Nothing Is Little by Carmella Van Vleet

Author:Carmella Van Vleet [Van, Carmella Vleet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Holiday House
Published: 2022-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

23

Brave

When we arrive at Forensic Science Club on Wednesday, Mr. S is wearing a white lab coat with bloody handprints on it.

“In honor of Halloween this weekend, we’re going to play with blood,” he tells us, and then does an evil laugh.

It’s fake blood, of course, but still super fun.

“Make sure you cover your entire work area with newspaper,” Mr. S says as we get ready. “And tape it down so it doesn’t move. If the custodian comes after me, I will throw you under the bus, people.”

We use medicine droppers to drop blobs of blood onto items from various heights and angles, and then we measure the results.

Casey is standing on a chair to drop blood from six feet up. “Be careful,” Priya says. “And warn us this time so we can move out of the way.”

The last one, from four feet up and a ninety-degree angle, made a big spatter. Part of it landed on Priya’s shoes.

“Look out below,” Casey says.

Ray gets hit in the arm. “Ahhhh. I’m bleeding!” he says in fake panic.

Priya clears her throat. “What’s the first rule?” she teases.

Casey, Ray, and I answer at the same time. “Assess, then progress.”

“Okay, then,” Priya says.

“Excuse me,” Ray deadpans. “It appears I am losing blood cells. What should I do next?”

“Well, definitely don’t freak out,” Casey says. The four of us crack up. And then Priya hands him a tissue.

Awhile later, we experiment with dropping blood onto different surfaces. “The type of surface the blood hits can affect the spatter,” Mr. S explains.

The teams each try glass, then tile, wood, and a piece of drywall. The last one is carpet, and we get carried away.

“Yikes,” Priya says. “That looks like a murder scene.” She laughs. “And my friends think this club sounds boring.”

Ray snorts. “That’s nothing. My dad says Forensic Science Club is a waste of time.”

We stop what we’re doing.

“Did he really say that?” I ask.

“Yeah.”

“What happened?” Priya asks gently.

“My dad wanted me to do Math Club,” Ray begins. “But I lied about when it met, so I could do this instead. Then he found out Math Club doesn’t meet on Fridays. He got really mad and said Forensic Science Club was a waste of time and that I should’ve been doing Math Club all along.”

Casey says nothing, just lays her hand on his shoulder. Priya tells him she’s sorry. I nod, adding, “Me too.”

Ray shrugs. “At least my mom talked him into letting me keep coming. I’m grounded until high school for lying, though.”

“That’s good. I mean the staying part. Not the grounding part,” I say. I think about the things I’ve learned about my dad since I started doing Forensic Science Club. “And it’s not a waste of time.” I hold out my fist and Ray gives it a bump.

The four of us go back to dropping fake blood onto the carpet square and measuring spatters. Priya’s right. It looks like a murder scene.

With twenty minutes to go, Mr. S announces that it’s time to start cleaning up.

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