I am poisonous

I survived the trek to class this morning. The neighborhood was really the worst part. I missed my quiz, but I made it just in time to turn in a piece of paper with my name on it for partial credit. No harm done.

My first day of Chemistry Lab was today. I was a little bit scared because in high school, we had to write these huge lab reports that were more like dissertations than data interpretation. Anyway, I asked how long they had to be, and he said that the worksheet-style pages in our lab manual will suffice. I was relieved.

However, the class had a small dose of relief dashed when our "favorite" classmate walked in the room. I've been meaning to write about him before but haven't had the chance. He caught my eye on the first day of class because he looks exactly like an exact combination of two people I know from SNU. His personality, we have learned, does not inspire the same sentiments.

He's one of those people who think the lecture is a discussion between the professor and only himself. He ridiculously answers every question -- even the rhetorical ones -- even when, in most cases, he has absolutely no idea what's going on, and is always adding his two cents or trying to get attention in some form or fashion.

We're sitting in lab, listening to the professor's explanation on class procedure, and the guy that will henceforth be called ASG (All Smiles Guy) walks in. There is an audible groan in the classroom, and he immediately interrupts the professor instead of being polite and inconspicuous. Everyone is thinking the same thing: cringe.

I was dreading having ASG as a lab partner, but luckily, one of Those Girls accepted his offer with stars in her eyes. The girl on his other side, who was giving him EVERY indication that she was not to be address or approached, and I became friends afterwards because I told her I felt for her. She asked me to be partners, but I had already set my things next to someone else, and it was kind of awkward, but made me feel good.

I had made a friend! Two, actually!

You've gotten the picture that ASG is an idiot. It doesn't take a rocket scientist (just a classful of novice chemists, hehe) to see that. He called our professor by his last name with no salutation before, and was sternly corrected by both the lab assistant and the professor himself. This professor likes being called "Mr. X," not even "Professor X," but ASG goes, "What? You're not my friend, X?" kind of testing the waters again and getting corrected again. New lab partner and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised, and lab partner says, "This class is going to be all smiles," hence the nickname.

Luckily, my lab partner is smart. He's a double major in pastoral leadership and chemical engineering, knows his way around the lab, and I feel confident that he can provide where I lack -- not that I'm going to leave him with all the work. But given my track record, chemistry lab could spell certain doom in the form of a massive explosion or poisonous contamination, though it might be kind of cool to have a new poisonous mixture named after me!