She sits along among the sea of students in the open study lounge and food court. There many sized tables from shared 10 seats to couples tables. The ceiling above is glass, and being lunch means direct hot beams down in the middle here. Her class of science study is small and took over three tables. Some she made as friends over the 2 years starting college. She so at focus with finishing the lab result and concluding theory paper. She completely forgot what sight or sounds she should be listening for.
"Burn the place. Let it burn. Late them know pain." She reflexively back handed the annoying imp over someone shoulder behind her. The imp hit the floor hard and stays there at shock. She sighed exasperated of forgotten where she was writing. The interruption ruined her focus to word things grammatically correct. The assignment is with a teacher that cares to sound and act like an adult regardless of learning difficulty.
"Leana! It's time for class." Some got her attention. She didn't recognize them for the blindfold over everyone's eyes and the runic language lock over there skin. There even god blessings over this kid. She blinked and heard the bell. Her eyes adjustment to the living world. The blindfolds disappeared. She slams all her things away and closed.
"Thanks." She got them both the back route around to the class, meeting everyone entering. Filing as the last students.
"Please put all bags aside to safe space and put on your lab coats. Goggles and wipes are by the door. No phones on. No rings. No fake nails. All chemicals poured today will be at the fuming cabinet unless you lads plan to have no kids." There is a demon behind the human eyes of this teacher. A late student crashed open the door and apologized. They have no eye covers but equally their eyes lack the spirit sight ability. Just as it is for her aunts right eye.
"Leana you are pairing with Mr late." She accepted this and passes over a right fit coat and a clean pair of goggles for the kid. She unfazed of having worked with everyone at somepoint in this class. It's not her frist with this kid. However there is a history of this kid not getting on with work at her side. His problem then her making it. Most teachers by now handle this kids strange better. But not today.
"We grown bacteria cultures from surfaces. Now we are swab and set them to glass slides. The fuming cabinet is for staining them. We will be counting and drawing out our finds. Unless of course we figure out a way to photograph and measure." She explains softly to the kid as he getting ready. They take seats to tables.
"Did anyone remember about what I told you last session?" Plenty nod but no speaking out of turn. A strict teacher who prefers silence and obedience, "Then where is the dishes?" Looking at everyone for who was the designated person that should have spoken to the lab technicians about collecting their bacteria plates. She raised her hand with calm. But is ignored. She knows that eyes were seeking someone not here.
"Kyle was sent to the nurse with an injury at lunch." A brave person speaks out of turn, "You made him the assigned message passer."
"Get out." They leave the room as they are. The teacher now pointed at Leana with having patience, "And tell me why there wasn't a person to replace Kyle."
"Not to imply anything. But you said if Kyle didn't do it, we all fail this assignment and under no circumstances will there be any excuses. Not unless there was a doctor note." She removes from her pocket, "When I went to the technician for the previous class, I told them about the bacteria plates for this class. This note was what they gave me to give to you." The teacher snatched it from her and checked through. The teacher gasped and leaves the room. They all turn to her like she was magic.
"What did it say?"
"They had to disinfect and destroy several of our class plates due to dangerous conditions. The bacteria found in several plate is now under lab wide investigation. Threat to staff health was the leading factor. Please use backup bacteria plates instead of student made ones." She replies recounting the whole note, "I went to the technician the previous class for the acid neutralising measurement equipment. We were short two set ups. I thought while waiting, I was talking to the other about the bacteria dishes. They left to check and came back writing up that note infront of me. Told to hand it off for class. He was going to tell Kyle the same thing when Kyle comes to fetch the dishes."
"So they expecting Kyle to arrive to collect the dishes." Among them asked.
"Yup." They turned to each together with talking about how much this changes their expectations and that they need to drastically alter the study papers they spent all month making this far.
"What do you think made them no allow us those dishes?"
"Knowing where we swab samples to grow on those plates. You going to know exactly what they feel concerned about." That put everyone into a moment of reflection.
"We asked the student cooking class to borrow their space for swabs." Someone not getting it speaks up.
"It means whatever we swab sample of in the student kitchen is harmful enough to shut down a lab." Someone with putting more together.
"We just assisted with either a school inquiry, prevented a spread of illness or caught someone with drugs on campus." It became some jokes among and some set focused on what they predicted with the current papers.
"The students kichten was locked, all food learning was suspended and the classes have been private interviewed yesterday. What did the technician tell you?" The kid at her side asked.
"Asked about where we got the samples and if anyone of us have been off ill or hospital. Which was an odd ask but I know what your thinking. They didn't want to tell me." Leana has a notepad out and pen. She flips back on some pages, "I had even told them where in which parts we swab the kitchen and what assignment this was for. I took this notepad out in showing my draft notes." And it was harmless notes. She group label who swabs what parts. Some did sinks. One set did drains. One did pans and mix bowls. Someone did door handles and cabinets. She swab the food pantry.
"Excuse me. Is you lot the applied science class doing an assignment about microbes?" Knocked at the door. It was the technician that she spoke to and several other visitors. Everyone was shocked. And inturn became a group interview about their course and current assignment. Everyone brought out their drafts currently and the previous times they swab the student kitchens. They have been repeating this swab sample study under staining experiment. Some the best people that good at making clean clear results had terrible written drafts and those that write well have barely results. It's clear that they are oblivious of what they found and are documenting as they are told by the assignment criteria. They had not been mapping where they swab from. But Leana has. She has been for her own sake of not sample the same places as other people. Her notepad was taken photos of as it was the most helpful. Copies of everyone's drafts. Her laptop was swab and her draft too. She is the student set up for a higher pass then others. Going the extra mile for credit even if this teacher doesn't care for it, she hopes an examiner would reward it.
"We are not allowed to tell you the full situation but this class has just helped the work of not just the school district board. Your skills of lab work has impress the team in the police department. There could be some future police lab technicians here." That put everyone at shock that its a police issue.
"Some drug user must have used their dirty hands on the sink." Playing down among themselves. Leana knew from the way a look was shares among the visitors.
"This is a murder investigation now." She picked up.
"Please do not tell anything to anyone. Do not tell your families until after the college makes a statement." The technician quickly spoke and that stops everyone down playing it. It was serious and now they had to be serious.
"It can't be a single target if its something spreadable. Are we in danger?" Turn to the police men.
"At this time, we believe there isn't any reason to worry. You may have stopped things before it got out of hand. In fact, we have this whole class of diligent hard working science minded students to picked up one things not looked in on normal crime scenes. We will like you all to repeat your work in a place to show how you swab and collected your data. This will further help our team as joint learning." That made plenty impressed for being able to work along side police and be a part of some investigation.
"Miss Fallown. Can we talk privately about your draft work?" Called alone, "Bring all what you need." She collected her things up and was taken a room over. Away from the class. The class will likely be filing in a no speaking agreement and to pledge testimony when court comes around. They took away and sample all her things particularly. Her notepad and were she kept it.
"You were swabbing the food areas. You didn't eat anything, right?"
"No. Not even when offered. The cooking class sometimes asked if we sample their foods. They needed opinions about the dishes but from someone not food study. I don't due to being lactose intolerant, I dont want to risk flares." She lets them write and they looked as she sort of rambles nervous, "I was swabbing the edges of food storage like the under lid seals and the hand places spots that are over looked. I didn't plan on sharing the results. If I was finding someone with unwashed hands touching everything, it wouldn't be surprising but it also make everyone turn against each other about hygiene. It is college. There will be a level of not so sanitary expectations."
"That makes sense for the study your doing. Your looking for pathogen and other bacteria. You been staining your slides to look for exactly that." They used her laptop, "You already wrote a draft prediction of what you expected to find with some sound reasoning. You even made a prediction about what others could find by the routine students put their hands. Talking about the chairs, door handles and the door lock. You clearly weren't going to write that in the final paper."
"It might have. There been a some abnormalities in results. Bacteria has conditions it prefers. And sure the spikes are there. But its the level that didn't. I already was questioning if someone been actively over cleaning. And there been spikes where there shouldnt be. Common areas like the bowl lips that should be washed after use are having high levels." She huffed in feeling inadequate wording and the nerve of talking to the police, "It's a bit off that the keyboard of the computer that the teacher uses to register students was being replaced often. It was as you see something I sampled twice before I was told to not swab there." They write that down, "The teacher for the cooking class didn't want me swabbing the teacher areas. I was forced to the pantry. I actually intended the computer set up and smart board to be my areas." Several nodding with understanding and going back in her notepad for the early notes she made about this project.
"Would you say that you all choose places with high hand traffic on purpose for better results?"
"Yes. Hands carry the most transfer. However I think you want to look at Alex's draft. He wanted to do chairs where people's clothes transfer. His been off sick. Kyle is partner was meant to ask the technician for our grow plates today but his been sent to hospital." That made someone go on call right that second and she frowns.
"You can not repeat this." The detective who been listening and reading things here with them, "Your class has found traces of mass poisoning." She was shocked and even looked doubtful of this, "promise me."
"I will not repeat this to others. Not even my class or family until a statement and legal representation is in place." She pledged, "I am glad to be helping you guys stop this. I hope you caught whomever this is."
"The flour container you sample. Can you show us how you took it." She is provided a clean one matching the one she samples from.
"I always have gloves and we do as we were showed to at basic level. Although some of use aren't so careful at not cross contamination." They give her a box of the technician gloves and a set of swabs. She reached into her bag and brought out unreel plastic sandwich bags. She lays the bags. Goes washes hands and gloves on. She stays standing and shows her method. From how she used samples the rub corner seal of the container. The prefer grapple edge of its own swab. She carefully bags swabs, labels and took her phone out for photos. She puts it all back and takes phone and gloves hands to sink. Wash and disinfect phone.
"I would normally have a sharpie to mark each bag." She came back to the table. The detective stares stunned. The interviewer guy looked like he was brooding.
"Sandwhich bags?"
"So my swabs arent crossing. We had failed results because someone allowed swabs to touch each other. They are marked down for it. After class restart to caught up with the class. Each of us have different methods of protecting the samples. It's the only thing we arent consist that could be controlled factor. But it mattered more we study changes of microbes in a month period then the exact methodology. It's meant to just be an assignment. I am going a little extra in hope of extra points. I know am going to be marked down for my dyslexia. It's why I have five drafts. I keep having to start again to make grammatical sense. I got behind due to it." She pulls up all her photos from her phone of the secret dish bacteria samples. It's only her dishes and they are labeled clearly. They take all her photos.
"We are currently working to see what ingredients in the food is the contaminated of the posion. Knowing you keep good notes for what other pairs are doing. Can you tell is and show how they sample their work?" She nods before, thinks through about her classmates, "Which pairs are tasting the cooking classes dishes?"
"Alex and Kyle are sampling chairs. So
Who is sampling what and have you seen how they do?" The detective clarified.
She nods and goes back to the frist time they samples the kitchen. Her notepad coming handy for this part.
"May and her partner were doing doors. They always sat with the cooking class talking. They arent careful about how they sample. Using the wet sweep. Dip the cotton in wet then wipe handles. They later added draws but where told to stop. Draws unrelated to kichten. It was ideal for us but they want us to focus on kichten microbes. So Jack and Chris swab the equipment, they mess around a little but take getting the science right. They ask for some my sandwich bags. They groups samples by table. Five grow dishes for them." She recalls the best she can of who samples the sinks and the taps. She figured they didn't sample the same place each time unlike her, "Jass was sample the fridge. He doesn't care about contaminated results, just that he gets the results. He doesn't wear gloves but he at least washes before and after. I think the most reckless pair was those sampling hands of the cooking students. Thankful those dishes are consistent for human bio floral and safe clean hands. That's Mick and Jane." The notes are made and nothing about her statement puts anyone of her class in the suspect list. In fact the detective makes his own notes occasionally about how or what they target. Sadly only she has some photos of her own dishes and no one else's, "The social set of our class tend to be the food taste testers. Alex, Kyle, Jass and May tend to taste food. Mick and Jane too. Off ill normally but bounce back from it. They all behind four days class worth of study work. They are in the same trouble I am. I am just slow at writing." The detective nods getting it now.
"You aren't to tell them." She agrees, "Once we have your fingerprints, copies of your work and a form of contacting you." She gladly provided as requested and is able to pack away her things.
"Whatever you may hear rumors, please do not correct or spread what you know." She nods for sure before being left to leave. The detective sighed and the police officer at his side frowns.
"Such bright kids with no futures. So you told her its food poisoning with likely the flour. You told the technician it was food from the fridge. You told the science teacher is was unrelated illness. You told the food teacher it was drugs in the ventilation."
"Now we wait to hear who has a big mouth." The detective nods. It not going to take long with a college of teenagers.
She makes it back to class and everyone was in quiet with working with what they have. The technician nervous but is putting away the stains. The teacher annoyed of having no samples for them to process. She sits down, laptop back up and there is clearly a good phone chat started among them. Given her laptop is linked to her phone. She can see the silent notifications. They forgot she was in the chat group. She never texts into the chat anyways unless it was about assignments. She makes a few screen shots of some confusing stuff that contradicting what the private interview was about. Tracking who thinks what and why. She doesn't make any computer notes about the event but she did write on a torn page of her notepad. This is folded and put to the back of her phone case for now. Several theories are being flung. Drugs in the ventilation. Food contamination. Who was missing since the course started and why they left. They aren't that close to know personal lives.
She makes her own judgement for what actually is proven. What they knew by the swabbing data - they have unintentionally found. She goes back in her own data history and photos with mild interest. This sparked her own curiosity for what they dont tell them. But she moved it all aside and got on with continuing her paper. Typing at her own pace with the inconvenience of why she has no data in this part of her graphs but had a level of prediction of what it should have showed.
"Leana, what did they need from you anyway?" Someone notice she was here. The chat exploded in her screen corner with knowing she sees it. The teacher who normally wants silence is choosing to observe.
"He asked me about which pairs were collecting from what parts of the kitchen. They also were confused with my dyslexia drafts." They looked confused, "The whole reason I am allowed a private laptop for writing is because of my extreme dyslexia. Even with this I still writing whole paragraphs of my report backward meaning. So I was set down and we went over my data collecting and errors. They took copies of everything." She sighed annoyed, "They laughed at me for my Sandwhich bags."
"I think the sandwich bags help." Chris objects, "you made the results uniform with introducing Sandwhich bags. I had to write a whole side paper with tests about it." Several voiced in with making their own adjustments ever since the Sandwhich bags improved results.
"But they really wanted your personal data?"
"Well not that I wanted to tell you all. But I have been taking photos of the dishes before we swab for microscope checks. I made back up of everyone's data in a spread sheet. Incase someone among us has a dog ate my homework situation. It's bad enough that I can't write worth a damn. But I make up for it with being extra with side by side over all data analysis. I was going to ask your premises to use your individual reports as reference. Make this into a big collaboration of the class then just individual achievement. I figured we do better as a group averages grading then fault in singled papers. The examiner would read whole one report for the whole assignment as class effort. We all be credited in our strengths. Then me being left behind for my weakness to not write crap." That made poeple think plenty on her smarts and soon they all clouded together with helping each other more. The teacher is turned pale as they just out smart system. And given this wasn't anything against it in the rules, there wasn't any objection.
The technician smirks at the door frame. They still have their individually made reports but now its all being connected into a larger study paper. Now she roped them all into it, parts she struggled are being managed. She not even a great leader, someone else among them is better micro managing. The technical with the computer is putting the document together. Everyone is writing the sub sections and each has parts. Her individual paper weakly on its own meant little value, as was the equipment scrubs by Chris. But there is narrative focus that made these smaller hand placements on bowls and lids more matter. This for now subvert away any attention about what else the detective asked or spoke of to her. It wasn't long for the classes of other departments was being suspended. Traveling the student cooking class and leaking to the floors under. The entire English college study class were hospitalized. Put as old building materials such as asbestos being the cause. Reignited rumors of the kichten department suspension. They no longer can go back to the kitchen for new data thus ending their report sooner. But as bright students they used other experiments and brought in these as observations and likely explainantion for their finds.
"We should go swab our kitchens at home and use the data to back check our finds." Seated at the louge study area downstairs.
"And despite Mr Wood tell that we are not going to identify the growths. I just found some university who is testing Ai to attempt doing that for us. I already sent an email. I had our finished draft set to the university and their professor sent an email back. Our group was picked to sample source test bacteria and fungi images."
"I have a feeling we should tell them not to use the images in our reports." Leana pipes up, "If it wasn't obvious back then, it should be now." They looked at her with deep thoughts, "They still trying to catch them, I guess. This is why there hasn't been a statement yet." She finds her laptop closed on her. She huffed and she opens it. She invited them to look and she well past the point of identifying bacteria. She has all the students whom are off sick, the symptoms they have and then has been deep diving the many types of posioning or normal possible common diseases. Someone took over and they went over the symptoms between them. Rash. Deilium. Nose bleeds.
"Sounds more a chemical burn."
"Affecting the back and hands?"
"Alex had red all down his front that day." She says nothing and they caught on now. Closed her laptop, "So when they took you aside. They wants our lab results from potential criminal investigation."
"Its on going." She corrected, "All the rumours are contradicting themselves but its never the truth. I dont know what they are doing." Each of everyone has a background from other places and differing family status. Differences in morals. But know one their own was clearly in critical from this. This made everyone band together. Working out the unknown substance that is harming. She wasn't alone now. She didnt tell them.
They told her it was posioning. She doubts it traditional poisoning from the flour container she swabs. They handed in the final assignment four weeks late on purpose, a joint effort by them all. Squeezing out more lab time for identification of the unknown substance at harm and locating it. On the final day they handed in the joint report. They did so with a geiger. counter. Pinging at over the normal levels. The sensor pointed at teachers. As both the cooking tech and the science teacher were in the room together. Someone was streaming live and clearly the police are watching. The counter spikes more as moving to each chair they sit at. Then the computer keyboard, wildly going off. Nothing is spoken.
"We are reaching the levels of power plant. No wonder we all sick." The team slowly backed away back to the exit. She used a Sandwhich bag for the handle, in case this was thought of. Everyone makes it out of the room and the stream ends. It wasn't long before police arrived.