Exene Plus One

EXENE PLUS ONE

Chapterette No.1

YOU WON!?!

“Anything can happen”

Exene only had one rule and that is to do the minimum amount of work necessary. Today she broke it.

The wheels of Exene’s equipment cart clanked as she entered the welcoming chamber for the Dirac County Science Institute. The large atrium was filled to the brim with signage for Strong Science fair featuring a basketball pump pumping up a flat earth The logo “Strong Science inflating flat earthers!” communicated the intended purpose of the fair.

The ads also prominently featured a $500,000 scholarship to a school that teaches real science. The only requirement for the contest is that a person had publicly argued the Earth was flat and that the submitted project was based on ACTUAL science.

As a college drop with a contrarian nature Exene was perfect for this contest, At least that is what those around her persist in insisting.

On the far side of the welcome chamber there was a solitary woman wearing a name tag which bore the name Volu carried a piece of paper when she stood up to speak.

“Are you on the early access list?”

Exene could make out a single word in the reflection of Volu’s glasses.

“Yes, I’m Exene, but I think I used Emmy by mistake”

Volu raised an eyebrow and opened up a binder.

“One second, why isn't there a last name on this”

Volu scrunched her forehead while searching for the binder. She raised her eyebrow again

“There is no contestant named Emmy in the binder either. I see you here, Ms. Glashow. Can you call the producer who got you early access?”

Exene searched through the contact list on her phone until she found a number and showed it to Volu.

“I can’t call. I couldn’t pay the phone bill this month. Here is their number if that helps”

Exene waived the phone back and forth in front of Volu

“Never mind I have the number here” 

Volu dialed a number on the speaker.

“Sorry to bother you Professor Ducy, our early access list. Only has a single surname Emmy for the whole list. There is no listing for the same name in the book.”

Exene leaned forward to speak over the phone.

“Most computers autocorrect my name to Emmy if it's not saved in the dictionary.”

Exene had just lied. A banana on the table emitted harmful radiation her way.

A crackle emitted from the phone as a new voice entered the conversation

“That shouldn’t happen, what happened to the last name?”

The two women spoke over each other

“It’s not there”

“You forced me to submit a last name to my contestant. I added it yesterday. Maybe it didn’t catch up?”

There was a brief pause in all sound

“I see that correction in your file. Volu, take an inventory of her items and allow her to set up”

“I will have to go and get your welcome packet from the back we weren’t expecting early access for another hours”

Volu walked to the back and returned with a manilla envelope which conatined several 11x17 pages with print on them and a 75% off coupon for all Gellman Publishing magazines, the founder of the nationwide contest.

“...Let's see here. You are in the novice tier”

Volu flipped past an opinion piece Exene sent to the local paper in high school arguing why a round earth was stupid. Volu’s visage altered slightly as she turned to the next page.

“That was 2 years ago...”

“Release the Goo...”

“...I know isn't’ that such a fun title.

Volu picked up a bottle labeled Sodium Hypochlorite.

“This is empty. Do you plan on using it?”

Exene sighed as she stared at the protective fire shield on the table in front of her.

“No, one of my monitors keeps throwing it out”

“Genitors?”

“My originators”

Volu shook her head sideways while looking at the project

“You are assigned Counter U1 in the room behind me to the right. It's the only one that is open now anyways.”

“Sorry it says Emmy”

Volu handed Exene a name tag with a magnetic clip.

Exene followed the copper lines in the terrazzo floor as she made her way to her through the convention room dragging her cart behind her with each step.

The room was large and expensive. There were high ceilings that bore many metal rafters. There were several colorful ‘science for idiots’ ads hanging on the wall here too. The ads for the magazine were colorful

Only two advertisements were in black and white. One of which was an election poster for Ron tucked away in the rafters. The other was a larger vertical poster of a woman in Victorian garb wagging her finger surrounded by many small bottles. It was a No-Ether Emmy, and it was right over her table.

Exene originally used rats in mazes but changed after she couldn’t get some coke. She had feelings about being under this poster.

Exene always did the bare minimum, never more than necessary and her entry into this project was no exception. The casual destruction and measurement of chocolate creme eggs.

Most tools were basic: a tape measure here, a canister of liquid nitrogen there, a repurposed nebulizer over there. Exene propped up her kiosk poster with the fire protection shield meant for the now missing chemical. She didn’t want to carry it back with her. Everything had a property for the government tag on it. More specifically they were from the Dept of Nuclear Research.

Finally, Exene placed sixteen of the seasonal phased confectionaries on the countertop next to the Bunsen burner. Thirty were purchased for the event. The fate of the missing fourteen was all the same. Rapid disassembly and a slow bath in gastric acid. Some have passed through to the other side while other parts made an insignificant addition to waste heat.

The voice of a woman startled Exene

“Can you give me my name tag?”

“What name tag?”

“The one that says Emmy, I have yours Exene”

“Sorry Emmy, I thought it was a misprint”

Elly glared at Exene

“My name isn't Emmy, It's Elly. Their software changed it”

Exene swapped name tags

“I thought that's what happened to me.”

Elly glowered at Exene dubiously

Exene responded to Elly’s glowering.

“I asked Dr Tater if I could set up early and he said he would put me on the list.”

Exene Lied.

Elly rolled her eyes

“I was held up at the door for 20 minutes because someone had already come in under Early Access”

Exene ducked her head as she respond

“They can't even get our names right it's not my fault they are disorganized”

Elly did not say a word and returned to her assigned table next to Exene and began to unpack her entry.Exene stared at her feet for a while before glancing up to look at Elly’s project.

The title announced the project as ‘An Electric Circuit of Plants’ by Elly Goldstone.

Exene cringed when she did. A giant picture of a ‘Sawtooth’ venus fly trap dominated the right side of a three-piece board. The latin name, dionaea muscipula, underneath did nothing to reduce the disconcerting feeling bubbling in Exene's stomach..She feared fly traps, any carnivorous plant really, ever since she saw Little Shops of Horrors

There was a picture of an Electric Blueberry Vine. A placard underneath the image described the process of using CRISPR to add a calcium channel to existing pathways. She renamed the species electrico billardiera longiflora for the purposes of the show.

On the left there was a large picture of a boring looking shrub. The placard called it a sensitive mimosa. Its Latin name was mimosa pudica. The shrub shies away from anything that touches it. This moving plant is not carnivorous.

After a few moments Exene excited the room flooring the same copper lines she looked at when she entered. The welcome atrium was full of people, many of them in groups carrying multiple carts and large pelican cases.

Some required cardboard to get through the entrance.Exene followed the edge of the wall until she found a hallway that led to a handicap exit. She did this to reduce interactions with other people and found an easier place to cart in stuff.

Sometimes Exene’s genitors would claim to show up super early and wait hours before having to be someplace out when she was supposed to be picked up.

For once, Exene hoped this was one of those days. Usually, a day like that would mean she would be stuck waiting until midnight but this time she actually finished super early. There was nothing. Which is what Exene truly expected anyways

The parking area lacked any benches for waiting so Exene chose a tree that was slightly off the main concrete pathway. People continued to enter the building for another hour or so.

The sun and a mild wind weathered at Exene as she adjusted her position under the tree according to the location of the sun. Her shoes were soaked through from moisture on the grass. The concrete drop-off area was empty now, so Exene leaned up against the side of the building for shade. Her ride should have been here by now,

Only a few minutes later the atrium doors swung open, Elly was struggling to carry out her board which was now broken into three parts and very unbalanced.

Exene wanted to make up for causing a little headache this morning.

“Can I help?”

Elly glared at her threateningly.

“No, I can handle this, I would check your own station if I were you. There are errant baseballs flying around in there”

Elly clumsily carried the poster remains to her car. Exene did not have much time to check on things because her ride was due to arrive soon, and they will not wait 15 minutes.

Exene looked at the time on her phone and ran out one last time into the parking lot to see that no one was approaching the county road. There was only a pink convertible.

Exene hurried back into the building.

The place was full of people. Exene tried to stick to the walls, but tables would force her out into crowds. She focused on the floor as much as possible, occasionally having to switch rails when people got in the way.

Exene turned her head to the side when she heard Volu speak over the loud ambient chatter.

“A baseball launcher fell off the countertop during testing.”

The damage was immediately apparent when Exene entered the convention room. The No-Ether Emmy poster had a big hole in it where there used to be -E. Exene smiled.

There was no time for Exene to deal with the floor. Exene alternated her view between the floor and the ceiling in order to see where she was going but took her mind off people around her.

There was no damage to Exene’s project, only a little bit of litter from the sign above. Exene picked up an almost perfect circle cutout of -E and folded it into her pocket. Exene hurried back the same way she came in.

Exene exited the building five minutes after she entered. She ran around the parking lot to make sure no one parked and out onto the street to make sure no one drove away. She didn’t see anyone. She felt certain she didn’t miss anyone and should still hopefully return to shelter soon.

People started to leave at first it was a trickle but soon it became a flood Exene stood off by the tree as they left. She watched the sunset to her right. The sky transitioned from a majestic blue to merigold and tangerine. The moon was coming up on the horizon to the left. It was completely covered in shadow. Save for a slight glint.

Exene glanced back and forth between both horizons and imagined her shadow on the lunar surface. All diffuse and mixed in with everything around her. For just a second she was on the moon.

The cold nip of an evening wind snapped her back to Earth..

“Just another place.”

The streetlights came on and the moon waxed as it got higher in the sky.

A volunteer approached Exene

“I’m sorry we must lock the parking lot up; you can’t stay here any longer. There is one last bus coming to the stop across the street”

Exene’s throat was dry. She didn't have change for the bus.

“My ride should be here shortly”

The volunteer continued’

“You have been out her for eight hours, you should find another way home”

Exene walked out to the bus stop and watched for any oncoming cars. She let the bus go by.

About an hour later a car's headlight pulled off the road a quarter mile away. From the honking, Exene knew it was her progenitor. She was going to have to walk. The gravelly road made her glad she was able to stow the cart next to her counter.

The sound of NPR grew she approached and got progressively louder as she approached.

The driver's side door of the Sudan was open. The radio was blaring reruns of Fresh Air. Prog was in the driver's seat staring into space. Prog’s eyes are smoldering bits of coal wallowing in a pool of tears.

“GOD DAMN IT!!”

Prog exited the vehicle, walked around the front of the vehicle, and threw Exene into a passenger seat that was covered in fast food wrappers, 2 liter soda bottles and multiple types of cigarette boxes. Exene’s blouse was stretched irreparably in the process.

Prog returned to chain smoking in the driver's seat. A pained stare peered through everything.

“I waited two hours after I dropped you off this morning. That should have been enough time to set up that stupid project.”

Exene nodded that she heard before Prog continued.

“Geni had the electron microscope; you were supposed to by that. Its too late now that it's been repossessed.”

Exene's face flushed.

“Do you think we would be living in a motel if I had $25,000 dollars for an electron microscope?”

Prog was quick to respond

“We wouldn’t. You could have gotten a loan for it. We wouldn’t be out of a home if you did, and you would be able to win the scholarship”

Exene buried herself into the mess to distract herself

“Really?”

Prog always has an answer

“It's a competition for flat earth idiots. It's the one time you can capitalize on that mistake of an opinion piece you wrote years ago.”

Exene looked away from Prog and rolled her eyes.

“I can afford and manage chocolate eggs. I can’t do either with an electron microscope.”

“We can show you”

“Geni still needed a part to make it work”

Prog scowled at Exene ready to attack.

“It's better than Chocolate. Anything is better than chocolate, you’re not even inventive with yours, it's just chocolate.”

Exene held up an errant candybar wrapper

“It’s something I can afford”

Prog tossed a cigarette out the window before lighting another one.

“If you were saving 100 dollars a week you would be better prepared for moments like these.”

Prog’s eyes began to water.

“Where did I go wrong? You can’t even take care of yourself. I have to drive you everywhere”

Exene always was on the verge of hyperventilating during these moments

“That's because you destroyed my car.”

Prog’s voice was sharp when she responded

“I DID NOT!”

“You removed the drain plug when you borrowed my car to go to Sizzler. You don’t even like Sizzler”

“That car was not safe. It was already falling apart”

“You left the drain plug in the driveway”

“I didn’t know about that It fell out by itself”

“There was transmission fluid on the steering wheel”

Prog took a deep breath

“Enough, why do this anyway, it's a long time ago. Plus, you will kill yourself if you drive. You are too clumsy. No noo.. Nooo all those times you ran away just no. You are better off with this. It can’t happen again. It won't”

Exene exited the car after it arrived at the Grande Motel where they live. The sound of the car diminished exponentially as she walked across the parking lot to their room 127.

Exene knocked twice. Geni opened the door carrying Firs, the oldest cat. Firs kindly considered Exene for a moment. An empty pizza box temporarily hampered the closing of the door.

Geni put the cat down next to the kitty litter.

“I found sodium hypochlorite in the trash this morning. I don’t know why Prog would put it there. I put it next to the courtesy phone for you.”

Geni continued to explain important points.

“Sucrose reacts very strongly only a little, maybe using a glass rod.”

The door slammed open before Exene could respond Prog held several pieces of paper labeled with bright red stamps that say Past Due. Nodid grabbed Seco before it could make it to highway heaven.

“We are all going to be living in the sedan tomorrow! Geni hasn’t been paying the bills.”

Prog opened a message postmarked in Germany from Godid, a sibling of Exene's. A disgusted and pained look crossed Progs face.

The words FUCK YOU PROG! featured very prominently on the back of an acceptance letter to a bridge program at EHT.

"Godid is around the smartest people in the world. She only focuses on having no money, no job and no visa. I paid my way through college with no job."

Exene figured now might be a better time to mention she would be taking the bus tomorrow. The room shook in response.

"YOU WILL NOT!!!"

The phone rang. It was the front desk.

"If we get another complaint, we are going to have the police evict you immediately."

The phone rang again.

Loud words escaped that made gigantic letters look small and blew away all punctuation

god damn it

RING RING RING

"You are all such disappointments. I hate you all."

"Especially YOUl!!" Prog shouted at Nodid who was just near the door when she opened it.

Prog headed back to the car on the other side of the parking lot to chain smoke and listen to public radio.

Exene used the less stressful time to remove socks and underwear from the sink so she could wash off a mustard stain from her remaining good blouse.

Seco hopped up on top of the HBObox turning the TV on and waking Exene. She quickly turned off the TV. Seco regarded Exene indifferently.

Geni was gone for work already and Prog was asleep in the car. Exene boarded the bus hoping there would be a place to return to.

Exene downloaded the transit schedules over the Motel Wifi in the lobby.

The bus trip was a simple transfer in South Weyl, and it dropped Exene off right across the street. It looked empty enough to hold the cart too.

Exene was once again early. This time it gave her the benefit of choosing her seat. She chose the seat right next to where everyone entered so she could be the first out. The auditorium gradually filled up.

A voice came over the speakers

“Please welcome the Honorable Reverend Professor Emeritus Lord Richard Tater MD Esquire the Third”

Dr Tater took the stage

“Welcome to the Dirac County regional chapter of the Strong Science Fair. We have 120 participants and each one of you has your own YouTube video, blog post or public breakdown. The winners of the regional chapter will move to Nationals- in 6 months. Da..da…da”

Exene dazed off the untitled h sound of rustling indicating people were getting ready to leave.

“Da..da…da…da”

Exene ducked out the hallway not waiting for the speaker to even finish. She made right at the exit to go to her convention room. The copper lines lead.

The No-Ether Emmy Poster was gone. Another ad for Strong Science magazine took its place. The additional signage for the different projects overwhelmed Exene who relied upon the lines on the floor to keep her on path without having to look up.

Exene glanced up at a looping video playing on a monitor. The Retro causal Hummingbird. She was only 2 counters away.

The fly traps were still on U2. “A Living Circuit” by Eli Goldstone. There was a picture of a fly trap and a sensitive mimosa which was referred to as The Humble Plant. A tube containing electrified hyphae connected the two.

Her project was gone. The vacuum chamber, fire shield, liquid nitrogen, chemicals, evaporating pot. A rat maze took its place at counter U1. The study was on sleep deprived mice and cognitive ability. A squandered opportunity for coke this was just animal abuse and obviously she was in the wrong room.

Exene returned to the welcome atrium from Convention Room SO5 on the other side of the auditorium from room SO3. The damaged drug propaganda still hung over her counter like Pox. It was now full of people, most standing at their counters.

There was no one in front of Absolute Zero from Absolut. Images of drinking vodka in the arctic populated her expectations. She was disappointed to find the project was all math. Alcohol is to be drunk not put into syringes.

Exene walked right by the baseball launcher and made a right at Nuclear Pasta, a gigantic ball of pasta which looked like a death star. Elly was on the other side of Nuclear Pasta reading a book about Doct Wu in front of her moving plants.

Exene focused on the floor once more until she made her precious Cadbury Eggs. unwrapped one and bit its head off the long string of holiday confectionary goo stuck to her chin.

Another voice from behind at an awkward moment.

“Do you mind if I take a picture of you with your project”

Exene looked confused

“Me?”

Exene looked at a card handed to her by a cameraperson, Bimba Lens, a photojournalist for the Dirac County Times.

Exene spotted the jurist panel surrounding the Nuclear Pasta,

“I guess it's OK”

“Just stand right here and look forward. ..One Second”

Bimba spoke with Elly before\taking a step back across the aisle in front of the modern popout bleachers. A flash went off.

“Look for the article in the Weekend section for Sunday's Paper. You never know”

The jurist panel arrived at Elly’s counter right as the photographer left. Exene could see Elly trigger a motionless fly trap. The shrub wept.

Exene was anxiously going through her speech in her head while observing Elly’s experiment from afar. She strayed closer to counter U2 until she could hear how the jurists interacted with Elly.

“Is your name Elly or Emmy?”

“It’s Elly, the board needed to be replaced there was no time to get replacement”

“It’s a nice project Elly”

Exene was mouthing off someplace in the middle of her imaginary script when shoes appeared in her peripheral. The panel was here. Exene stared straight past them before she could recall what to say.

Exene took a bite of another creme egg using the chewing motion as an excuse not to talk.

“How many ways to get to the center of a Cadbury Creme Egg. I, 2 3, 4, I will perform at least 5 experiments that test the limits of the delicacies protective shell”

Exene released a chocolate egg from a claw.

“You can drop them”

The table rushed up, cracking the egg and releasing its innards. The height of the drop was measured using tape measure and recorded in cm’s on the kiosk

Next Exene dragged out a nebulizer that was repurposed as a vacuum chamber and a large glass dome.

“You can suck the air out of them causing them to explode.”

The innards of the egg expanded out and grew past its outside and out to the edges of the tube. A real mess.

Thirdly, Exene opened a canister of liquid nitrogen. She poured a little into a Styrofoam cup.

“You can freeze it and see how that changes the drop test.”

The sugary treat shattered at significantly lower height. The number was recorded in centimeters on the kiosk.

Fourthly, a weight was dropped on the calorie laden devil

“You can crush them”

The weight cracked the shell, and the height and mass were recorded in newtons on the kiosk.

Exene lights up the Bunsen burner

“You can melt them”.

Juri put on a pair of goggles. The other panelists followed

“Hold on”

Exene continued melting the egg over an orange flame. The temperature was recorded over time. The oversized bonbon was removed when its shell leaked.

Exene added a tablespoon of white crystalline powder and a thumb full of sulfuric acid to the evaporation pot. The egg was returned to the pot.

“Or you can chemically disintegrate them”

Pink flames flared up around the outside of the egg. These eventually flared out.

Exene picked up the glass rod to press down on the egg.

Dr Tater could be heard as the flames turned orange upon contact with the festive center

“Wasn’t this portion dropped from your itinerary….

BOOM!

A blast shook right down Exene’s hand. Stunning, her arm completely motionless. She had to hold the arm up with her other arm and resist the ringing feeling echoing all around her arm. Juri was doubled over screaming in unbearable pain.

Little bits of flaming goo were falling everywhere. Half of the evaporating pot stuck out from the poster leaning on the protective shield.

Time had little meaning; fire extinguishers were deployed at some point perhaps very quickly. Exene was in a daze when two uniformed officers approached Exene and escorted her to a staging area in the welcome atrium where time returned. The sound of the screaming diminished by the square of the distance.

Exene was the only one in the staging area. She could see the auditorium fill with people behind the two officers. Exene heard laughter as the rest paraded by.

Dr. Tater spoke briefly with the cops before speaking with Exene.

“How is your arm?”

“It's not numb or tingly anymore”

“Good luckily no one was hurt aside from Juri’s cramps. We won’t need to postpone the event, which is good. We are asking that you wait in the staging area until after the awards ceremony.”

Exene nodded in response as her voice box was stifled. The two officers stepped forward after Dr Tater left.

Echoes poured from the auditorium. Portions of which were inaudible

“” Please welcome back the Honorable Reverend Professor Emeritus Lord Richard Tater the Third MD Esquire””

“We would love to thank everyone who participated in this regional event. All winners will continue on to the national event…”

“...Now let’s get to our honorable mentions. Every project was great but not every project can get a prize. Three awards are not enough to give equally deserving projects a chance. Honorable mention means you can progress forward.”

“Our first honorable mention is awarded to Kin Dawon for ICU: Does Everything Disappear Once Out of View? psychology””

Applause could be heard.

“Our second honorable mention is awarded to Ent Rant for SWEET CYCLE: The Left-Handed Nature of Natural Sugar, Chemistry.”

Applause could be heard.

“Our third honorary mention is awarded to Victor Close for The Ames Window: How to Trick People to Sit on Benches That Aren’t There.

Applause could be heard.

“Third place is awarded to Iam Bookman for SCI LI: The Influence of Pop-Sci-Fi on Common Misconceptions, social sciences.”

Applause could be heard.

“Second place is awarded to Ace Lerate for FICTITIOUS FORCES: Why Rocks Don’t Fall Off the Moon, physics.”

Applause could be heard.

“First place is awarded to Eli Goldstone for A Living Circuit, biology.”

Applause could be heard.

As the applause continued, Exene stared off into the distance desperate to rewrite the past few moments.

Dr. Tater was entering the staging area when he walked right past the two officers to confront him. Her voice was so stressed it carried a current

“Dr Tater, Eli’s project is identical to mine, yet he got awarded first place and I don’t even get an honorable mention.”

The professor lord turned around to speak with Elly.

“Emmy”

“My name is Elly”

“Sorry, your name tag, Elly, it's Honorable Dr Tater.”

“Why was Eli’s project over mine that much more significant that he can go on but I can’t?”

“Your overall score was lower.”

“Why?”

Dr Tater perused the competitor scorecard.

“You got a 6 for professionalism”

“What does that even mean?”

“Your kiosk had inaccurate information on it.”

“I noted that in my speech”

“You will be rushed on the field sometimes, accurately transcribing your work is important.”

Emmy sighed.

“It’s the same project”

“You should be proud of what you accomplished; your project was a great one. It's just that Eli did it in a more impressive way. Attention to detail is important.”

“You can speak with our office if you have any more concerns.”

Dr Tater turned around as the officers cleared Elly from the staging area.

“Is your arm still, OK?”

Exene nodded.

“I’ve been told that they haven't found any permanent damage and no obvious long-term injury. Science is a discipline, and you treaded on that when you didn’t set up the proper safety devices, and when you performed an unauthorized experiment”

“I had permission to,”

“You dropped the item from your inventory”

Dr Tater continued

“Chemicals contain energy that can transfer itself extremely quickly, potentially obliterating everything in its way. Including your hand or an eye or the eye of the person next to you”

“You had goggles”

“That's not the point, the goggles do nothing against a jagged five-inch piece of metal flying at 1000 miles per hour”

“I had approval”

“The approval was revoked when you didn’t bring it in for inventory.”

“No one told me that”

The honorable reverend’s breath belied frustration,

“In any case you didn’t follow the rules asn put people at risk. Whether you knew them or not doesn’t matter. You should be aware of common safety procedures. You are permanently disqualified from all future Gellman contests”

“We have your address on file if we need to contact you about any further issues. You are free to go now.”

Exene walked back to her counter and packed up all of her equipment. She spied Elly speaking animatedly with Dr Tater. She kept her distance and dragged her cart as quietly as possible as she walked towards the handicapped access hallway.

“You are going to carry that on the bus by yourself?”

Exene had to replay the unexpected interaction in her head to understand the words. It was Elly’s voice, and it was strangely amiable as if Elly regarded Exene as an ally.

Exene looked at the textures of the vitrified tiles when she responded

“There is plenty of space on the bus.”

Exene waited at the door. The click of Elly’s heels echoed the hallway as she continued speaking,

“That was quite a spectacle in there, can’t say I’m disappointed.”

The hallway kept Elly’s voice basically the same volume and did not increase by the square of the distance.

Exene waited at the end of the aisle.

“Where do you live; I might be able to drop you off?”

Elly’s teeth were white and straight. Exene considered her with yellow bucky teeth as an alternative.

Elly’s hair was silky and wavy. Exene considered her tattered and matted as an alternative.

Elly’s shoes were new and free of signs of weathering. Exene considered her soulless well-worn shoes made of fabric that have long since given way to tatters.

Exene reasoned if anyone should consider the other a serial killer it should be Elly. Exene nearly blew the place up just now.

“I am staying at the Hilbert Hotel in South Weyl.”

Exene lied.

“Great, I live in Majorana right down the highway. I’ll get Teala.”

“Teala?”

“My car”

Elly disappeared into the parking lot and reemerged a few moments later in a 1979 Pink Fiat convertible, The door shocked Exene’s bad hand.

Although the vehicle was cute, it barely held everything. Exene was used to clutter, but this was clean clutter. The fly traps had to be placed on top of the misprinted poster and prone to sliding around.

Exene was immediately uncomfortable, she was used to excessive clutter. She was afraid her shoes would dirty the nice clean tan carpet. So, she rested her shoes on the plastic part of the door,

The flytrap in the back almost poured on to Exene when Elly at the first stop sign. Elly got of the car,

“You are going to have to carry the fly trap.”

Elly transferred the fly trap to Exene who looked at her arms around the plastic dome holding the plant so it would not budge. The fangs that act as a cage, the odd color of the leaves, the fact that plants aren’t supposed to eat meat or move. That dome would not move.

Elly was the first to talk.

“I'm glad that guy was OK. They kind of deserve it though. They are so haphazard, the baseball, ughh, at least yours was entertaining”

Exene recalled the past few spoken words over and over. The words were considered in partial and complete until she finally put it all together in her neurological net and output a response.

This can take a few seconds especially when Exene is struggling and right now she is still struggling. She was in a mental battle with the meat-eating plant on her lap.

“I thought that his project was yours when I saw it. He even had the same counter number as you. It threw me off”

“They said they were impressed at the speed at which he put it together. What does that have to do with anything? I can grow a fungal colony overnight too. I created electric blueberries!”

“I didn’t think I would win but it just sucks when the one who wins did the same thing I did.”

Exene paused before asking

“I can’t picture you writing in support of flat earth. How did you qualify?”

“I participated in a hypothetical debate in my only year of college”

“Isn’t that kind of cheating?”

Elly glowered at Exene dubiously

“Maybe? What about lying to get ahead of others?”

Exene gaze was firmly on fly traps ‘fangs’ that form its cage when she responded.

“I can’t focus when others are around. It's too busy.”

Exene was looking at the footpath between the pine trees off the highway running along the county road. She would have to walk down to get to her motel

“Is that the entrance over there…If I ask a bellhop will they know you stay here?”

Exene turned to Elly who was looking at her.

“How can you tell?”

“You're staring at trees, you do have a place to live, don’t you?”

“Yes of course I do…The Ski Inn about half a mile from here.”

Exene lied again and Elly updated GPS. She was not familiar with The Ski Inn.

“10 minutes I will drop you off.”

The state highway was divided by concrete barriers into north and south lanes. Large lit signs [plastered the highway along with their single or double story building counterparts. A few even dared to tower in the 8 floor ranges. Those tended to be budget versions of more established brands.

Occasional one chain will go bankrupt and local businessmen will purchase one and reposition it as a budget hotel. The Ski Inn is that kind of place. The nicest joint on the block. It also happened to be right next to h Grande Motel where Exene stayed.

Elly helped Exene untangle and repack her belongings.

“Why does every piece of equipment have a ‘property of the government stamp’ on it?”

“My genitors work for the Dept of Nuclear Research they lent me the equipment”

“Genitors?”

“It's how I say parents”

“That doesn’t feel right, they gave your life and raised you.”

“I didn’t ask for that, who in their right mind would?”

Elly looked shocked.

“I can’t even imagine why. My parents died two years ago. My father died from complications of spinal muscular atrophy and my mother died of lung cancer. It was painful to watch. I had to drop out of school to care for them in their final days.

Exene wondered if this was anything she would be able to do. The magic eight ball kept saying No.

Elly shook her head before continuing

“I was hoping to pad my resume by at least I hoped to make the national chapter to jump start my education.”

Everything was all packed up. A faint sound of yelling emitted from the distance

Exene admitted a lie.

“I don’t live here either”

“You aren't homeless are you?”

“No and don’t worry about driving me. I live in The Grande Motel right over there. That noise is my family unit. I don’t know who it is, at least from this distance.”

Exene waved her hand and walked away dragging her cart.

“Thanks for the ride, Elly!”

“It was cute Exene.”

“My friends call me X”

Exene lied again, she had no friends.

“Stay real X”

Exene walked past a woman in a leopard miniskirt as she crossed the parking lot into the Grande Motel and a hell storm.

2 MORNINGS LATERS.

The front door opened abruptly, waking everyone up. It was a jovial Prog.

“Come on get up, we have a newspaper route to fulfill.”

“Since when?”

“Since now let's get going”

Exene had a hard time keeping both her eyes the same size let alone suddenly delivering papers. It was an hour drive to the paper depot to pick up a pallet of papers. The entrance was filled up. Nodid and Exene sat on tap of the bundles in their seats,

The smell of ink permeated everything and made Exene very nauseous.

Prog dropped Exene off with 5 bundles to deliver to 3 stores in a strip mall 8 miles from the paper depot.

“I will be back in an hour to make sure to note the number of unsold papers front the day before on this card.”

Exene was assembling the newspaper under a light next to a payphone when she came up on the Early Sunday edition with the Weekend. There was a picture of Elly and Exene in front of their respective projects. The paper was low resolution.

Exene called the paper after the route and two days later an 8x10 print was received in a large manilla envelope. Exene could even read the title of the book Elly read.

This picture would never leave Exene’s side.