Litmus Test

Growing up I always wanted to be a chemical engineer. I would mix and match everything from paint to kitchen cleansers and solvents. Sometimes I would get cool results, maybe an obnoxious odor, or even some steam or smoke, but mostly duds. I experimented with fuel mixtures and even tried to formulate my own ethanol corn blend. Leaving it in the shed right in front of the window on a very hot summer day ended my little lab experiments for a while. Something about burning down the shed was the reason my parents used for discarding everything I ever used in my makeshift labs downstairs, in the shed, and in my bedroom. But try as they might my enthusiasm only grew in the classroom. Science and math were easy enough and with very high grades in school I was able to secure a scholarship to a top notch Chemical Engineering Program.

Fuel mixtures quickly disappeared from my desires to experiment and my time and effort began focusing on chemical reactions. The cause and effect of mixing two solutions or rearranging their molecular structure was a wide open area for exploration in chemical science. I would find myself in the lab for hours and hours at a time. This effort along with some of the papers I had written gained me valuable attention from the professors and enabled me to apply for a couple of grants under the university oversight. However after a multitude of paperwork and applications I was either denied or given restructured criteria in which to resubmit. My original ideas were rejected.

One of the restructured grants I had returned to me was in the field of reproductive science and fertility. When I first saw the outline I set the document aside and figured it would never be something I would consider. And for many good reasons. I was the class nerd my whole life. I was the one who developed acne the soonest and had it the longest. I was the one with the skinny arms and boney legs that was ridiculed all through high school. Whenever I was approached it was usually one of the jocks who needed tutoring so he remained eligible to play whatever sport he was in. By the end of high school I was respected by the athletes because of the people I had helped over the last couple of years. They high fived me in the hallway and a couple even had said I had saved their butts. But that was only on the athlete side. Girls still laughed and avoided me and therefore I had never had a date or even kissed a girl. So why would someone like me consider doing anything regarding reproductive science. College life did agree with my size as I grew to just over six feet tall, my skin cleared up, I added some weight, and was no longer the scrawny kid. Carrying books and walking campus or riding the campus bikes also bulked me up a little and I began to fit in with the others. Of course there was always the added bonus of a fantastic meal plan in the student center which always included things to help me gain weight when I wasn't at work studying.

My work in the labs continued daily and I spent many hours trying to figure out what I could do to get a research grant and stay on for a master's degree at the university. The pile of rejections were revisited with most of them ending back up in the bottom of a drawer. The grant for fertility research was left on my desk since I thought it had been discarded already and would make sure I did today when I cleaned up.

My favorite pastime was searching the internet to see what others had done for their working grants. I stumbled across a lab that required using a litmus test to check for acidity and was experimenting with it when Professor Barrows walked into the lab. The test was to kill time and was not something I was doing for a project, a grant, classroom assignment or any other reason. It was just helping me clear time while I pondered my options. If I didn't get a grant, I was going to have to end my education journey. Walking up to my area he stopped at the desk and picked up the grant proposal request for the Reproduction and Fertility project that I had left out and destined for the round recycle bin out front.

"I see you're giving the fertility testing some consideration?" He asked.

"No sir, I haven't looked at it too much. It is not in an area of study I would like to pursue. I was leaving that one out so I could throw it out when I left."

"Jake it is not about the problem's subject itself, it is about the science it takes to resolve it. You take the problem and break it down into requirements and you determine how to meet those requirements using the science you know and the science you need to learn in order to come to a conclusion or solution. It is the same as any other problem you have tackled in the last four years here."

With that he picked up the litmus paper and asked what role would acidity or alkalinity play in the problem I am trying to avoid. I was told to give it some serious thought because the grant was still available and the current interest in it was poor.

"Science doesn't solve the problems we like, science solves the problems we have." He said.

I picked up the package and started reading it more thoroughly with the whole pregnancy thing out of my mind. Professor was right the package did focus on fertility but also on the fact that higher levels of acidity can negatively affect the woman's ability to conceive. But that wasn't the avenue I was thinking. Since the acid levels affected the window of opportunity why wouldn't it be easier to just tell whether or not the window was open? Pin point the exact day and time using science and increase the chance of becoming pregnant. Reduce the acidity during the same time of the next cycle and the chances increase.

And just like that I had an idea to put into action. Within a couple weeks and some critique and feedback from Professor Barrows and my other advisors the package was submitted. The time waiting for an answer seemed to take forever. I was about to graduate with a Bachelor of Science but knew that a Master's was required to find the type of job I wanted. One night after classes my phone chirped with a number I did not recognize. I was going to let it go to voice mail but decided to just pick it up since I was alone.

"Hello Jake, my name is Amanda Wilkins and I am calling you about your grant submission. Would you have a couple of minutes to discuss a few things rather quickly?"

"Yes, I have time. Yes ma'am." Jake said enthusiastically. He knew a phone call meant consideration. His other rejections all came via mail.

"As you have probably figured out for yourself, this call is because we are considering your proposal. It stands out amongst the others but we feel it may be lacking in one area."

"I am sorry, what is it lacking in Ms. Wilkins?"

"Please call me Amanda. The board that is handling the review likes the fact that you are ambitious but feels that you would need at least two assistants working with you. You do not specify who would complete the work with you. I would like to send a page to you via email. If possible check and described the support you would have and then sign it and send it back to me and I will forward it to the board."

Two days later I received another call from Amanda asking me to start making arrangements for the following year. I was selected for the grant. My assistants would be selected by the university science advisors and I would have two of them at the start of next school year. If I could have selected them myself I would have certainly not chosen the two that I met when I returned in the fall. Gloria was tall, quiet, and a little on the heavy side. She was a very nice person but chose to sit down whenever she could. Each time I asked for anything she just gave me a look until I asked a second time. Ashley on the other hand was almost an opposite. She was hyper, shorter, and not quiet at all. She also avoided doing things and would re-delegate any task asked of her. She was a take charge person who somehow felt this project was hers to manage. It didn't take long before her and I were working at different areas of the lab on different pieces of the puzzle. Since Gloria liked to sit, we allowed her to do the paperwork and charting of the different processes we went through while we attended to the lab and testing.

Over time Ashley became difficult to work with. She would demand different ways of doing things and then find another completely different way than she insisted when she did it leading to frustration on my part. Most of the time we were spending together I had no clue as to what she was even doing. As she worked on the different ways of testing vaginal fluids, body temperatures, heartburn, and cycle times, I went to work on the acidity levels in saliva during menstruation and pregnancy. I continued to work on the litmus strip idea I had at the end of the spring semester and worked the possibility of developing a way to determine ovulation orally. My idea was that it had to be quick, easy, and disposable. For the project we solicited paid student volunteers to be test subjects in our research. This funding was included in the grant and also was a requirement. Simple tests that were non-invasive and compensated usually produced many volunteers from the pool of university students. For my part I would ask detailed information on their menstrual cycle and expressly ask that they visit me when they were ovulating or believed they were. Each week saw me closer and closer to getting a litmus solution to work and dissolve at the right time. My research hit the mark on a couple of the students but not at the percentage I would need to form a conclusion or develop a successful reliable test for just yet. I never had any tests come back with a false indicator of ovulation but many came back without detecting it. Days turned into weeks as I tested different saliva solutions over and over.

All was going well and the three of us managed to stay out of each other's way for the most part. That is until one day when Ashley walked up to the 5 gallon water cooler next to my station to get a cup of water. The little cone cups were empty in the chute along the side and she started yelling at me to refill it. I refused because I was a coffee drinker and didn't usually grab the little cups. I would just rinse and fill the coffee cup that sat on my worktable each day. Little miss temper tantrum decided to show us another hissy fit as she stomped around the room to find the box of refills and add to the chute. After all and as I stated to her, she used most of them anyway. In her rage of anger she struggled to get the lid off of the little side chute and dropped the stack of cones she was holding onto my work and spilled a beaker all over the counter. The stack of cups laid sideways in the solution but she just picked them up in frustration and fed them into the chute like she hadn't noticed the moisture they absorbed along one side.

The next day she approached the water cooler again and filled a little cone cup babbling and complaining as she usually did until she slowly finished her cup and threw it into the garbage can and walked away. I didn't notice right away but when I went to discard something in the same trash as earlier I noticed her little cone cup now had little blue lip prints in it where she had taken a drink from. Could this have worked? Is this one of the cups she had dropped into the solution? Of course it was, the whole damn chute was filled with these cups. I wasn't collecting data on Ashley but added an entry called BLA (bitchy lab assistant) at the bottom of my data sheet and dated it. With Ashley you couldn't track her cycle by her mood because she was always moody and crabby and never appeared to let up. So being a BLA was just who she was. I examined the cups in the chute to see if I could detect where the contact with the solution was. The fact that it was the first cup most likely had provided more contact with the desk while the others in the stack would have just had a small portion on the top ring make contact. I would have to make a new stack of cups and use the solution around the ring at the top. For the next couple of weeks I tested and tested with each of the student volunteers who came in. Taking what they thought were clean cups and filling them with bottled water seem clinical and they all just drank without asking. Hey, they were getting a stipend to drink water so they were satisfied. Watching the calendar leading up to Ashley's next scheduled period of ovulation was nerve wracking until the day finally came. I replaced the chute with a whole new batch of cups and waited. I felt like a puppy dog when she finally took some water. Instead of her daily complaining session she took the cup and walked away meaning I would have to follow her to get a result. It worked! It worked! When she was finished she tossed the cup and kept walking allowing me to grab and see that there were a couple of prints this time. But even more obvious was the fact that the rim of the cup had turned to a light blue color. Hardly noticeable but definitely present.

I kept refining my solution until almost every one of the test volunteers would show positive on days when they claimed to be ovulating. I had also worked on using Popsicle sticks, wooden tooth picks and was having success with my test students. Some of them actually thought it was fun. Styrofoam cups tended to melt or bubble around the area that had the solution applied to. Getting it to dry on plastic cups was even harder. I tried the plastic cubs you find at all of the campus parties and wasn't happy with the results. As Ashley's time approached I was ready with another stack of cups. Sure enough on the second day which was a Friday her cup had a set of blue lips on it. When she noticed she asked what it was. I tried to give her some B.S. story asking about her lip gloss, what did she eat, was she chewing gum, etc.? She just blew me off as she usually did and told me she was leaving because she had a party to go to just off campus.

Wheels in my head were spinning just as fast as you could imagine. I grabbed the toothpicks and made a couple hundred more with the ovulation solution on them. Then I quickly took the batch of plastic cups I had been working on and carefully placed them in the plastic bags they came in and headed out myself. Gloria had an idea of where the party was but not the exact address. But she did say that once I found the street I would find the party. Look for the biggest house that everyone just calls the ranch. I took a quick shower, dressed for the evening and headed out to see if I could find the party Ashley had mentioned. I hated stopping at the grocery store but went in and bought a few cheese trays and added my toothpicks. Guys don't eat that stuff anyway.

The party was easy to find and was in full swing when I got there. A couple of the girls near the door tried to help me as I walked in with my arms full of groceries and munchies as they called them. I laughed and apologized for being late and handed them everything asking them to put them wherever they go while I make sure there are still cups left for the beer. People were crammed into every space in the house and the walk to the keg was interesting. Clothes appeared optional for a couple of people on the couch who were oblivious to those around them. Girls were everywhere in different states of inebriation and just hung on to the nearest boy or piece of furniture to remain upright. Lucky for me there was a crowd of them near the keg all looking for a glass when I walked up. Here was my chance. I started passing out the cups ignoring the hands of the guys telling them ladies first as I quickly ran through the stack.

Shortly after dispensing of the cups I strolled from room to room and out onto the back porch. I was disappointed that I hadn't seen Ashley at all anywhere in the house. That disappointment would fade quickly as I walked back into the kitchen and found her sitting on the counter with a beer in one hand and the other wrapped around the head of the guy in front of her. Neither of them looked like they would last much longer and it did not appear she recognized me or anyone else in the room. Her date was in the same state she was. I couldn't tell if she was holding him up with her arm over his shoulder and legs wrapped around him or he was just trying to prevent her from falling off of the counter. Her speech was slurred and his eyes were barely open. This was great footage for my phone that may come in handy at a later time and I quickly changed it to video mode. Scanning the room I kept looking for cups with blue lips or toothpicks that had turned blue. Without ever considering what would happen I learned that those who took a piece of cheese usually just popped it into their mouth and discarded the toothpick without it really ever contacting their tongue or lips. Not exactly what I had in mind. It took about thirty minutes after I got there before I saw a small blonde haired girl sitting at the kitchen table with a blank smile rocking back and forth to the music with a cup of blue lips all around the top. The lips smeared easily leaving just the blue rim visible. But that was ok. About ten with no blue and one blonde at the table with a blue cup.

Just as I left to go into another room I heard a commotion followed by a shriek and a thud as I turned to see Ashley falling off of the counter and onto the guy that had been holding her up. Never having had a girlfriend nor attended any parties I was shocked that this didn't concern anyone other than the fact they were now blocking the walkway. People just laughed and turned away like this was a normal occurrence at a party. Maybe it was, but how would I know? Ashley was wasted so I tried to help her up. Once on her feet she just draped over my shoulder and kept calling me Justin which must have been the guy she was with. One of the girls standing there said to take her upstairs and lay her down in one of the rooms. "She needs to sleep it off", she said. Justin tried to stand and follow me as I carried her away but he had no chance of navigating a stairway in his condition. I tried to find an empty bedroom without any luck on the first two I found but was able to get to the third room which looked like a master bedroom just as another couple was leaving it. I laid Ashley on the bed, well actually I dropped her and turned to the door when she called out Justin's name again.

"Where are you going Justin? You promised me tonight? Don't leave."

I tried to tell her I wasn't Justin as I walked over to the bed but she wasn't hearing any of it.

"You promised me we could try tonight. Please? I will give you another Blow Job if you lick me down there. Please? That's not fair. You promised."

This suddenly got interested. Not knowing what to do I jumped up and locked the door. I then put my phone back into video mode. She moved to the center of the bed and spread her legs as she pulled up her dress showing me or I mean the person she thought was Justin her little black thong. I kept walking back and forth across the room taking the movie from different angles as she kept begging for her cunt to be licked. Her panties had been pulled aside and I could see a little black furry landing strip. A close-up shot was called for in this scenario and I moved up until my knees were touching the end of the bed.

"Please Justin. Just once. I did it for you."

I continued to film enjoying her slurred speech confessions and her begging and then took it a step further. I took a pillow and propped my phone up on the dresser filming the bed.

"Not until you take off your clothes first Ashley."

She complied. This girl actually complied and pulled her dress over her head flinging it on to the floor. She then lifted up and tried to slide her thong down her legs but kept falling onto her back so I decided to help her and reached for her panties. That proved to be a mistake because as I leaned forward she grabbed the back of my neck as she fell backwards and immediately wrapped her legs around my back and pulled me into a kiss. I didn't know what to do? My first thought was to pull away, my second thought was to turn to my phone and keep the video going so everyone could see it was me, and my third thought was that I was in the arms of a naked girl being kissed. And that girl was Ashley. BLA Ashley. She was relentless. I am not sure how long we were locked together but she was surely pressing into me as hard as she could. Escaping was no longer essential as I found myself in bliss. Whether or not she knew it was me, I knew it was her. Eventually the intensity changed as she rolled us onto our sides but she never let go with her arms. She did however land on her side with her legs stretched out in front of mine.