Sam, you decide, can be trusted. Shaking a carton of milk while shooting a laser at it - what’s the worst that can happen? Probably just a big mess to clean up. You’re sure that the whole table will pitch in if that is the case. And besides, it’s not like something like this can work, right?
The carton begins to vibrate, and after a couple seconds the laser kicks in. “You see!” Sam half-shouts over the noise, “If I shook it up too violently the liquid would move too fast. But by just vibrating it, the laser can focus lots of molecules, but not too many.” The laser begins to hum, as it becomes more focused, and you notice that the carton is beginning to glow.
By this point, Sam’s experiment has attracted the attention of the whole cafeteria. Some students come closer and others begin to back away toward the edge of the room. You note with satisfaction that the girl reading the book about Arthur and his cronies has come within just a couple of feet.
A warm smell begins, somewhere between spoiled milk and burning paper, and Gladys joins the crowd around the table. Suddenly the carton disappears! It’s as though the milk has gotten larger and engulfed the carton. The milk is a pulsating, moving globule with bumps and shifts pushing out at its edges. The whole crowd gasps as the tone of the laser changes again and the blob turns into a smooth ball, pulsing violently and emitting it’s own deep WAWAWA sound. It reminds you of the sound of someone running their pick up and down just the base string of an electric guitar.
After another couple seconds, the milk gives an extra large stretch - almost to the size of a beach ball - and with a thunderclap collapses in on itself with a glorious shower of milk going over the crowd. BOOM!!
As you wipe milk off your face, Sam looks forlorn that her experiment did not work. She mumbles something about critical mass and needing more viscous matter. Jello perhaps? The general hooting and hollering of your classmates tells a different story - this is a day they’ll talk about for a long time. You ask Gladys where to find a mop, and join in the general cleanup of the cafeteria. Ok so maybe today wasn’t just another day in the cafeteria.. But boy do you have interesting friends!
The End.
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