Head Over to Jake with the Girls

Jake might be a creepy, nervous wreck, but he’s still the guy running this lab. And he did say that you should check in on him at some point during the lab.

“Hey, Jake’s been trying to get our attention,” you say, pointing at the TA.

As the group turns to look at him, he quickly looks away, and then looks back. What’s he playing at?

“Well, we wouldn’t want to make him unhappy,” Jess says, shaking her head. “Guess we better go.”

She gets up, as does Sam.

“Somebody needs to stay to drop this propionyl chloride in,” Chris says. “I can cover for both teams.”

“Aww, you’re volunteering to stay?” Sam says, inflecting faux disappointment in her voice.

“You’ll have Alex for company,” he says.

“Can’t a girl complain about wanting more studs?” she laughs.

“Don’t get too greedy now,” you smile. “I’ve got plenty for both you gals.”

“Alright then,” Jess laughs, and the three of you make your way over to the TA.

You can see Jake continue to ogle the girls as you approach, but as soon as you draw near, he suddenly seems to find all of your shoes immensely interesting.

“You wanted us over?” Jess asks sweetly, and you see Jake gulp slightly.

“Yes, I wanted to check out… erm… I meant check in with you, make sure the lab is going alright, all of that,” he says.

“Yeah, it’s going great!” Sam says, matching Jess’s artificially sweet tone.

Jake smiles at that.

“Okay, well that’s good, but I just wanted you to know that you should primarily be working with your lab partner. Erm… of course you’re allowed to talk to other students but maybe, I mean you really should talk to me if you need help, you know that right?”

“I’m not sure Chris and I need that much help,” you say.

Jake looks at the girls. He gulps again, spending just a hair too long staring at their hot bodies.

“Jessica and Samantha, if you ever need any help, I’m right here,” he says.

“Thanks for the tip! We’ll definitely stop by for some help,” Jess smiles. “It’s just the labs are really long, y’know? So we chat with friends.”

“That’s fine, just don’t disrupt other groups,” Jake says. He fumbles awkwardly with the pencil in his hand.

“Oh, we did have a question,” Sam says, and Jake perks up. “Once we get the precipitate cooled, what should we do?

“Ah, here’s a little trick!” he says, getting excited. “If you do a wash with equal parts brine and cold toluene, you’ll find that your yield will be much better! Then reheat and filter, you know the drill.”

“Thank you so much,” Sam says, sticking out her chest as she says so.

You can see the TA practically salivating at the sight, and you resist the urge to roll your eyes.

“Erm… yeah, of course,” he says, smiling to himself. Doubtlessly he’s trying to burn that image into his memory. “Remember to let me know if you’ve got any other questions. I’m always here.”

“Thank you,” Jess says, giving him another smile, and then the three of you excuse yourself and return to your hoods.

“Thank God I wasn’t part of that conversation,” Chris whispers, the moment you all get back. “I can’t stand the dude. Thanks for covering me, bro.”

Chris passes you and Sam the propionyl chloride, and the two of you take over at your respective hoods.

“He’s the worst,” Sam whispers back. “What a perv.”

“Ugh, yeah,” Jess says, glancing back at Jake.

You notice her flashing him that fake smile of hers when she does so.

“Why do you keep doing that? Using that voice and smile whenever you talk to him,” you ask.

“He’s the TA,” Jess says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s free points.”

“Fair play,” you say, even if it may not be.

Jess +5
Sam +5
Chris +15
Jake +10