Meet me, the destructive scientist Minal. I am about to tell you what must be my hundredth destruction. I do not know why, where and how the idea just popped into my mind. It just came out of nowhere. As I was getting bored, I thought that four weeks had passed by and I had not done any experiment (meaning destruction), and this was not really fair. So I got down to work.

It was Wednesday and we were off early from classes. I sat and waited for everyone to clear out. Then I crept towards the school laboratory and locked the door. I was going to make an eco-friendly, sweet-smelling air freshener containing 99.9 percent of oxygen. Of course, I needed to have some supplies.

I collected some hydrogen oxide, a mixture of rose oil, lavender oil and some coconut oil for scent. How tempting that was! Some oxygen from the air and I would breathe out a little carbon dioxide.

I quickly mixed all the ingredients, exhaled to breathe out some carbon dioxide. The gases mixed and the chemicals reached my nose. As I breathed them in, almost instantly, I started to feel dizzy and sick. I sat down and rested. After a few sips of water and some deep breathing, I felt better.

So I got back to work. I mixed all the ingredients. I better call them a rainbow, for they were of different colours.

A bee, that I had not noticed, had come inside through the sun-shade. I had been ignoring its irritating, buzzing sound.

I think that the bee must have smelt the mixture and thought it was a beautiful coloured flower and the sweet smell was the nectar. The bee was attracted towards my mixture and started sucking the chemicals in.

Almost in no time, I saw a gigantic creature in front of me.

First, I blinked my eyes a few times to make sure I was not in a dream. The bee was huge. I put on some gloves and tried to squeeze the bee hard, trying to force it out of my chemicals but, my efforts were in vain.

I quickly searched the laboratory for an antidote, but I couldn’t find one. So I had to make my own antidote. I mixed two chemicals together, hit the bee and forced it to drink. It tried to suck in some of my antidote and soon a red liquid came out of the bee’s body. It died.

I cleaned up the mess and got to know that many of the containers and tubes had collapsed and shattered due to the sudden growth of the bee. All I could do was hide them under the cupboard.

By now I was quite exhausted and going crazy from the day’s mishaps. I ran all the way back home.

I tell you it was quite senseless of me to leave the dead bee and the shattered instruments in the laboratory. Next morning, the cleaners told our science teacher about the broken things and the bee. My science teacher suspects something fishy and I am told that we will all be inspected after the assembly.

I wonder what my fate will be? Whatever it is, let’s hope for the best!

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 7th, 2019