June was, by all accounts, an odd duck. She had worked at the lab for four years at this point, but was not particularly close to anyone. She didn't talk about her social life, or her family, or much besides work. She had no social media presence to speak of, just a couple of accounts that existed to present her CV to a largely uncaring world.
She was, in short, a challenge. And May loved challenges. Which is why today June's normal solo lunch turned into a duet.
"Hello!" May said, radiating sunshine.
"Hello." June said, in a tone so flat you could build a deck on it.
"I'm May!"
"I know. You've worked here for fourteen weeks and three days." June said.
"I have! Wait, what?" May asked, as confusion displaced her natural smile.
"You've worked here for fourteen weeks and three days. It would be almost impossible for me to not know who you are."
"How do you know how long I've worked here?"
"You started on May first. It's August tenth. I just did the math. I've been here three years, nine months and twelve days."
"Right, but how did you know when I started?"
"I was here."
'And you remembered?"
"I remember most things."
"Crazy!"
May pointed to a man sitting alone eating a chicken sandwich.
"How about him?"
"Fourteen years, six months, and eight days."
"How many leap days?"
"Four."
"What day of the week was his first day?"
"Friday."
"That's amazing!"
"It's definitely odd. Who starts on a Friday?"
"No, that math trick. It's amazing!"
"It's not a trick. It's just math."
"Well I am amazed! What are you doing tonight?"
"I have a lego set that I am working on. I designed it myself."
"Would you like to go out for drinks tonight? As a girls night?" May asked.
"I don't know."
"It'll be fun!"
"It may be. But I don't know. I've never."
"Never what, gone out for drinks?"
"Never gone out after work. Never gone out for drinks. Never drank. So it may be fun, but I don't know that. I don't like to make claims without empirical evidence, you see."
"Then we'll make it an experiment. You and me, Holiday's at 6:30. You can come and research whether or not it is fun."
June sat for a second, thinking. Then she stuck out her hand as if making a deal.
"That makes sense. I will bring my notebook."
May took June's hand and shook it the only way she knew how, enthusiastically.
"You won't regret this."
"I may or may not. But I will try to stay unbiased until I see all the data."
May bounced back to her lab and set up. 'An experiment!', she thought. She was the sort of person who used exclamation points at all times, even in her internal monologue. It was this bubliness that let her make friends easily. And June seemed like she needed a friend. It was a core belief of hers that no one who was that good at math could be very happy.
May had hidden depths, but they mostly held more of the same.
______________________
Six thirty arrived and brought May with it. She breezed into Holiday's wearing a skirt that was a bit too small and cleavage that was a bit too big. She drew the eye like Margaret Keane. June was easy to find, as she had set up shop in a booth in the back corner of the bar. And she was wearing a lab coat.
"Hello!" May said. "I thought we couldn't take those out of the lab?"
"This is one of my home lab coats." June said. "I just feel more comfortable wearing them when I'm doing science."
"Right, science." May said as she slid into the booth next to June, leaving the other half empty. "What are we drinking?" She asked, pointing to June's cup."
"Water. I thought I should be the control group."
"You've never had any alcohol, right?"
"Yes."
"Well then your whole life up until today has been as the control group."
June pulled out her notebook and wrote with careful draftsmen's letters, all blocky and uniform.
"Noted." She said, "I did some research before coming here and think we should stick to one drink per interval, so that we know the exact amount of alcohol we consume. I will time us, of course. How much do you weigh?"
"One hundred and twenty seven pounds." May said. "And if I didn't know this was for science I'd be offended. What drink did you settle on in your research?"
"Vodka. 40 Proof. It should be trivial to track alcohol consumption."
May, who had experienced quite a bit more of life than June, grimaced.
"I follow your logic. But taking shots of straight vodka is a short trip to a long night. Maybe a rum and coke or something mixed. I'd hate for your first time to end up stuck to a toilet."
"Do you think we can get consistent numbers? June asked.
"I do." said May. She reached into her purse and pulled out a couple of graduated beakers. June smiled.
"What?" said May. "I work in labs. I know my stuff."
When the waitress came they each ordered a coke and a shot of rum. May carefully prepared the drinks while June took notes. When both were done May raised her beaker.
"To friendship and scholarship." May said.
June, who had at least heard of a toast, raised her beaker.
"To friendship and scholarship."
May took a sip of her drink. June downed hers in one long pull, then made a note.
"Jeez." May said. "You may want to pace yourself."