Bubbles

Jason sat in a diner booth staring intently at the two bottles sitting on the table in front of him. “Is it just me or are the bubbles in coke smaller than the ones in pepsi?”

Hannah sighed, exasperated. She snatched back her drink and took a sip. “You had four weeks to come up with a scientific topic to base your final project on and you did nothing. It’s your own fault you’ve got only two days left and nothing but the relative radii of bubbles in carbonated drinks.”

“You can’t rush genius” Jason replied, grinning impishly. “Besides, bubble size analysis is a scientific endeavor that only humanities greatest minds are worthy of. No normal human would dare to embark on such a quest.”

“You got one part of that right” muttered Hannah. Knowing Jason as she did, Hannah suspected that he had done nothing but play video games and binge watch tv shows, and now he would probably spend the next forty-eight hours actually trying to measure the different sizes of bubbles. She knew he was doomed. Before she could say any of this, he had reached out again and stolen her drink. He took a large swig from her glass before placing it back down and taking one from his own.

“It seems taste analysis isn’t the way to go.” He said, pretending to write stuff down in a notebook that didn’t exist.

“You are such an idiot” said Hannah, trying hard not to laugh.

“Perhaps.” He replied, “but I am an adorable idiot.”

Hannah’s attempts to suppress her laughter failed utterly. “Something tells me that that excuse isn’t going to work on Ms. Terch.” She said, still laughing. Hannah had known Jason for over four years, and not once in all that time had she seen him finish a school project on time. She didn’t know what the opposite of time management was, but she was pretty sure that the dictionary would just have a picture of a lanky teenager with messy sand colored hair, dark brown eyes, and a permanently crooked smile. “You really need to get that project finished.”

“Yes, but why would I work on that when I can be here with you?” he asked.

“Fine.” Hannah said definitively. She stood up and began walking out of the diner.

“Wait!” Jason yelped. “Where are you going?”

 “You can see me again after you’ve finished your project.” She called back.

Jason stumbled out of the booth and streaked across the tiled floor, trying to catch up with her. “That’s not fair.” He said, aghast.

“Too bad. Finish your project and then you can see me.” Long-held experience had taught Jason that when Hannah had made up her mind, nothing short of divine intervention could change it. “If I were you I’d hurry up and get that project finished”. Without a moments hesitation Jason began sprinting down the street heading towards his house. He made it half-way down the block before remembering that he’d biked to the diner. He ran back, hopped on his bicycle, and peddled away with equal vigor. Hannah smiled as she watched him swerve around a pedestrian and disappear around the corner. This was going to be the best damn bubble project the world had ever seen.