Science Experiment - JohnD

Belinda and Joey looked up at the hole in the ceiling. A small sliver of drywall fell from the edge of the hole, spiraling downward as a flow of dust descended upon them. Joey watched the piece of drywall flutter off toward the wall that separated the living room from the kitchen.

Finally, the poetically drifting sliver landed on the metallic frame of the launcher, which had just finished hopping several feet sideways, repeatedly bouncing off the wall, making deep gouges into it.

Joey had been aware of the launcher's post-launch maneuvers, but feeling safely out of its reach, he had paid more attention to the hole that now adorned the ceiling. The launcher was finished with its tantrum and sat comfortably entrenched inches into the wall. “Well, that was....fascinating,” Joey stated tentatively. “I mean, in an against-all-laws-of-physics kind of way.

Belinda was still analyzing the opening in the ceiling.

Joey squinted to focus his eyes farther up through the hole. “It went clean through the first floor. It looks like it went through your bed....That doesn't even seem possible.”

Belinda continually angled left, right, back, and forth to get the best possible view. “Yes, that's my bed all right. I can see daylight. It went right through the roof. I figured it had to. I mean, with the amount of force obviously involved. I think we really have something here Joey.”

“'We'?” Asked Joey. “You know, I wasn't really involved here in the scientific part of any of this. I'm the language arts type. It was definitely your invention, idea, design, everything. Wouldn't you say?”

Belinda didn't answer, still completely engrossed by the aperture they had just created in the ceiling.

Joey paused and then started up again. “So, as you speak of this event going forward, you would definitely want to use the first-person singular pronoun, 'I.'” Joey quickly ran his hands back and forth through his hair, stirring up a small cloud of white dust. “Anyway,” he continued, “you were right. It worked.”

“Okay, so you owe me a dollar!” proclaimed Belinda proudly. “You still think girls aren't good at science?”

“I'm not so sure,” resisted Joey.

Belinda's eyes widened. “You're saying that you don't owe me a dollar?!”

“Calm down, I'm not saying that at all. I mean, that was obviously way more than ten feet. I owe you the dollar for sure....Um, but wait a minute. Not to change the subject, but do you know what my main concern is at the moment?”

“What's that?”

Joey looked back up at the hole. “That bowling ball. It's going to have to come back down, right?”

“Hmmm, good point,” Belinda said, bringing her hand to her chin in concentration. “Yeah, I should have thought of that by now. It's just that it was so unexpected. I was thinking that it might go 10 to 15 feet up in the air, but that sucker must've launched 500 feet, maybe. Or who knows? Maybe we just turned that bowling ball into a satellite.”

“'We' again?” asked Joey, throwing his arms up in the air slightly. “Anyway, my point is that you might not be that great at science. Better than me of course since I'm just a literature kind of kid, but you're the one who said, against my advice mind you, 'let's put the bowling ball in the launcher then move it outside.' In hindsight, you gotta admit that doesn't seem too smart.”

“Well,” growled Belinda, looking at the launcher smashed up against the wall across the living room, “I was just trying to save us an extra trip. Besides there's no way it should have launched by simply placing the ball into it.”

“Proving my case.” Joey spoke slowly, articulating his words. “Are you good at science or is your contraption possessed? Divine intervention perhaps. Maybe it was just dumb luck.”

“Dumb?” Belinda snapped.

Suddenly, they heard a whistling noise from above that was quickly increasing in volume. They each took a step backwards as the bowling ball came crashing back through the same hole, blasting by them in a blur, and driving deep into the wooden floor, sending splinters flying and vibrations rippling throughout the house. A new and thicker cloud of dust emanated throughout the room as the thunderous noise of the crash started to spread outward beyond the walls of the house.

They looked at each other, mouths agape. Joey gulped. “Darn it! I got sidetracked. I just mentioned the ball coming back down and then forgot all about it.” As he spoke, he looked back and forth from the hole in the ceiling and the ball in the floor. “Another thing, how is it that the ball came down through the exact same hole? I mean, exactly.” Joey coughed as he tried to swat away the chalky powder in the air. “That came down not even an inch off the path that it went up,” he said as he pulled a one inch splinter of wood out of his shirt. It pierced his shirt at the collar, passing halfway through before coming to a stop. “By the way,” he said smiling, “this missed my jugular by a centimeter.” He held the piece of wood between his fingers before flicking it to the ground.

Belinda looked at the bowling ball lodged deeply into the floor of her living room. “Yes, this is a very positive development, I'd say.”

“Positive,” Joey repeated. “Funny, I was thinking of a different word. But you know us language types, we're always obsessing on semantics.”

“There's a lot going on here,” Belinda continued. “Sorry about your jugular....um, that could have turned out not so well. We got the bowling ball back, though,” she said cheerfully. “That's good news. And coming down the exact same path, that could be huge: another totally unexpected result. I wonder if that was a one-time deal or an aspect of the launcher's design. If it's consistent, there's just gotta be some real world application for that.”

“You know what my concern is now?” asked Joey.

“What's that?” inquired Belinda as she noticed an inch wide piece of floorboard wedged deeply into the base of the leather couch.

“Well, I'm just wondering if I can get out of here before your parents get home. I'm sure you all will have lots to talk about.”

“Yes, Yes,” Belinda agreed. “This is so big. We have an absolute scientific breakthrough here.”

Joey cringed as the word “we” left Belinda's lips. “Yeah, YOU definitely deserve credit for that.”

Belinda turned toward Joey and grabbed him momentarily by the shoulders. “I don't think you grasp the significance of this discovery. We'll be famous for this, and rich, too.”

“Rich?” asked Joey as his he stood up straighter. “How rich?”

“Very!” replied Belinda as she performed a cursory examination of her clothing and body, looking for splinters or wounds of any kind. “It's like we've tapped into a previously unknown energy source. Everyone's gonna wanna talk to us.”

“You mean, besides the police and fire department?”

“Everyone,” repeated Belinda, swinging her arms out in opposite directions left and right as she spoke, “talk shows, physicists, corporations, everyone!”

“Oh,” said Joey looking off into space with a smile, “well, WE did work hard on this experiment.” His gaze drifted toward the hole in the ceiling, which instantly snapped him out of his daydream. “Well, until the money starts flowing in, I hope your parents can see the other positives of the situation.”

“Of course,” agreed Belinda, “like the pure merit of this scientific breakthrough.”

“Yeah, like that.” Joey nodded. “They might also see that 12-year olds, even if they are scientific geniuses, which is debatable, really aren't responsible enough to be left home alone, so hopefully they'll chalk this all up to a learning experience.”

“You are the practical one Joey, that's why it's nice to have you around,” Belinda said as she blew a puff of air upward dislodging a fine layer of dust from her face.

“Good, so remember to cite the positive when discussing this matter with your parents. Okay Belinda? You with me on this?”

“Okay, cite the positive. I will.”

Joey started patting down his clothing to beat off the dust. “A big positive here is that we didn't get hurt. I mean, just look at this place. And you and I don't have a scratch on us. That's a miracle. I hope your parents are appreciative of that fact.”

“Don't worry,” assured Belinda. “My parents will be very grateful that we're both okay. They'll also be proud of this little science experiment. It really is a doozy. Unprecedented, I would say.”

“Well, good luck with that,” said Joey with a nod as he walked backward toward the front door. “I would say no reason to mention me in any of this. Um, well, at least until Oprah calls.” Joey backed up bowing and nodding as he occasionally glanced backward trying to negotiate furntiture and the two steps up to the entrance hall. “But if, uh, you do feel compelled to bring up my name, remember that I said, 'let's bring the launcher outside first, then put the bowling ball in it.' You know, um, I think that's an important point.”

Belinda smiled and nodded, looking up proudly at the hole in the ceiling.

“So, anyway,” Joey persisted, “I'll be moseying along. Congratulations. It really is an impressive experiment. It should win first place at the science fair for sure.”

And with that, Joey turned around, opened the front door, and launched out of there fast and recklessly, kind of like a bowling ball.