Chemistry, Page 4

PAGE 1, PANEL 1

Lyle hands Rachel a book or magazine.

LYLE: "Here, you can borrow mine."

PAGE 1, PANEL 2

Rachel gazes at Lyle dreamily as he holds something with "NIN" on it.

RACHEL: (thinking) "God, he's so beautiful."

PAGE 1, PANEL 3

Rachel thinks to herself, looking smitten.

RACHEL: (thinking) "Why aren't there more guys like this in Nowhere?"

RACHEL: (thinking) "He's so smart and studious..."

RACHEL: (thinking) "I wonder if we have anything in common?"

PAGE 1, PANEL 4

Lyle speaks while holding a chemistry book.

LYLE: "...and then we'll talk about those formulas."

PAGE 1, PANEL 5

Rachel asks Lyle about games. He's holding something with "NIN" on it.

RACHEL: "So, Lyle... Do you play any kind of games?"

LYLE: "I have an old Magic: the Gathering deck lying around."

RACHEL: "Cool! I play that!"

PAGE 1, PANEL 6

The conversation continues enthusiastically.

LYLE: "I used to be into Gameboy games like Pokemon. Now I just use my Gameboy to make 8-bit music."

RACHEL: "Really?! I've heard about that! Do you listen to Nullsleep?"

PAGE 1, PANEL 7

Rachel and Lyle continue discovering shared interests.

RACHEL: "I'm a huge Nullsleep fan! Of course, no one can compare to Nine Inch Nails..."

LYLE: "Trent is God!"

RACHEL: (thinking) "This guy is too good to be true!"

PAGE 1, PANEL 8

More rapid-fire exchange of shared interests, with a crow illustration.

RACHEL: "Do you read comics?"

LYLE: "I have an extensive collection of ElfQuest."

RACHEL: "Do you like crows?"

LYLE: "Rescued one from an angry farmer last week."

RACHEL: "Chickens?"

LYLE: "I breed champion Buff Cochins."

PAGE 1, PANEL 9

Final panel showing Lyle holding a DVD box set.

RACHEL: "Have you watched What the Bleep Do We Know?"

LYLE: "I own the deluxe collector's edition boxed DVD set."

Signed "Lyle" in corner.

Here we are establishing that Lyle is the Perfect Boy.

I remember shortening the last panel significantly.

I really enjoyed What the bleep do we know? when I saw it as a teen. But I think I liked it because it gave me hope in a really depressing situation. Poverty can be depressing. You don’t really notice it when you’re down in it, but looking back, a lot of my anguish, like my teeth, my lack of options in life, stemmed from poverty. The movie gave me hope and a feeling of control. But deep inside, I knew I had to find a concrete way to change my life. I knew wishful thinking wouldn’t magically shift my jaw. Only $25,000 worth of surgery could do that. And if it couldn’t move my jaw, wishful thinking wasn’t likely to bring me $25,000. As always, I was going to have to bust a move.

The Universe doesn’t ask you to dance. You have to ask it first.