“First, as scientists, we have to look at it.” Sheena opened the lid and let each of them peer down at the bluish-green contents.

“Looks like algae. I’d know. I found it first.” Felix swelled his chest to emphasize his importance.

“Does it have a smell?” Sheena asked. “We should record this. A scientist keeps lots of records.”

“All I’ve got is my pad,” Felix protested. “It doesn’t record.”

“Well, we’ll do that when we get to the lab,” Sheena told them.

“We can’t go up to the lab level,” Felicity reminded. “That’s on the second floor. We’ll get in trouble.”

Sheena airily replied, “That’s why we have a science club. I bet I can get Mom to take us up to the lab. If we’re a science club, we’re not just kids. Then we can all look at the algae under the microscope. See what it really looks like.”

Breez reached out, stuck her finger in the jar before Sheena could stop her. Pulling it back, she looked at the glistening blue-green coating. Rubbed it vigorously between her fingers. “I mean, yuk. You feel how slippery it is? That’s nasty.” She began scrubbing her fingers on her coveralls.

“Let me try!” Tomaya insisted. “If you don’t, I’ll tell where you got it.”

Sheena, looking incensed, let Tomaya dip some out.

“Ooo. It feels like fresh snot.” Tomaya danced around, shaking her gooey fingers. “Snot. Snot. Snot.”

Toni, having failed to pull a cushion off the bench, was now watching them from his sprawled seat on the floor. “What?” he asked, eyes on the jar.

“You can’t see it.” Sheena turned away. “You’re not in the club.”

“What?” Toni demanded louder.

Felix had seen this before. The little rat was going to scream any second now. “Oh, let him see it. He won’t know what it is anyway. Then he’ll go back to drooling on the deck plates.”

Sheena leaned down, extending the jar. “See! Nothing there, you little creep. Just blue goo. I like that. Blue goo. Blue goo. Blue goo. We all got blue goo.”

Sheena should have known better. She’d been babysitting Toni on the odd occasion over the years.

The movement was so fast, Felix almost missed it. Toni whipped his right arm in an overhand arc. The movement a blur, he almost slapped the jar completely out of Sheena’s hand. As it was, the contents splashed all over. Most of it landing on Toni.

Sheena cried out in horror, jerking the jar back.

Toni grinned in triumph, the loud “Gaaaaaa” of his laughter like thorn in Felix’s hearing.

“Little creep beast!” Sheena cried, shifting the jar to her left hand as she tried to shake the slimy goo off her right. Not much was slung from her blue-green-coated fingers. Instead, she rubbed her hand hard on her overalls, spreading the stuff.