Grantville Gazette Volume X by Eric Flint

Author:Eric Flint [Flint, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-03-25T22:00:00+00:00

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The Prepared Mind

By Kim Mackey

"Chance favors the prepared mind."

—Louis Pasteur

Grantville, May 1632

When Amy Kubiak walked into the biology classroom, Lori Fleming had her head on her desk. Amy smiled. Pete Farmer had been a good biology teacher when Amy had had him in high school. But now that she was working to become a teacher herself, she knew that she would have had trouble if Pete was her colleague. He had been so patronizing to his female students, unlike Greg Ferrara. Lori, on the other hand, wasn't patronizing at all, and her experience in the USDA helped her make her biology lessons more connected to reality, unlike Pete's mania for microbiology.

"Lori, you okay?"

Lori raised her head slowly. "I'm fine. Just another long meeting last night with the Ag group. I swear, men say that women are the gossipers, but you get J.D. and Gordon and Willie Ray together . . ."

Amy laughed. "I was wondering why Alexandra was looking so bushed. When did the meeting finally break up?"

"Midnight. Again." Lori grimaced. "But at least I have tonight free. Once we get Tony's little job done."

Amy grimaced herself. "Nice how we got 'volunteered' for it. Ever notice when cleaning work needs to get done that Tony always seems to find other things he has to do?"

Lori got up from her desk and stretched. "I noticed. I just wish he was less of a bureaucrat and more of a leader. He may be head of the science department, but that doesn't mean he can't, or shouldn't, get his hands dirty along with the rest of us."

"Speaking of hands, he better start keeping them to himself in the future. I like teaching, especially chemistry, but now that I've got other options . . ."

Lori tilted her head quizzically. "Other options?"

Amy nodded. "My roommate, Nicki Jo, has been hired by Colette Modi to get the ball rolling on a chemical company that will be set up in Essen. She's cutting back to half-time at the methanol plant so she can spend more time with the chem team doing research. She said if I ever need work, she could use me in a heartbeat. And now that the Modis are flush with cash from Louis de Geer, it would pay pretty well."

Amy paused and smiled at Lori. "We're procrastinating, aren't we?"

Lori laughed. "Yeah, we might as well bite the bullet and get it done. Onward!"

Together the two women left the classroom and headed down the hall.

* * *

"Oh God!"

Amy laughed as she pulled on her latex gloves. "That bad?"

Lori looked into the open door of the science department's refrigerator and shuddered. "Worse than bad. Horrid. Smelly. And there are . . . things growing on the walls!"

Amy looked around the corner of the refrigerator door and shook her head. "Want me to go get some sulfuric acid? Or a flame thrower?"

"No, I think the hot water and bleach will do. But this looks like it's going to take awhile. You still up for it? It's my responsibility, according to Tony.

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