Page 74 of The Chemistry Coach
Their previous slime-making attempts never worked out how the recipe said it should.Each time they tried, Dylan started excited and ended disappointed.
Daisy laughed and asked him, “Can I pour the glue?It’s heavy.”
“I want to do it.”
“Okay,” Daisy said, handing him the giant bottle.His arms shook with the effort of holding it, and Daisy kept a hand on it to assist him.Before he started pouring, she asked, “Is it okay if I help?I want to make sure we get the right amount.”
Dylan stared at her with stars in his eyes.If Daisy hadn’t weaseled her way into his heart already, this moment is what did it.He was a melted puddle of slime in her hands.
“Okay, it needs to be good slime.Tell me when to stop.”
She helped him dump a dollop of glue into the bottom of the bowl.
“Great!”He was pretty sure the enthusiasm she exuded was genuine.“Okay.Now’s a fun part.”She handed Connor and Dylan each a can of shaving cream, opening Dylan’s first.“This one you measure with your heart.I’ll tell you when I would stop, but you can do as much as you like.The more you add, the less sticky the slime will be.”
“Oh!We should add a whooole bunch,” Connor said, spraying his canister into the bowl.
Dylan sprayed foam into the bowl, and when Daisy said, “That’s how much I would do,” he stopped.Connor kept going.The less sticky this crap was, the better.
Dylan pushed his hand out of the bowl and stole his shaving cream canister.“Stop!It’s slime!It’s supposed to be sticky a little bit!”
“A little bit sticky, yes, not a lot a bit sticky,” Connor said.
“Daisy said it’s the right amount.She’s a slime expert.You don’t know about it.”
Daisy laughed.“This is still a good amount, don’t worry.We can fix it later if we need to.”She handed Dylan a plastic spoon.“You stir while I add the dye.What color?”
Dylan said, “Green!”as Connor said, “Blue.”
Daisy grabbed the green food dye and squirted a few drops as Dylan stirred the goopy mixture.“We can do blue for the next recipe.”
When Dylan liked the color of his slime, Daisy set the spoon aside.“Now for the best part!You have to mix the activator in with your hands.It’s more fun that way.”She poured a liberal amount of contact solution into the glue and shaving cream.“Stir, stir, stir,” she encouraged Dylan.
After some slight adjustments—more contact solution—the fluffy green slime came together.Dylan had both hands in the goo, stretching and poking it.
Connor crossed his arms over his chest, impressed.“Huh.You are a slime expert.We could never get it to come out right.”
“I told you!I had a brief slime obsession in college.It’s way cheaper to make it than buy it; that stuff is like fifteen dollars for a little jar.It made me popular in the dorms.I never ran out of people to give it to.”
She helped them make two more slime recipes before Connor insisted they clean up and get ready for dinner.He asked Dylan, “What sounds good for dinner?Anything except pizza.We’re having that in a couple of days.”
Dylan tapped his chin with his pointer finger.“Hmmm.Daisy, what food do you like for dinner?”
The panic on Daisy’s face at being asked such a simple question cracked Connor up.She looked to Connor for help, but he left her hanging, wanting her answer.
“Um, I’m a bad person to ask.I’m not picky.”
Connor opened the fridge and scanned the contents.It sorely needed a restock.He grabbed his keys from the kitchen table.
“We’re going to the store!”
Connor bought groceries for dinner and Sarah’s favorites to restock the fridge.He let Dylan pick out snacks, both of the healthy and junk food variety, and he bought himself some circus cookies.Now that he remembered they existed, he would never stop eating them.Fuck his meal plan.
Daisy snuck a jar of cookie butter into the cart and shrugged when he lifted an eyebrow at her.
“It’s freaking good, okay?”
He tugged on the bottom of her braid, counting the minutes until Dylan’s bedtime so he could have her to himself.
