The Lab Accident

Jennifer, Jen to her friends, sighed as she trudged across campus towards the biology building like a condemned prisoner going to the noose. She still had no idea how she had managed to let her grade in biology slip so much that she needed to bring it up from a B. She had never gotten below an A on anything in her life, until her first biology test when she had earned a C. A freaking C!

She could remember taking that test like it was yesterday. She had been exhausted from having to spend the night at the library. Her roommate, Martina, had been screwing some jock in their room and had hung a bra that Jen considered to be almost offensively large from the doorknob to make sure they weren't disturbed. Not that the bra was needed, Jen had been able to hear all the noise from their copulation right there in the hall, the banging of the bed, the grunts, and the moans. Honestly, she was surprised one of the neighbors hadn't complained, especially since it was going on every time that Jen had made her way from the library back to the dorms to check.

Just remembering the night was enough to make Jen's blood boil. Why had she ever agreed to that arrangement? It should have been obvious from the start that Martina was going to be one of the popular girls. Martina was an italian foreign exchange student who had come over to study fashion and she looked every bit the part and then some. She was tall and deceptively slender, with dark hair, dark eyes, and that italian olive skinned complexion. To top it off she was blessed with an exceptionally impressive chest and a shapely behind which had unfairly been attached to a girl that could eat anything she wanted and stay so slim that she actually had a six pack!

Jen's pace slowed to a halt as she came to the double doors leading into the large brick building, allowing her a moment to glance at her reflection in the glass. She was nearly as opposite from her gorgeous roommate as it was possible to be. She was Chinese American with light brown almond shaped eyes, a heart shaped face, and long black hair. She had all the shape of a stick and the warm clothing she wore did nothing to help her in that department. She looked like a walking stereotype, short dark haired Asian girl with no boobs, a flat butt, and no curves. She had thought that college was a chance to be someone new, that she would be going out all the time, meeting new people, all the things the brochures and websites said. She was rudely disabused of that notion. She was the same person at college as she had been at home; living away from her parents certainly had not changed that.

With a shake of her head Jen reached forward and pulled the door open to head into the lobby. A short wait at the elevator and then a quick ride up to the sixth floor found her standing outside the locked biology lab. She lifted her phone to look at the time, 4:57. She was technically 3 minutes early, but she still expected to find one of Dr. Gram's TAs there already. She tucked her phone back in her pocket and leaned against the wall to wait.

About 10 minutes later a tall, clean shaven blonde haired young man in his mid 20s came walking up, "Sorry about that, Jen. Office hours ran a little late," he explained as he fiddled with his keys. He stood around six feet tall and had the build of someone that used to be athletic, but had instead found the wonders of beer and pizza.

"No problem, Brad," said Jen with a smile up at him as she pushed herself away from the wall and moved to follow him into the lab.

"On the positive side, it should be an easy evening for you," said Brad with a smile over his shoulder to Jen before stepping through the door and flicking on the light.

The room was dominated by industrial looking shelves filled with cages containing lab mice. The animals were kept a couple to each cage and the whole room carried the faint smell of them. Any area not taken up by the animals was in turn taken up by lab equipment and work areas.

"We're testing a compound that Dr. Gram thinks has promise with treating some of the symptoms of ALS,"said Brad as he made his way further into the room, dropping his keys on the nearest counter.

"Okay," replied Jen as she glanced around, feeling more than a little hesitant about the idea of being alone with all these little critters for so long. "Is there-" Jen began to ask only to be cut off.

Brad continued without bothering to pause for questions, "They were just given their first dose this morning so all you'll need to do is record any observations about changes in the animals. It's all being done with CRISPR."

"Is there, ah, anything I should be looking for?" asked Jen when Brad finally paused long enough for her to get in a question.

"Just the usual, changes in behavior or any physical signs. Honestly no one is expecting much of anything this early in the process," explained Brad as he made his way over to the fridge in the corner and opened it. "At the same time though, if there is some sort of reaction we don't want to miss it."

"Alright," said Jen with a slow nod. I guess this won't be too bad. Just watching lab animals... maybe I can even get some studying in. "Should I fill something specific out?"

Brad was already a step ahead of Jen and logging into one of the computers as she asked, "Sure, you'll fill out this form for any changes that you notice," as he spoke he pulled up a lab assistant program. It looked like it had all the starting vitals for each animal include size, weight, gender, eye color, and any distinct markings.

Jen stepped nearer to Brad and watched as he right clicked on one of the subject names and it displayed a menu allowing her, among other things, to add an observation. "Okay," she said, "That seems pretty easy."

"It is," replied Brad as he straightened and motioned towards the animals, "So far we've not really seen any physical or behavioral changes so I doubt you'll have much to do."

Jen nodded slowly and finally settled her backpack down onto the counter beside the computer, "Okay, so just watch. What time do I need to stay until?"

"You'll need to stay to at least midnight," replied Brad with a sad smile down at Jen. "I know, not how you probably want to spend your Friday," he said before looking back towards the mice.

"I'd just be studying anyway," replied Jen with a shrug as she dropped down onto the chair and started fiddling with the computer.

"Well, just email the group if anything comes up," said Brad as he watched Jen get settled, "Otherwise I guess I'll see you Monday." He was already reaching for his keys, clearly ready to be off.

"Sure, see ya Monday," replied Jen, waving at Brad as he headed out the door. He must have a date or something she thought before turning her attention towards the mice. They were far from cute, but they weren't so bad for things that usually sent people screaming and standing on chairs. These ones might even help crack the treatment for a disease and despite Jen's frustration with having to be there in the first place, that idea was pretty neat..

The next few hours were beyond boring. Jen fell into a route that every hour she would get up and walk along the cages, trying to see if there were any noticeable changes in any of the mice. Between inspections she would find her way back to the computer and search the web or try and study.

About 5 and a half hours into her vigil and, as Brad had said, nothing happened worth noting. The internet had not yielded up anything interesting in at least 20 minutes and so Jen found herself looking more closely at the caged mice. One particular yellow mouse had caught her eye as it seemed to be eating and drinking far more than any of its cage mates or any of the other mice for that matter.

Jen watched it for a few more minutes as she considered what to do. Should she just record the observation? Should she weigh it? Brad hadn't really said much about getting real numbers, but didn't scientists always want real data?

Jen turned and pulled up the information on the yellow mouse. It was given a number, 66, but otherwise everything was in line with the other females. She took a few moments to add a note that it seemed to be eating and drinking far more than any of the other mice and was just about to click the okay button when a furious set of squeaks drew her attention back to the cage.

One of the other cage mates was squeaking at the yellow mouse before suddenly they were fighting. Without thinking Jen rushed over to the cage and reached inside to separate the two mice. 66 was on top of the other mouse when Jen's hand wrapped around her and she gave Jen's finger a vicious bite for interrupting her.

"Ouch!" shouted Jen as she nearly dropped the yellow mouse, "That hurt you little bitch!"

The mouse, of course, said nothing, but it continued to thrash about in Jen's grasp, smearing its yellow fur with the red of Jen's blood. Jen moved to push the mouse into a smaller isolated container when she noticed that 66, which was supposed to be a girl, had rather obviously been mislabeled. "Guess you're actually a bastard," she said, thrusting the mouse into the cage and closing the door, "And a big one at that."

"Damn it," muttered Jen as she pulled a paper towel out of a holder from over the nearest sink and pressed into her bleeding finger. The mess contained she turned to rummage through the various workstations looking for a band aid. It took a few minutes but eventually she found a small first-aid kit which she used to clean and bandage the bite.

First-aid administered Jen turned back to look at the yellow mouse. "Don't know what got into you," she said, watching as the mouse went right back to eating from the now fresh batch of food available in the cage. She took a minute to go back to the other cage and check on the mouse that had been attacked, mouse 65. It looked fine, in fact... as Jen looked closer, maybe it was not actually an attack but a mating attempt? It was hard to tell given that she knew nothing about mice or their mating habits. What she did know was that there was no sign of any blood on mouse 65 and it looked to be completely fine.

Sighing and cursing the misfortune that had her spending her evening in the lab, Jen turned back to the computer. She noted on mouse 65 that it had been attacked and then pulled up the data on mouse 66 again. She frowned as she reread the data captured on it including its overall size and gender, along with her note that it had been eating more than the others. She made a second note both that the gender had been misassigned (How in the world did they miss that?) and that it fought with the other mouse in its cage.

The excitement over, Jen tried to go back to surfing the net, but something about mouse 66 kept drawing her attention back to the yellow test subject. It had finished off all the food and most of the water in the cage and was now laying in the corner apparently asleep.

Jen lifted a hand to wipe sweat from her brow and frowned. When did it get so hot in here, she thought to herself as her stomach gave a low rumble. She looked at the clock again, nearly 11. Only another hour to go and then she could head back to her dorm. She really was not feeling great though. Her face felt flushed and while only a moment before she felt hot now she was filling a chills. She glanced over at the now sleeping mouse that she had separated from the others and could not help but agree that sleep would be a good idea.

Jen chewed her lower lip as she typed up a quick email to Brad and the other TA, letting them know that she didn't feel well and that she was leaving at 11 instead of midnight. She hoped that it wouldn't hurt her chances of getting extra credit, but if it did she could tackle that later.

The email finished, Jen punched send and grabbed her backpack to head for the door. Her arm felt like jello as she pushed the door open a let it swing closed behind her. Not only that, but the heat was back, making sweat bead on her forehead as she made her way through the building, only to end up shivering in misery again as she waited for the elevator.

Jen trudged out of the biology building alternating between shivering with chills and sweating as she stumbled out into the cool clear night. No one was around. This late, all the students were out partying on High Street while all the professors and administrators were at home with their families. Jen's stomach rumbled once more and, for the briefest of instances, she marveled at how she could feel both sick and yet still be so hungry. She wasted no time trying to figure it out as she set off immediately for the dorms where both food and a bed awaited.

The walk was not overly long, but it did take Jen along the top of High Street. Her dorm, nicknamed the Baxter House, had been an old frat house a few years ago. It was situated at the top of High Street and the bottom of Greek Row. Now that the university owned it the place had been turned into an all girls dormitory that was filled mostly with foreign exchange students. Jen had just gotten 'lucky' or so all her friends said to be in the fun, party dorm.

Jen got more than a few looks as she hurried to her dorm. Everyone that was out and about was dressed to go to the bars at this point, with girls in short, tight, skirts and heavy makeup while the guys were largely wearing button down shirts, jeans, and the occasional light jacket. It made for an interesting sight, but Jen was in no mood to appreciate any of it as she made a beeline for the front of her dorm.

Jen fumbled with her student ID as she tried to swipe it at the door. Embarrassingly it took her three tries before the light flicked green and she heard the click of the lock disengaging. The room spun as she stepped into the entry hall of the old frat house and for a moment she thought that she was going to fall. She clutched onto the wall, waiting for the room to stop spinning and trying not to hurl all over the floor.

A minute passed, then two before Jen finally felt up for trying the stairs. She clutched the handrail like a drowning man grasping for a life preserver as she traversed them. Luckily her room was on the second floor so it was only a single flight of stairs; unfortunately it was all the way at the opposite end of the hall so she would have to run the gauntlet.

Jen slumped through the stairwell door of her floor only to find her hall filled with various people. Many of the room doors stood open as girls talked with one another or moved to and from the bathroom. More than a few still had towels wrapped around them or wore bathrobes with a towel wrapped around there head. It was clear that most everyone on the floor was going out. Jen briefly tried to recall if she had been invited or not, but came up blank. Her stomach gave another low rumble and the question skirted from her mind like water across a hot pan. She took a stumbling step, then another, slowly lurching her way down the hall.

One of the girls, Haley, Jen thought her name was, noticed Jen and gasped, "Jen, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just don't feel good," replied Jen as Haley, who was clad in a bathrobe but with nearly complete makeup on, came to help steady her.

"What happened?" asked Haley as the other girls gave the pair room to get down the hall. "I thought you didn't drink."

"Just don't feel good," repeated Jen as though it were her mantra and not an obvious statement of fact.

"Okay," said Haley doubtfully as they reached Jen's room, which thankfully did not have one of Martina's bras hanging from the doorknob. The pair pushed inside and Haley guided Jen to Jen's bed, "Just try and get some sleep and, like, make sure to stay on your side."

"Alright," said Jen as she felt the soft comfortable support of her bed beneath her. Her stomach gave another low rumble but Jen was too far gone to try and find food. She struggled to stay awake as darkness closed in on her.

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Jen blinked awake to see a completely dark room. Her stomach gave a low rumble as she glanced down, only vaguely remembering the trip back to her room. She had not even bothered getting into pajamas before she fell asleep and so she was still dressed in her usual jeans and a t-shirt, now damp with sweat.

Fumbling in her pocket Jen fished out her phone and clicked it on. She saw the time was 12:05 AM, so she had only been asleep for about an hour. She certainly did not feel rested but she knew what had caused her to wake up. Her stomach felt as though it has been turned inside out. She was not sure she had ever been this hungry.

Jen tucked her phone away and reached to turn on the lamp beside her bed. It came on with a click and the light momentarily caused Jen's eyes to scream in protest. She closed them and then opened just her right eye as she tried to get off the bed. Her clothes were uncomfortable and sticky, but she paid them no mind, instead turning her attention to her single eyed search for food.

Jen had several snacks tucked away and she opened up a candy bar and began hungrily devouring it while using her other hand to rummage about and find a cup of noodles. The cup went into the microwave just as she finished the candy bar. This began the shockingly quick process by which she proceeded to eat all the food in her dorm room. Candy, chips, noodles, anything she could get her hands on. When her food ran out she turned to Martina's food, which was honestly more of the same, just with Italian flavors instead of Chinese. Martina's food held up no better than Jen's and, after about 40 minutes of nonstop eating she laid back down on her bed, not exactly full, but at least no longer starving.

Jen lounged for a few more minutes nearly panting from the effort of stuffing her face with so much food. She could already feel sleep tugging at her eyes and fogging her brain, but this time she wanted to get into her pajamas instead of sleeping in her clothes. So she pushed herself up and stripped out of her jeans and t-shirt only to find herself staring at her lingerie clad reflection in the mirror. Where normally a stick thin Asian girl stared back at her, now a stick thin Asian girl with a massively bloated belly stared out instead. She gulped as she turned to the side, her eyes seeing but her mind just not comprehending at how distended her abdomen was. Her belly stood out far beyond what her tiny breasts did, she almost could not even see her toes when she looked down. Had she really eaten that much food?

Deciding that she would deal with the fallout tomorrow Jen unclasped her bra and tossed it into her dirty laundry before pulling on a pair of little gym shorts and a loose t-shirt with Winne the Pooh emblazoned across it. That done she climbed back into bed, turned off the light, and was asleep within moments.

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A loud thud against the door woke Jen from her near comatose state. She could hear someone fiddling with the doorknob and soft moans coming from the other side before the door. After another moment or two the door swung open and beams of light lanced across the room, falling on Martina's empty bed. There, silhouetted in the door, was the outline of a massive man, Kevin, that Jen had been introduced to a few weeks ago. His head was only a few inches from the top of the door and his shoulders nearly filled it from frame to frame. Pressed against the massive man was Martina, her legs were wrapped around his waist and she had one hand wrapped around his bulging shoulder while the other was tugging at her bra which he must have already been unfastened.

"Damn it," uttered the woman under her breath as she pulled her lips away from the man holding her up so that she could more easily fish out her bra from beneath the tight shirt she was wearing. It took her only a moment and she flung the large undergarment onto the doorknob then nudged the door closed with one foot.