Page 40 of Love in the Lab
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Molly slip through the door. She observes the frenzied environment and then must notice me talking with Dr. Gantt because she moves closer.
“I know you’re scheduled to work with the most recent batch of samples this morning,” Dr. Gantt continues. “Do you mind if Dr. Perron and I observe? He should be here any minute.” Her phone buzzes and she glances at the screen. “Yes, that’s him now. I’ll be right back. Can you get the samples set up in the meantime?”
“Of course. It’s no problem at all.” I flash a confident smile, and Dr. Gantt visibly relaxes.
She claps her hands loudly before announcing to the room, “Alright, team. Dr. Perron will be here momentarily. Please finish with whatever you’re straightening and then return to your planned tasks for the morning.” She smiles brilliantly to reassure the team. “We’re doing good work here, and I know Dr. Perron will agree.”
With that, she walks toward the elevator to fetch Dr. Perron at the reception desk downstairs. On my way into the lab area, I stop at my desk to drop off my bag and don my lab coat.
“Jonathan!” Molly hisses from behind me, pulling at my sleeve as I set the bag on my desk.
I turn and look straight into her panicked eyes. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” My adrenaline spikes as I scan her for any injuries.
Ignoring my questions, she asks one of her own. “Is Dr. Perron going to watch you test the samples from last week?”
“Yeah, him and Dr. Gantt both. Why? What’s wrong?”
She blanches. “I … didn’t know. I thought you would work with them on your own, like normal. I didn’t know!”
I put together the pieces pretty quickly and curse. “Carrots, what did you do?”
She winces, her whole face turning red as she admits, “I … moved the real samples and replaced them with plastic beakers of frozen tap water.”
Despite the situation, I chuckle. That’s pretty good. If Dr. Perron hadn’t surprised us with a visit today, I would have gotten a kick out of finding frozen samples. It’s not like Molly would compromise the real samples, or jeopardize the research, for a prank.
“Where did you put the real samples?” I ask, forming a plan in my mind thatmightget us off the hook with Dr. Perron, if not with Dr. Gantt.
“The spare refrigerator in the storage room. I plugged it in and made sure it cooled down to four degrees Celsius before I moved the samples.”
I can’t help but smile as I regard her with what must be bald admiration. The careful planning and time she put into this prank are such a perfect balance of responsibility and fun. Damn if it’s not one of the hottest things I’ve ever heard.
I think quickly. There’s no time to switch out the samples. I have to get in there, divert Dr. Gantt, and make Dr. Perron thinkit’s totally normal to keep important water samples in a storage room refrigerator.
I put my hand on Molly’s arm to reassure her. “I’ll take care of it, okay? You won’t get in trouble.”
As I speed walk away, I hear her call behind me, “But what about you?”
Yeah, I’ll probably get in some trouble, but I’m not worried about it.
I need to run pesticide testing on the samples using our two standard methods. We usually do a quick QuEChERS test—which stands for Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe—followed by a more in-depth analysis of the sample using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
I’ve only had time to set the solvent on the lab bench when Dr. Gantt approaches with our visitor. I switch on my most charming smile and meet them halfway. “Dr. Perron,” I say, reaching out my hand to shake his, “how nice to see you again.”
“Yes.” He nods. “It’s been a while. I heard you left Harvey’s lab. Got bored with coastal erosion, did you?”
I flash a plastic smile. “Impossible. No, when Dr. Gantt recruited me to head fieldwork for her research, I couldn’t turn down such a great opportunity. The impact her harmful algal bloom work will have on local economies can’t be understated.” I’m laying it on pretty thick, but Dr. Perron’s interest is obviously piqued.
“Why don’t you show Dr. Perron how we test water samples from local waterways for pesticides,” Dr. Gantt suggests.
“Of course.” I lead them over to the lab bench. Dr. Gantt walks toward the large refrigerator nearby where we typically keep our samples as they await testing, and which currently contains Molly’s frozen prank samples.
I rush to cut her off, putting myself between Dr. Gantt and the fridge and increasing the wattage of my smile. “I’ll go get those water samples from our special project storage.”
Dr. Gantt frowns, her confusion evident in the lines on her forehead. I catch her eye. Hopefully, my eyes are communicating my desperate “trust me” message. She must understand because she steps back. “Thank you,” she says, guiding Dr. Perron to the mass spectrometer and explaining our process.
I dart back to the storage room and open the spare refrigerator. It’s been sitting unplugged in storage since we purchased a newer model a few months ago. The air inside feels plenty cold—not that I doubted Molly’s fastidiousness—so I scoop up the containers of water and bring them back into the main lab area.
Though Dr. Perron is waiting next to the lab bench, my boss has just closed the door of the nearby refrigerator. Shoot. That means she’s seen the frozen beakers. She regards me with narrowed eyes as I set the sample containers on the counter.
