Science with Celeste II: Chemical Boogaloo
Both Lillian and Jen wanted to argue, but they saw in the teacher's face that she was in no mood for that, and with a sigh, decided to drop it. Celeste gave them a smug smile as she walked with you to her work station. You sighed, this was going to be a long class...

The teacher began by giving the list of chemical substances you'd be using for the experiment, and you began taking note. It took a while, as this experiment was fairly complex and involved many different chemicals plus several pieces of equipment. Just as you finished writing down everything, you turned to Celeste to start gathering the stuff, when you noticed that she had her notebook open and was looking at a list of her own, and she had grabbed the substances and equipment for it rather than what the teacher was saying.

"Celeste, what the hell?!" You whispered angrily, but she smiled again and playfully shushed you.
"No, seriously, what do you think you're doing...?" You asked with concern
"I found this special chemical recipe on the deep web the other day... it's a weight loss compound that's much better than anything on the market, but they don't sell it because it's not approved by the FDA and whatnot..." She explained
"If the teacher finds out we're gonna get hanged" Your eyes narrowed
"She won't if nobody says anything..." She replied and shot you a pleading look. You were really annoyed by her obsessive tendencies, and the fact that she was willing to risk many things just for that. You glanced at her notebook again. The ingredients listed and the instructions given were all very precise, and it didn't seem like someone's random shopping list.
'At least she seems to have gotten actual instructions and not just a bullshit tutorial...' You thought and decided to let her be, though you'd take no part in this, and definitely weren't going to take the fall should she get caught.
"Thanks a million!" She said and gave you a quick kiss on the cheek, to which you groaned in annoyance.

Celeste then began carefully mixing the chemicals, in the exact amounts as were written in her notebook. You still weren't sure if it was a good idea to let her make whatever that was and presumably drink it, but then again, she was 17 friggin years old, she could make her own decisions and face the consequences, and you didn't feel like trying to dissuade her any further. You just hoped she didn't get caught for the sake of not having to deal with anything extra today. You glanced around, everyone was focused on their work and sigh in relief. Minutes felt like hours to you, and you had become more anxious about getting caught than the culprit herself, ironically.

"Is that thing going to be done soon?" You asked
"Almost... I just need to add a few drops of this and stir it for a bit..." She said, and suddenly you heard her stomach grumble. You guessed she probably skipped breakfast, but instead she looked a bit sickened and looked away in embarrassment.
"I... uh... need to go to the bathroom real quick, please just keep stirring this. It should take about 5 minutes and the liquid will change color when it's done..." She said and stood up before you could even protest. She walked to the teacher and asked for permission to go to the bathroom, leaving you with whatever she was making. You sigh and go over to her seat and keep stirring the liquid. Many of its components started off colorless, but right now, the liquid had a deep blue color, and it sizzled like a soda. You felt that it gave off a bit of warmth, and in a way it looked like it was in the first stages of boiling as you kept on stirring it with the glass rod.

You then had to do a double take, as it looked like the mysterious liquid somehow got electrically charged. You'd swear you saw a small electric arc within the liquid itself. You gulped and wondered if Celeste really intended to drink this concoction. Just as you kept stirring, you noticed the liquid's blue hue kept on lightening, and as the 5 required minutes approached, you felt a faint electrical field, the hairs on your arms stood on end, and felt the vague tingly feeling like that of touching an old analog tv right after it had been turned off. You then felt as if the liquid pulsed with an unknown invisible energy, eerily resembling a human heartbeat. Finally, the liquid suddenly changed to a turquoise color and you felt a stronger pulse that went from your arms and all over your body. You never expected a chemical mixture could give this kind of reaction, you knew some stuff can explode or catch fire when mixed wrong, but you never heard of them generating anything resembling an electrical charge. You don't get to ponder on it for long, though, as you quickly feel drained of your vitality. Your eyes feel suddenly much heavier and your hearing becomes distorted. Once again you feel the heartbeat-like pulse, but now, it came from within you, and it lulled you to sleep. You felt so tired you weren't able to resist it for long, and soon your eyes closed and you blacked out.

Later... You suddenly woke up and wonder if that chemical thing did anything to you. As you sat up and let your eyes recover their focus, you quickly realize you're somewhere else. You're sitting on the same black leathery material from the lab chairs, but instead of said small stool, this surface is a vast expanse that stretches into the horizon in all directions. You look farther ahead and after a few minutes you realize that you're indeed in the lab, and considering what happened, it wasn't very likely everything suddenly grew, which meant that it was you who shrank, and tremendously at that. You then felt the ground shake, and fell on your face, caught off guard, but with some struggling, you stand up and keep your footing while the ground keeps shaking. A giant shadow covers you and your surrounding area and you turn around to find out why...

[Author's note: The difference between Lillian's and Jen's path here is that the latter has clearly found you, but the former hasn't yet...]
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May 12, 2023
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