heads and second looks. I thought I heard a few whistles. I didn’t feel entirely comfortable without Bozantum, but I knew I could handle anything that might arise.
It felt a little odd to be back on the small community college campus in a different body. I knew that we’d turn a few heads here. I noticed a few guys that already had pretty girls on their arms looking our way. I chuckled at the thought of their girlfriends getting angry with them. I was tempted to encourage such behavior by acting the tease, but I just didn’t want to bring about an altercation.
We found our way to the chemistry lab. Being that this was a community college, it was a small lab in a small building that was pretty much out of date. I assume the colleges currently recruiting Tommy must have known about the conditions with which he had to deal and were even more impressed by his work because of it.
I decided to be polite and knocked on the door. I hoped that he would be alone. “Come in,” I heard a voice call. Myrintha and I sauntered into the lab. I spotted Tommy working at the opposite end of the lab. He was fully focused on his work and didn’t even look up at us. I was willing to wait until he was ready to acknowledge us.
After about two minutes he finally broke from his work and looked up at us. He appeared confused at the sight of us. I knew he wouldn’t recognize us, so this wasn’t unexpected. “I’m sorry, ladies, can I help you?” he asked. Even though he’d been in the U.S. since he was 6, he still had a slight accent.
“I hope so,” I said. “Are you Tommy Chen?"
"Yes, I am," he said.
I had a hard time hearing him across the lab. "I'm sorry, but would you mind coming over here so that we don’t have to get into the areas with the chemicals?” I asked.
“Oh, yes, sure,” he said. He walked over to us. Myrintha and I found a couple of stools where we could sit. Tommy was not a very impressive physical specimen. He was short, only about 5’6”. He was an intellectual through and through, as he had no signs of physical strength. He wasn’t too thin and he wasn’t fat, either. He wore a long, baggy lab coat that came down to his knees. It looked like he had a pair of loose khaki pants on, and he wore white tennis shoes with laces that were too long and rattled against the floor. He also wore a pair of thick and rather ugly eyeglasses. He pulled up another stool and with a nervous look asked, “How can I help you ladies?”
“We need some information,” I said. “We are looking to hire a couple of young men who listed you as a reference.”
“A reference?” he asked. He looked confused. Obviously my story was a lie, but it was a good cover story. Naturally Joe and George had never asked Tommy to be a reference, so I could understand his surprise.
“Yes,” I continued. “Joe Parker and George Johnson. They both said you could give us some information about them.”
“Oh, Joe and George,” he said with a smile. “Yes, both are very good guys. I helped them a lot with their chemistry class. They both told me they wouldn’t have passed without my help. I was flattered to hear that. But…uh…what would you like to know about them? I’d be happy to help them.”
“We only need some general information,” I said. “When did you see them last?”
He leaned back a little. “Oh, I don’t know,” he answered. “Several months at least. We don't have any common classes anymore." Tommy always had a tendency to explain things a bit more than necessary. But that was probably one of the reasons I understood things better.
I decided not to beat around the bush anymore. "Tommy, what if I told you that we were Joe Parker and George Johnson?" I asked.
Tommy didn't show any kind of immediate reaction. He said slowly, "I would think you are playing a joke on me. Or perhaps Joe and George are behind this, yes? They hired you for a practical joke?"
"Now, Tommy," I said. "Does that sound like the Joe and George you know?"
"No," he said. "It does not. But they told me I didn't have a great sense of humor, either."
Myrintha suddenly said, "But they also told you that you were the smartest person they'd ever known, right?"
Tommy scratched his head. "They may have," he answered. "I do not remember."
Myrintha continued, "They told you that they'd like to hang out with you outside of school and that they'd like to try and hook you up with a girl, didn't they?"
Tommy appeared a bit more apprehensive now. I interjected, "Didn't they also say defend you from some idiot in the class who called you 'Japanese' over and over again because he thought it was funny?"
"Weren't they the only two people who stood up to that loser?" asked Myrintha.
He thought for a moment. "Yes," he said. "That is all true. But they could have just told you to say those things." He stood up. "I'm sorry, girls, you gave it a good try, but I am very busy. Please give my regards to Joe and George." He looked very annoyed as he turned and walked back toward his work.