Heather grumbled as she trudged along with her class. It was a senior outing to a local lab, one that Heather's mother, Yume Alistair, actually owned and used frequently, she was even the one leading the tour. Heather rarely spoke or even saw her mother, who spent most of her days in the lab, even when home, Yume rarely left her study. It hadn't always been like that, however after the death of Heather's father, a young, upcoming American actor, their relationship had changed for the worse. At first it seemed that they were uncertain how to comfort the other, but even now, three years since his death, they barely said good morning to each other, let alone sat in the same room for any period of time. Hence, it came as a surprise to Heather when her mother offered a free tour of the lab.
For a short time, she had thought it was Yume's attempt to recover their family ties, however it was like always. Heather stayed in the back while she heard her mother giving 'interesting' facts about the various departments of the lab, all the while making a visible effort not to look at her daughter. As they went along, Heather felt the undeniable urge to pee, the feeling coming completely from left field, forcing her to push her legs together in an attempt to keep it in. She was about to raise her hand to request where the nearest bathroom, but stopped as she caught of them. Heather slipped away silently and relieved herself, releasing a small sigh of relief.
As she went about her business, she suddenly felt a shiver run up her spine. It was the same feeling one got when they thought someone was looking at them intently, unwavering, as if they were trying to recognise or memorise you. Heather looked about on a whim, but saw nothing except the amazingly spotless floor of the restroom, something that a sterile environment like a lab would need to avoid the spread of bacteria. Heather almost thought about not flushing or washing her hands to break the obvious rule, however she decided against it, not wanting to cause problems or walk around with unclean hands. Still, she wanted a way to get her mother's attention, besides the occasional word or nod.
Heather wasn't starved for attention. She was popular enough at her school, with her fair share of friends on the swim team, though there were only a few members in the first place. Her body was honed from the sport, her arms and legs particularly long and toned, fitting her lithe six feet body. On her chest sat large C cups, bordering on D cups. It was rare that someone continued to grow by the time they turn eighteen, however Heather was certain her bust still had a ways to go. Her hips, despite her thin waist, had little flare to them, giving her a more top heavy appearance. Her stomach was decorated in the beginnings of a six pack, while her rear was shapely and pert. Even before deciding on the swim team, Heather had been going between clubs at her school for the entirety of her freshmen and most of her sophomore year, her longest runs being with the track and basketball teams. Needless to say she was an athletic young woman.
Despite the mild muscles on her body, Heather made certain her appearance was distinctly feminine. She wore skirts that showed off her long, lightly toned legs. Her tops could go from loose tank tops to a range of blouses, each of which helped highlight her modest bust. She wore her make up smartly, applying a thin layer of concealer to her face in order to hide the more outstanding blemishes, using a luscious red lipstick on her above average lips, and had naturally long, thick eye lashes. Heather refrained from eye shadow or liner, rarely even using mascara, given her preferred sport it would get washed away. Her hair was an oily black like her mother's, a stereotypical Japanese trait, but one she enjoyed about herself when done right. Heather's behaved very well, falling into a natural style at its current shoulder length.
With her bladder relieved, Heather left the room. She would have guessed her class would've noticed her missing, given the fact that she stood over most of them by a few inches, however that wasn't the case. She looked left and right, seeing none of them around, not even any of the staff.
"Hello? Um, anyone?" She called out, thinking someone would have to be nearby in such a facility as this, but no one responded, "Oh, shit." She groaned and made her way in the direction her class had been heading in, even so they must have moved farther ahead than Heather would've thought. After a few minutes, she noticed an open door, where she assumed the class had gone. Inside the room, she didn't find them, though what she did see was far more interesting, as she stepped further inside to observe the room. The most eye catching part of the room, was the centre, where a line of vials stood.
On the walls hung charts and various monitors, most of which were switched off. The walls themselves were painted white, as one might expect, and completely spotless, likewise the floor looked like it had been put in just minutes ago, rather than the five years since the lab had begun operations. At the far the end, what looked to be glass cases held empty vials, a mist swirling around them, indicating the extreme cold in the cases. Three tables dominated most of the room, lined up in a row, with the middle holding the filled vials, each of which held a cobalt fluid, yet it was still see through. The other tables were covered in various documents and oddly blank papers.
Heather strolled over to the middle, curious as to what the vials contained. She leaned down to peer into them, watching as small bubbles formed in the fluid, not unlike when a human breathed underwater. As she looked, the vials all began to shake, startling Heather, who stepped back in fright. They continued to quiver violently, as if the contents were trying to escape their confines, however, the vials were made of thick glass and the caps were made of metal and tightly done. Heather didn't want to test her chances however, and promptly turned to leave, the steps of her high heels on the hard floor timing perfectly to mask the sound of glass cracking, as all of the vials saw large crevices form at the bottoms. The contained fluid began to leak onto the floor, stopping just short and powerfully lurching forward.
The vials had been small, barely able to contain 50mls. Even with the combined total of four vials, Heather barely felt it as they latched onto her bag, crawling inside, where they found her water bottle. The fluid possessed a certain degree of intelligence, as it began to unscrew the cap, while keeping the bottle upright. When it was undone, the combined 200mls of fluid slipped inside the half empty container, rapidly merging with the water, diluting its own colouration to the point that no one could tell the difference. With its current goal accomplished, the fluid redid the cap and waited.
Heather breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the voices of her class. The lab, while small, was almost designed like a labyrinth, this one just as confusing as the one from the film with David Bowie. She reintegrated herself with the group, who clearly hadn't noticed her absence, as they were directed to the exit. Even if she had been scared half to death, Heather was glad she had fallen behind now, having escaped the continued lectures that bored her so. With the tour over, Heather followed her class as they left, not even sparing a glance at her mother, who's pale face all but shone with a well practised smile, something Heather was unused to seeing. In the outside world, she and her classmates all climbed onto the school bus.
It was a warm day, signalling the end of Winter. The bus was stuffed full, not being very large and having to hold over a dozen students quickly had the temperature sky-rocket, making Heather feel sweat form on her arms. She reached into her bag and pulled out her water bottle, noting the moist feeling it had, but put it down to condensation, and took a long drink from it. To her surprise, it tasted good, strange considering it was water, not that she didn't enjoy the plain taste at times. Now, it left a savoury sweet aftertaste in her mouth, though it didn't quite quench her thirst, however she saved it, knowing she should savour such a delicious beverage, even if her instincts wanted her to down it in one go. Heather sat back and watched the scenery pass by, occasionally talking to a couple of her friends, but remained mostly in silence.
She took another couple of mouthfuls of her water, each one tasting better than the last. Though she frowned to herself as the bus neared the school. Her body felt... cool, like the early afternoon sun wasn't beating down on her through the windows, while over a dozen other students made the air even warmer around her. Her water should have heated up as well, even if it was protected in her bag, and yet it remained chilled and refreshing as ever. There was something else as well, like her mind was sluggish, but she pushed it aside as they pulled into the school, her classmates climbing off the bus and heading to either their rides home or their own cars. Heather spied her own car sitting opposite the bus and headed to it.
Fortunately, driving kept her mind away from her water. The taste lingered in her mouth, almost trying to tempt her to drink more, however her attention stayed on the road, listening to the radio host make puns or announce the next song. The rest of the day passed in near total silence, as Heather absent mindedly looked through the internet, finding little to interest her, even on YouTube, her subscriptions all having made their uploads for the day, none of which interested her. She even resorted to watching cat videos, but even they failed to keep her interest for very long. As the sun began to set, Heather felt her eyes growing heavy.
