Trapped with a Doctor

Three minutes later, Lulu, quite the branch in Angela's bicycle wheel, picked up a sheet with Angela's formula on it. "What's with all the small writing?"

"It's my formula, duh."

"What formula?"

"... The formula to stop people talking."

Lulu quit her tongue-in-cheek provocations. It would be most unwise to antagonize Angela.

After half an hour's silence, Lulu exclaimed: "But, Angela, my brother said you should not touch those things!"

Angela looked back at Lulu, then turned to look at the bottles on the shelf. She had already used them!

"Well, just pretend you've seen nothing."

"What's in it for me?"

"I will teach you what you wanna learn."

"Wow, great!" Lulu leapt for joy.

"Phone my brother, " Angela told Lulu, "and ask him what the difference between compound acid B and compound phenol acid A is."

"Phone him yourself." Lulu didn't want to change her clothes again.

"If I go, you will have nothing to do here." reasoned Angela.

Lulu puzzled over it but eventually found it agreeable.

She took Angela's cellphone and found Sven's number. She called him up and engaged in some small talk before Lulu cut to the chase. "Angela wants to ask you about the difference between compound acid B and compound phenol acid A."

"Remember, " cautioned Sven, "compound acid B can hurt people's vocal cords. Compound phenol acid A can be made into a narcotic."

you, Sven." Although Lulu was a bit self-righteous, she knew how

returned to the lab. "Sven told

Angela. "What is

seemed confused but did her best to relay the message as she had heard it. "Oh,

about compound phenol acid

vocal cords,

"Good."

drops of compound acid

passed, and by the end of the experimentation, Lulu

water and drunk by a person, he or she would lose their voice for about one

would use them

wound had healed,

kept asking Angela a lot of questions when the dinner was about ready.

served on the table did Angela, who had lost her patience, stop Lulu, saying,

"You sound like my

was surprised to hear herself say

home after eleven when Angela was researching all kinds of chemical bonds on her phone. She would take down some notes when

Tahitian pearls, on the rack.

giggled, and said, "There's something I don't understand, and

tomorrow, but for now

course not, " Angela replied congenially. "And

sat on it himself to allow Angela to sit on his lap,

up her notebook and phone. "Is this Chinese herb called tiao-ling? Where does it grow? And what

usually grows by rivers in dense forests. It can

minutes, Arvin had solved everything

and gave Arvin a loud kiss on the cheek.

found one too, " Arvin

kept an eye

who was in the

Angela nervous. She looked into Arvin's serious eyes, and Arvin continued, "The knife...came into contact with