Today, the laboratory was unnecessarily bright.
Elementary school students and their parents, occasionally middle school students, students from this school coming to tease, or sometimes people from other high schools visiting, but well, the majority were elementary school students or younger.
Accordingly, the inside of the laboratory was also unnecessarily decorated with flowers made of colored paper.
The main attraction for the elementary school kids? Yeah, slime.
The kind that’s not evil but wobbles, made by mixing borax and glue. Of course.
Toriumi, tirelessly explaining how to make slime over the sound of the light music club’s performance echoing from the courtyard, and Itoigawa and Katori assisting, with Maito and Kariya endlessly washing beakers beside them.
…The sink is gradually getting filled with beakers caked with slime.
Maybe we should consider using disposable cups for slime making next year, considering these two can’t keep up.
Next to the slime-making station, a phenomenon called dilatancy recreated with a washbasin… oh, look, mixing cornstarch and water, it solidifies when squeezed and flows again when released. That’s what they’re doing. Yeah, the second most popular attraction after slime.
Next to that, an air cannon shooting gallery, and on the opposite side, experiments demonstrating supersaturation and crystallization of sodium acetate for eco warmers, and metal tree exhibits. President is manning this station, apparently because he loves metal trees. Yeah.
Then there are models demonstrating liquefaction and other interesting scientific exhibits, with guests looking and touching.
For the members who like flashy stuff involving fire or explosives, those are scheduled for demonstrations.
Plans include combustion of gunpowder, flame tests, and thermite reactions. Yeah, pretty flashy.
And then, there are visually interesting experiments like solutions changing color, some new this year and some passed down from seniors.
By today, every member has practiced explaining all these fascinating phenomena, ensuring they’re ready.
Every year, the freshmen struggle to memorize the explanations, but this year’s did well, even getting more turns than some seniors.
President and the seniors seem more reliable. Toriumi shines during these events.
Maito and Kariya… yeah, helpful. Yeah.
There was a shift change in the morning, but President is still explaining, Maito and Kariya are still washing beakers, and Toriumi is still running the slime workshop for elementary school students.
…Some have gone to their class’s activities, but it seems these guys… plan to spend all their free time here.
“Maito, Kariya, aren’t you guys on break?”
“The slime beakers are calling for me.”
“We thought we’d wash what’s piled up.”
Yeah, if Maito and Kariya left, we’d probably run out of beakers.
…Probably, by the time they finish washing what’s accumulated, another pile of beakers will arrive. An infinite loop, this.
“And you, President?”
“I plan to stay here. It seems there’s no one to switch with.”
…Ah, well, maybe there’s some confusion in the class activities, but President looks happy, so it’s fine even if a few don’t stick to their shifts. Well, their problem, I’ll turn a blind eye.
Toriumi is having too much fun, so let’s consider that a good thing. Yeah.
Even with some missing for shifts, those who came did so reliably, and those who didn’t leave stayed, so we weren’t short-staffed.
It’s fine if they’re having fun, but this festival seems to be ending as a staff event… well, if they’re happy, I won’t say much.
And then, the main event approaches.
“Ah, Toriumi! It’s almost your turn!”
“Eh!? Already!? …Right. Wow, time flies.”
Pushing Kadomi and Hagasaki into the slime station, Maito and Toriumi rushed to the chemistry prep room.
Following them, Katori entered the chemistry prep room at a leisurely pace.
Then, the slime-making workshop for elementary school students was temporarily halted. The guests sat down and turned their attention to the blackboard, waiting.
“Chemistry Magic Show will start shortly! Please come and join us!”
As Itoigawa shouted in the hallway, more guests entered the laboratory.
…Yes, what they were about to perform was the highlight of the Chemistry Club’s festival, the “Chemistry Magic Show”.
I don’t remember since when, but at some point, this club started performing magic shows during the school festival.
It was the only way to showcase things that weren’t suitable for exhibition or too dangerous for guests to handle alone.
…However, this year, the approach has slightly changed.
“Now, let’s start the Chemistry Magic Show! Please, enjoy!”
With that announcement from Suzumoto, the door to the chemistry prep room swung open…
“Hey everyone! Thank you for coming to see the Chemistry Magic Show today! I’m the leader of the Chemistry Squadron ChemiRanger, Toriumi! Today, I’ll introduce you to fun chemistry! Look forward to it!”
…Approaching the blackboard with a bright smile and voice, Toriumi delivered these lines to the children in the laboratory.
Though Toriumi is usually on the brighter side, this level of brightness was somewhat extraordinary.
“Now, good kids, have you all experienced making slime? The slime everyone made is sticky and wobbly, but the slime I’m going to introduce today is a bit different!”
It seems Toriumi is the type who thrives on stage.
Yeah, that’s not bad. This kind of breakthrough is pleasant to watch.
“When making the usual slime… here! By adding salt, which can be found in any household, and removing the water… the result is this!”
Doing something like a cooking show, Toriumi took out a superball made from slime with salt.
He bounced it high in front of the audience and caught it neatly.
When Toriumi playfully bowed, applause broke out from the audience. Hmm, he indeed has the qualities of an entertainer.
“Now, the next thing I’ll introduce is…”
“Stop right there, Chemistry Squadron ChemiRanger!”
Maito entered through the door that swung open… wearing a hat that a witch might wear.
“Chemistry isn’t interesting at all! If you’re going to do something, it should be more fun, shouldn’t it?”
Maito, too, seems to become uninhibited on stage, but it feels really odd hearing her use feminine language. I won’t say it to her face, though.
“I’ll show you that my magic is more interesting than your chemistry!”
“What did you say!?”
Then Maito demonstrated igniting flash cotton by pressing a heated glass rod against it.
It’s simple once you know the trick, but things that produce fire have a visual impact.
The cotton burning up instantly with a whoosh was quite interesting, it seems, as the elementary school students were quite delighted.
“How about that? Do you see that my magic is superior to your chemistry?”
“That’s not true!”
Then Katori entered through the opened door.
Why he’s wearing a lab coat and sunglasses, I’ll refrain from asking.
“Chemistry can be fun too! Let me prove it to you!”
Katori seems uninhibited as well. His way of speaking is different from usual, but it feels a bit stiff compared to the other two.
“Now, I will show you chemistry with colorful flames. Let’s all guess what colors the fire will turn!”
While he was asking the elementary school students to name various colors, the process of lighting the solid fuel prepped with metal salts was smooth, and his balance with the conversation was good. Katori might not be used to being on stage, but he seems quite good with children.
As Katori lit the solid fuel, orange, yellow, red, yellow-green, blue-green, blue, purple (though a bit hard to see)… appeared, the flames flickering in the wind.
This is the flame test experiment, displaying calcium, sodium, strontium, barium, copper, potassium… just like what’s listed in textbooks, but seeing it in person is quite beautiful.
The blue flame was a bit special, achieved by adding chloroform to the copper salt reaction, turning the flame from blue-green to a beautiful blue.
…I’ve checked and approved the content of the performance, but it’s ultimately up to the students to decide what they do.
They’ve prepared many fun performances on their own initiative, which is quite something, I think.
Katori’s flame test was very popular with the elementary school students. Cheers came from all around, and some children even came forward to see better.
“We’ll do this again after the show, so if you want to see it up close, come back later!”
Katori, adding lines not in the script, then extinguished the fire.
Safety measures were impeccable. Good job.
Then, in terms of the play, the witch (Maito) is touched by the fun of chemistry and decides to study it together… that was the conclusion, but regardless of the play’s content, the experimental performances were interesting, and it seems the elementary school students enjoyed them.
After the unnecessarily dramatic magic show ended, everyone returned to their stations to resume making slime and other activities.
Katori stuck to the flame test corner. Can’t let down the expectations of the elementary school students. Keep it up.
Then, about an hour and a half later, the next magic show began.
This time it was the group of Kariya, Hariu, and Kadomi.
“Now, let’s begin the Chemistry Magic Show.”
…Before Itoigawa could finish her line, Kadomi prematurely opened the door and hastily went back inside.
That was a bit of a mess, really…
“…We will start the Magic Show. Please, enjoy!”
This time, all three properly appeared and lined up in front of the blackboard.
“Hello! We’re the reserve wizard army!”
Kariya’s line made the high school students burst into laughter or smile wryly, while the elementary students looked puzzled, and Hariu energetically hit Kariya’s head with a slapstick.
“Apprentices! We’re wizard apprentices!… Today, we’ll show you some wonderful magic.”
“Please, enjoy…”
…The show began on an unsettling note. Kind of worrying, really.
But, the performances were quite proper.
They showed a “flask of water that changes color when shaken” using methylene blue, performed magic that created colorful liquids by pouring ammonia water into glasses prepared with indicators like phenolphthalein or thymolphthalein and various metal salts, and made a teapot filled with hydrogen peroxide foam up by adding iodine… that kind of magic.
What impressed me was how the performances were divided.
The “flask of water that changes color when shaken” required engaging the audience with a story or filling gaps with dialogue.
Kariya was in charge of this, and it seems he too can become uninhibited on stage, talking quite skillfully. Let’s forget the initial “reserve wizard army!” mishap.
Then, the glass with colored water was Kadomi’s responsibility, which was good since it didn’t require much talking.
And the foaming teapot was Hariu’s part. It didn’t need to connect with the previous act, but the sudden foam needed to capture the audience’s attention beforehand, which he managed quite well.
These guys, who usually seem to lack communication skills, really can pull it off when it counts.
Yeah, good job, good job.
And the last performance of the day was by Suzumoto, Hagasaki, and Tsuge.
…They were the group I was most worried about.
Hagasaki is smart, so deciding on the performance was quick. However, these three lack literary talent.
Hence, there was quite a bit of back-and-forth until the script was ready… Moreover, Suzumoto, Hagasaki, and Tsuge don’t seem to be very comfortable on stage.
Especially President… I’m worried for a different reason, really.
“Now, for our final performance of the day! Enjoy!”
This time, Maito was in charge of opening the door.
…But when she opened the door, nobody was there.
“…Huh?”
Then, as Maito and the audience were baffled.
“Hahaha!”
President entered through a window, laughing in a way that could only be described as forced.
…I won’t say anything.
“I am a bomber!”
I won’t say anything.
“I came to blow up this school!”
I won’t say anything!
…But, well, you know… President’s lab coat, it seems he spilled silver nitrate and various other things on it, making it… black.
A filthy lab coat, a monotone laughter, a pasted-on mad grin, wide-open eyes, hands trembling slightly from tension, and a strained laugh.
…To put it mildly, it was scary.
The unnecessary realism made it incredibly frightening.
President, in his pursuit of a “mad scientist” authenticity, succeeded in instilling fear in the elementary school students.
In a sense, it was a success.
This profoundly impactful president demonstrated magic that involved igniting ether vapor
to make a cotton ball burn dramatically away from the flame source is quite surprising to witness.
Preschoolers were almost in tears. Poor things.
“I’ll use a bigger version of this device to burn down this school!”
I thought he was going to blow it up.
“But you’re a bomber, right?”
So he’s a bomber?
…Suzumoto appeared at this moment.
He was supposed to be a detective, dressed only in a school shirt, trousers, and a tied necktie, but he looked somewhat convincing.
“Oh, it seems the police have interfered. Then, I shall make my swift exit!”
As soon as his part ended, President vanished through the window onto the balcony.
Yeah, that last line was surprisingly smooth. He seemed genuinely happy about it. Well done.
“Damn, he got away.”
“Sigh, the police these days are so incompetent.”
Then, Hagasaki followed Suzumoto onto the stage. He was just wearing a school shirt, trousers, and a lab coat, but he looked somewhat convincing.
…Hagasaki’s role was a “Physics Assistant Professor.” Well, I won’t say anything.
Then, Suzumoto and Hagasaki proceeded to “analyze the clues left by the bomber.”
“We should be able to detect the culprit’s fingerprints from this paper.”
Suzumoto picked up a receipt and two blank papers from the floor.
Then, he used a hairdryer to blacken the thermal paper of the receipt, leaving fingerprints in white. This is a well-known trick.
Next, they revealed fingerprints on the blank paper by sublimating iodine. The iodine reacted with proteins adhered to the fingerprints, making them visible.
The elementary students found this quite fascinating.
Apparently, this magic trick of revealing fingerprints was scheduled to be repeated later, allowing the elementary students to have their fingerprints taken.
After demonstrating two fingerprint revelation magic tricks, it was Hagasaki’s turn.
When a lit incense stick was applied to a section of the last remaining blank paper, the paper quickly burned away, leaving behind letters in the shape of burns.
This, too, involved pre-writing on the paper with a special chemical.
“This is… 3-2! I see, it means a bomb was planted in class 3-2!”
Incidentally, class 3-2 should be running a haunted house at this time, themed around modern horror.
“Then you should hurry over there. Does the police intend to further embarrass themselves?”
“Ah, I’m grateful!”
…And with Suzumoto “chasing after the bomber” and leaving the laboratory, the magic show concluded.
The chemistry magic itself seemed to entertain the audience well enough, but the play… somehow… ended up being a magic show dominated entirely by President.
“We will now repeat the fingerprint detection magic from earlier. Anyone who wants to take their fingerprints, please come forward.
…Hagasaki’s stiff call to action initially made the elementary school students hesitant.
Seeing this, Toriumi and Katori stepped in to help, and gradually, the kids gathered around, starting the fingerprint taking process with a sizable crowd.
Yeah, right person for the right job.
“Good work.”
Approaching Hagasaki, who had stepped out of the fingerprinting circle to sit and sigh heavily, he looked at me with a resentful expression.
“I’m exhausted.”
What’s all this about? It’s not like it’s my fault, but oh well…
“…I’m not cut out for this kind of thing.”
“Yeah, I know. Good effort.”
“Why can’t Toriumi or Katori do all the performances?”
“Well, it’s school. You’re high school students, after all. Everything is an experience.”
Giving him a very teacher-like response, Hagasaki glared at me even more resentfully.
This guy really knows how to play it cool. Well, it’s entertaining to watch, at least.
Then, I consoled a seemingly psychologically traumatized Suzumoto and President, who was brooding on the balcony.
Hmm, interesting.
“Maito! Here’s something to eat! Well done, everyone. Eat up. Kariya, you can eat too. Tsuge, you’ve been in there the whole time. Take a break. …Suzumoto, Hagasaki, how long are you going to mope? Eat up before it melts.”
Around snack time, Itoigawa came back with a few ice creams and some donuts.
It seems she bought them from one of the classes selling them.
Yeah, her thoughtfulness is impressive.
If it were just donuts, these guys would’ve been left hanging indefinitely.
“Ah, thank you. I’ll have some.”
“Yay, ice cream!”
“…Thank you.”
“Thanks for the food!”
Since it’s something that melts, they have no choice but to eat it.
The juniors, mentally drained from the magic show, sat in a corner sectioned off with vinyl string (with a cardboard scrap labeled STAFF ONLY attached) and began to eat their ice cream and nibble on donuts.
Seeing this, Itoigawa, satisfied, started washing the slime beakers…
…Clearly, the speed was an issue.
“Ah, don’t worry about it, teacher.”
“No, it seems tough for Itoigawa alone.”
She’s not the type to break lab equipment, but her speed was definitely lacking.
Yeah, the speed at which Maito and Kariya were washing the beakers earlier was abnormally fast. This confirms it.
Well, in consideration of being a considerate senior, I decided to help wash the beakers too. Yeah, it’s okay to feel like a student on days like this.
Even after the snack, their work continues.
But they seem to be having fun.
What they’re doing doesn’t seem all that fun, but still, they look happy.
…I don’t think it’s just the festival atmosphere making them feel this way.
As the first day of the festival came to an end,
Tomorrow’s another day, but… surely, everyone will spend it in the laboratory again.
They seem to love the lab, after all.