FLASH FICTION
Scarlett’s Lab
A Journey of Heartbreak and Redemption
Scarlett wagged her tongue as she wiggled her fingers into black rubber gloves. She stayed after class to tie together the elements that would rekindle the love she had chased away when she pushed Liam aside for a flaky guy. With beer goggles softening her tipsy gaze, she felt glazed over by a toxic periodic table, sprinkling lust into a test tube of heartbreak.
“Okay,” she said, “whatever you do, don’t start a fire.”
She laid her palms on the lab table, staring at a blank page. Scarlett had plans but didn’t know how to solve her dilemma. Her red lipstick painted a portrait of a Playboy model, reshaping her into a damsel in distress. She pushed her arms into the sleeves of a white lab coat that spilled below her silky, pale knees. Scarlett had aced biology but failed a ninth-grade chemistry course with Liam. She had studied, yet her mind felt like a hamster running on its wheel.
How much love was enough to bring Liam back? How many apologies would do? She sighed and hopped onto the black lab table, her feet dangling over the edge. Laughing, she clipped her long, red hair behind her ears.
“You, too, huh?” a voice called.
Startled, Scarlett wiped her eyes and twisted around. “Liam?”
“You’re failing, too, huh?” he asked.
“I’m the teacher’s assistant,” he said as Scarlett wrapped her ponytail around her neck.
Liam tilted his head and narrowed one eye. “You’re the one who’s supposed to help me?”
“You look surprised,” she said, hopping down from the surface and hugging herself.
“It’s just-”
“You need the grade,” she said.
“And you need me.” A crooked smile danced on his lips.
Scarlett blushed and beamed. “That’s one thing you’ve got right.”
“My parents are out of town,” he added. Scarlett winked and bit her lower lip.
Liam glanced at his watch. “It is Friday. What time should I tell my mom we’re studying?”
“Just tell her not to wait up,” Scarlett said, approaching him and stirring a tapestry of chemistry between them.
Liam kissed her, and she sighed like molecules were racing through forever circles.
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