Two days have passed since the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI.
Yesterday was Freddie's 16th birthday. He wanted a simple celebration without much noise. So it was just a small gathering of close friends, with his mom organizing everything (with Cara's help).
I respected his wish and didn't throw any flashy surprises. Even though I love big parties, I have to admit, now and then, these smaller, more intimate gatherings have their charm.
"Hey," I began, but paused when I noticed a new face beside Paige. "Hello, name's Jake Harper," I introduced myself.
"Leslie Winkle," she replied calmly.
"So, how did you befriend my lovable sister?" I inquired while popping a nugget into my mouth.
Paige answered on her behalf, "Leslie won a few arguments against Sheldon. We became friends." The two bumped fists.
"I study at Caltech too, but I'm two years older than Paige and Sheldon," Leslie added.
"You're one of them?" I asked, mimicking Vernon Dursley dramatically.
Leslie chuckled. "I got the reference."
"At least she's cultured," I muttered toward Paige, who just stared back at me, unimpressed.
"We're discussing theoretical elements," Leslie mentioned casually.
"Like Vibranium and Adamantium?" I quipped, but seeing their faces, I added, "Where's Sheldon when I need him?"
"Anyway," Paige cut in, "we're talking about graphene, germanene, metallic hydrogen, borophene, silicene... But you probably don't know half of those. Even some scientists don't (most of their names are not well-known)"
She wasn't wrong. I was never a fan of chemistry or physics. God bless me, I'll never need to study thermodynamics or kinetics again.
"You say that, but at least I know how to make graphene," I teased.
"That's basically impossible," Paige retorted.
"A carbon sheet that thin would be thermodynamically unstable, easily destroyed by thermal fluctuations, and prone to self-rolling," Leslie noted, nodding.
"And what would you offer me if I proved it's possible, Paige?"
"I'd help you with anything requiring my intelligence," she replied with a sarcastic edge.
"But I already have that," I scoffed.
We both knew she would always say yes to anything I asked.
"Fine," she added sweetly placing a hand over her heart, "I'd do it without asking questions, no sarcastic comments, and with all my effort and love."
"That should've been the baseline," I shot back with a glare.
Paige rolled her eyes.
"Alright, ladies. Prepare yourselves for the miracle of graphene."
I grabbed a roll of Scotch Tape—Paige had loads of it since she was always taping formula sheets around the room. She'd even moved to the other bedroom just to escape her own study zone.
I took her pencil case, scraped graphite from a 6B pencil onto the tape with her scissors, and folded and unfolded the tape repeatedly.
"Ta-da! Graphene, just for you," I declared proudly.
They both stared at me, stone-faced.
But then Paige's expression changed as she began to think. Leslie, noticing her shift, started pondering too.
"That can't be right... can it?" Paige glanced toward Leslie.
"I don't know... probably not... but not totally impossible" Leslie murmured.
"Let's check. Let's go to the university and use the electron microscope," Paige suggested. She stood and grabbed my arm. "You're coming too."
"Not a chance! I have better things to do. We can look at it another day," I protested.
"If that's really graphene, it could be one of the greatest discoveries in condensed matter physics! A big shot at a Nobel Prize! " Leslie exclaimed in disbelief. "What could possibly be more important?"
I scoffed. Go kiss Sheldon, for God's sake
Paige didn't argue further. She walked off to a corner and made a phone call.
After talking for a few minutes, she came back to us and said,
"Come on, Jake. Carly, Sam, Freddie, and Cara are already heading there," she informed me. "Regina and Cher are at the mall, said they might come. Missy didn't pick up the phone—she's probably taking a nap."
I groaned. "Fine! At least let me change first."
Cut to: Leslie, Paige, and me arriving at Caltech.
Cara, Freddie, Sam, and Carly were already waiting near the entrance of the university.
Carly crossed her arms and gave me a poker-faced look. "So, what did you get yourself into this time, Jake?"
"Nothing..." I replied, though everyone was staring at me, skeptical.
"And Paige called you guys without giving any context?" I added.
"Yeah, she begged us to come. Said we could kick your ass if it turned out to be nothing..." Sam said entertained.
I turned around and spotted Freddie already filming the whole interaction with the Sony HDW-F900 I had given him as a gift yesterday.
"Hey man, already putting my present to work?" I said, half-joking.
"Of course! This thing is amazing," Freddie replied, clearly in love with the camera.
"He probably slept with it last night..." Cara muttered, exasperated.
"Jealous?" I teased her.
She huffed, but then smiled. "Maybe a little..."
We all laughed at that.
"It's a nine-kilo camera. Good thing Freddie started working out more last year." I commented
Just then, Paige came running toward us, her eyes bright with excitement. "We can use the AFM – Atomic Force Microscope now. Let's go!"
Right behind her, Leslie arrived slightly out of breath, muttering under her breath, "As expected of our 'little princess'... she just asked the professor to 'kindly remove' whoever was using it."
Without wasting time, the whole group made their way toward the lab building. Once we got there, only Paige, Leslie, and I were allowed inside. Access was restricted to a maximum of three people: one operator and up to two assistants.
Both Paige and Leslie were certified to handle the equipment. Normally, a professor or postdoc would be required to supervise, but thanks to their exceptional credentials—and, in Paige's case, undeniable privileges—we had special clearance.
Before entering, we went through all the required protocols. The three of us suited up in the lab's protective gear—white coats, gloves, goggles, and shoe covers—ensuring everything was sterile and compliant with safety standards.
Once inside, Paige and Leslie began replicating exactly what I had done earlier. They carefully took a strip of Scotch Tape, scraped graphite from a pencil onto it, and folded and unfolded it several times to thin out the layers. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Then, with precision, they transferred the tape onto a silicon wafer coated with a layer of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), the standard substrate for optical identification.
After preparing the sample, they carefully placed it under the Atomic Force Microscope. The room fell silent as the machine calibrated and began scanning.
Minutes later, the screen displayed the result
Paige leaned in, eyes glued to the data. "I can't freakin' believe it..." she murmured.
Leslie, standing beside her, stared blankly at the result, wide-eyed and stunned into silence.
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