Chemistry

( In this chapter, all of the things I mention are actual recipes. Please do not attempt to recreate any of the story's events. It may lead to explosion, injury, and in worse cases death. This is for story and educational purposes only. )

"Devina… how are we supposed to get back?"

Devina walked inside the lab again. She stood in front of a window and waved her hand, signaling that I should follow her.

Inside the lab were many weird stuff I have never seen before. Of all the things she could have had, there is a door in the back. She opened the door.

On the other side is a house. I walked through the door. Looking around, seeing all the paintings and the giant aquarium. It is Devina's house.

"Exactly. Now get yo ass back inside."

I returned through the door and sat on one of the chairs.

"So, what do we even do?"

Devina looked up at the ceiling. But the ceiling isn't there. The ceiling is transparent, seagulls stood there.

"Can't you just like take out meth from that pocket of yours?"

She looked back down and stared at me.

"What?"

"Vivshi, what do you think my pocket is?"

I smiled confusedly,

"You stick your hand inside and it pops out somewhere else."

Devina stared at me disenchanted.

"No. It is my pocket dimension that I can store stuff in. You wanna have a look inside?"

Devina created a blue hole in the air and told me to shove my face in it.

I carefully approached it and put my head inside.

Opening my eyes, it is just space with a bunch of stuff floating around. There were drinks, books, science equipment, rocks, chairs, beds, and normal stuff.

I took my head out and saw Devina standing there with a smug face.

"Did it fit your idea?"

"No."

"Exactly, I can only take out stuff that I have put inside it. As if I would store meth in my pocket dimension."

I sat back down on my chair and asked Devina what we were supposed to do now. She told me that I first needed to learn basic chemistry. She spent the next 2 hours explaining stuff called atoms, electrons, protons, neutrons, and charges.

"We have stuff called elements, which is structured out in a table. It is called the periodic table and contains all the elements."

"Do I really need to learn all of this?"

"Yes."

Devina made me remember all of the elements of the periodic table. This took another hour.

Then she started to explain about molecules and ionic bonds and covalent bonds.

"Devina… can I please have a rest…"

I had crammed chemistry into my head for 4 hours. My head is spinning and I collapse on the table.

"No more… I can't take it."

Devina sat there in her foldable chair, looking displeased with my behavior.

"Fine, I will give you 1 hour to rest."

I laid down on the bed Devina had prepared in the room adjacent to the lab. I managed to remember everything. Thank goodness that I have a good memory. I lay there exhausted, rolling around in the white fluffy newly washed sheets. Then the back pain kicked in, all the time I spent sitting on that chair listening to Devina probably deformed my spine.

I tried to enjoy every second of my freedom before Devina came into the room, dragging me by my feet.

"Get yo ass out of bed."

Devina told me to put on a white coat. She explained that I'm a chemist with her now.

"Alright then. One last thing before we start. We gotta go through the safety protocols and how all the machines work."

"Devina. I hate you."

One hour later. Devina had covered how every machine worked and what to do with all the equipment.

She smiled happily and gave me a pat on the head.

"Good job on listening until the end."

We finally started. Devina initiated the process.

"We are going to make methamphetamine through styrene."

"Wait, wait, wait, what is styrene?"

Devina summoned her blue hole again and took out a box. Upon opening the cardboard box, it is just white balls. I stuck my hands inside and scooped some up. They are so squishy. I did this because Devina allowed me.

She told me like chemistry's rules:

1. Never touch anything before asking her.

2. Never smell anything, and don't inhale fumes.

3. Never eat something before asking.

4. Always wear protective gear.

5. Don't play with dangerous chemicals.

"So how are we going to turn styrofoam into methamphetamine?"

"That ain't styrofoam, styrofoam is polystyrene. We use pure styrene."

I understood what she meant and she proceeded with her cooking.

We are going to use epoxidation of alkenes to turn them into styrene oxide. To do that, we are going to add perdenzoic acid to cause the Prilezhaev reaction.

I noted this down in a notebook Devina gave me.

"So now that we have oxidized the styrene. We can move on to the next step."

We are going to turn our styrene oxide into phenylpropan through the Grignard reaction. A guy named Victor Grignard discovered this technique. It involves the reaction of an organic halide.

And to accomplish this reaction we are going to add methylmagnesium bromide.

Devina took a container and poured it in.

"Devina? Why are you so quiet?"

She turned around with terror in her eyes, jumping towards me.

"GET DOWN! I POURED IN THE WRONG CHEMICAL!"

I got down onto the floor, cradling my head with my arms. Bracing for an explosion. Thoughts raced through my head as I'm about to die. I could hear the mixture bubbling and boiling intensely.

A loud explosion could be heard as I fortified my body. Tensing up all the muscles in my body.

The sound of explosions stopped. It didn't hurt. I slowly opened my eyes to see Devina standing in front of me with a camera.

"Heh. You got scared didn't ya?"

I looked around, everything seemed to be in place, Devina's station where she had poured in the methylmagnesium bromide hadn't exploded. A sigh of relief as I was thankful for being alive.

"You have been pranked!"

Giving Devina a death stare before hauling her up on my shoulders and slamming her down onto the bed.

"Chemistry my ass."