Chapter 5

5 "Can I go first?" asked Violet. Pablo and Aria said, "Sure!" Violet was tall, but she couldn't quite reach the eyepiece on the massive microscope. Dr. Crisp spotted a step stool in the corner. She ran over and slid along the floor to grab it like a baseball player stealing second base. Then she pitched it across the room. Pablo grabbed his cheeks and closed his eyes…. But the stool landed perfectly next to Violet. She smiled. "Thanks!" She hopped up.

Violet looked through the microscope and saw a bunch of little rod-shaped critters jiggling away on the slide. "It's a germ party!" Violet laughed. "This is so cool!" Aria shivered. "Can I have a look?" asked Pablo. Violet nodded. Then something started to tickle her throat. She tried to hold it down, but a loud cough escaped. "Flaming flasks!" said Dr. Crisp. "That doesn't sound good!" "Just got a little spit down the wrong tube," Violet said with her voice crackling.

"Sounds like germs are having a party in your throat," said Aria with a scrunched-up face. Pablo giggled. But Violet didn't think it was so funny. "I just got excited!" Violet replied more clearly. She began tapping her foot. "And I already told you, I get allergies in the fall." "Come on. Let's not waste time," said Pablo, pointing to his watch. He took Violet's place on the step stool.

"Whoa," he said. "They're almost like little pills." Finally, Aria hopped up to have a look. She wiped the eyepiece off with her lab coat. She wanted to make sure there was nothing left of Violet's cough on it. "This is cool," she said. "But also gross." She adjusted her glasses and quickly hopped down.

Just as her feet hit the floor, the robotic arms of the microscope snapped back into action. They put a new slide in place. Violet got into position on the stool. She bit her lip. "I wonder what this is. It looks beautiful and nasty at the same time." She laughed as she stepped down. Pablo climbed up. "It kind of looks like a dandelion." "Maybe a mutant dandelion," replied Violet. She glanced at Aria out of the side of her eye. "Your turn."

Aria gulped and stepped onto the stool. "Eeeeeeeew!" she said. "I don't want to be anywhere near that." She scurried back down. "Don't worry!" said Dr. Crisp. She snapped the end of her glove and karate kicked an imaginary germ in the air. "PPE keeps the germs off me!" She winked. "And you, too!" Aria looked at the ground. "It's just…," she said, bringing her shoulders to her ears. But before