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The large auditorium was packed to the rafters. There's this uncanny sense of frenetic energy swirling amongst the crowd, perhaps in anticipation of what was about to unfold. Students, teachers and even a panel of science oligarchs were present for the event. For regular schools, the thesis proposal day is just like any normal proceeding wherein students simply present their projects for approval in a closed door environment. But for the Science and Technology University of the Philippines, it was a different matter altogether. It’s the thing students look forward to the most all year. Being the hub of future science stalwarts, there is no better stage to promote a future invention, scientific precept or concept than in the annual thesis proposal. For most geeks, this is as big as it could get.

If there is anything that means more to Gerald Lewis, it would be this. This is his first year in STUP and he would love nothing more than to be recognized for his work on his freshman year. He had worked all summer to perfect this project and now is the time to reap the rewards.

Speaking of rewards, having Kim beside him at his would be finest hour, is the icing on the cake. She briefly held his hand, just before he gave his presentation. She smiled at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

“You can do it!” encouraged Kim. “I have complete trust in you.”

“Thanks, wish me luck.” Gerald said as he walked out onto the stage to start his presentation.

In fact, Gerald needed a lot of luck. The moment he began his presentation there was a sudden gush of both excited and sceptic buzzing. It escalated to almost full hilt when he finally finished his presentation. Almost everyone had a thing to say about his controversial research paper.

“So, ladies and gentlemen, that was our proposal. We are now ready for questions,” finished Gerald, wiping off the beads of sweat off his forehead. Kim walked towards the podium and placed a comforting hand onto the small of his back.

There was some clapping, but a foretelling hum of people whispering enveloped the large venue. Both Kim and him anticipated the worst.

One of the panel members, Edgardo Salaguinto, a stout man of about 50, stood up and grabbed the microphone reserved for the screening panel.

“I’d like to say off hand, Mr. Lewis, that I really take my hat off to you,” he started. “Not only have you managed to make this afternoon interesting for us, but you also managed to arouse the innate inquisitiveness in all of us...”

“Thank you, sir. I'd like to emphasize that what we are proposing is something...”Gerald rambled on.

“I’m not done yet, Mr. Lewis,” the judge cut him short. “In as much that we liked your drive to pursue what has not been done before, I’m sure my fellow panel members here think that your project is the sort that we would NOT like to have here in this school.”

The audience gasped.

“Would you mind if ask why, sir?” said Gerald courtly.

Another of the panel members rose up. Her name is Anita Puno, former DENR chief.

“Mr. Lewis, your project may be commendable, but the subject matter you are dealing with is not only contentious, it’s preposterous! It has no commercial implication whatsoever, it’s designed merely to satisfy the rich imaginations of boys your age.”

“That is not true, Ms. Puno. Our project is useful enough that it can bring happiness to a million of depressed patients. It has implications in medicine, even warfare...”

“Warfare, Mr. Lewis?” said Ms. Puno with a quizzical look. “A pipedream perhaps...but seriously, a love potion?!”

A number of students are now openly laughing and criticizing. Others shook their face in dismay. This made Gerald really, really uncomfortable.

“But isn’t that where all inventions come from, Ms. Puno?” Gerald said in exasperation. “...from pipedreams?”

“It may be so, Mr. Lewis,” said the lady judge. “But science draws the line between fact and fantasy. The difference is that, Mr. Lewis, your proposal is a mere fantasy.”

“I have the proof, Ms. Puno!” Gerald said confidently.

The crowd riled up even more. His teacher, Professor Ocampo, who acted as the moderator, stood up to hush the crowd. He then took the mike.

“Mr. Lewis, we have only so much time.” He said to cut short the proceedings. “This is a thesis proposal not an oral defense. The panel has seen your methodology and are otherwise convinced that they have seen enough.”

“Mr. Ocampo,” pleaded Gerald. “If you could just let me show you our initial findings maybe that will convince our panel that this project is a worthy cause to pursue.”

The judging panel concurred. They called over Mr. Ocampo and gave the signal to allow Gerald to show his proof.

“Alright Mr. Lewis, you have 5 minutes...” warned Mr. Ocampo.

Gerald called Kim over to the center of the stage. She had with her a box containing some of their equipment, laboratory mice and of course the metal casket that held the potion. Kim took their stuff out of the box and placed them on the table provided. There is a camera directed on them and the live video is being simulcasted onto a wide screen behind them.

Gerald deftly grabbed the two critters and placed them on a glass chamber. He took out the potion and slowly withdrew a few drops of it.

“As you can see here, ladies and gentlemen, I am now going to put a few drops of the solution to one of the subjects...”

Gerald nervously took the pipette and gave the mice a few drops of the solution. He looked up to Kim, who gave him a thumbs-up-sign.

Then, suddenly, the crowd gasped once more.

Gerald looked back into the giant screen. There for everyone to see, the contaminated mouse hounded the clean mouse right away, pursuing it like crazy. They went running all around the chamber and finally, just like from the night before, the contaminated mouse mounted the other mouse and went on to do their business.

The crowd cheered and jeered. Gerald looked relieved. He immediately took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his face. He looked at Kim. She was clapping happily, looking really, really proud of him.

The judges were both amazed and stunned. They concurred once more as the crowd applauded continuously. The mice meanwhile were still doing it...oblivious of the commotion outside their chamber. The boys in the crowd wolf-whistled endlessly, applauding both the scientist and the frisky subjects. Kim, seeing this, took a piece of cloth and covered the glass chamber to give the mice a chance for some privacy. The riotous crowd, of course, booed the intrusion.

The chief judge, a man named Augusto Punongbayan, stood up. He is an 80-year-old physicist. The most brilliant scientist the Philippines ever had. He is an esteemed man in the science community, having once been considered for a Nobel prize for Physics.

He slowly came up to the microphone. The crowd were instantly silenced in anticipation of what he was about to say.

“Mr. Lewis,” he said in a commanding yet gentle voice. “ I must admit that I see a lot of my young self in you. I, too, was a young man of science...optimistic, ever questioning, always curious....”

The crowd clapped. Gerald looked pleased.

“However, as a scientist, we should also learn to temper our desire for truth. It is in fact our responsibility to censor our learning for the common good of the people. Though, there are a lot of things out there in the universe that needed answering, the wise man will always know which are the more relevant ones that needed answering. Mr. Lewis, the spirit and the nerve you have shown here today is not only commendable...it should be emulated by all,” continued the old judge.

Gerald lowered his head, sensing right away where his speech was going to.

The old scientist continued, “You have shown us this afternoon what varying things science can do. In fact, the only thing that limits science is our imagination and I really, really like your imagination, Mr Lewis. However, what you have showed us is not only dangerous but also inappropriate. Love is something that should not be replicated. It is one of the things that separate us from being creatures of God and being as non-living and as non-breathing as a rock. Though, I still have reservations to call your invention a love potion, since it did not show love but it merely showed heightened ual aggression. For sure you will agree with me, that we certainly do not need any more drugs to increase lust and agression in people. Any further attempts by you to enhance this so called love potion, testing it eventually on the human level just to prove to me and everyone else here in this auditorium that such can be done, it will still be shunned upon by the science community nevertheless. I do suggest, Mr. Lewis, that you spend more time and channel your energy in experimenting on other worthwhile subjects instead. God knows the world needs more imaginative people like you.”

There was a hushed silence.

Gerald was instantly crestfallen. The verdict was handed out to him in the form of a highly reputable, Nobel prize laureate. His every word crushed every last bit of self worth he had left in him. He dared not look at Kim. He could not bear seeing her cast him off like the rest of them. He was afraid that his young heart may not handle the moment he sees her ashamed of him, of being with him. With that thought, Gerald slowly walked off the podium.

There was some clapping heard but it was mostly from rude people snickering, clapping in mockery. Gerald calmly took the mice chamber and the potion off the table. Kim was looking down on the floor. She really felt sorry for Gerald.

Gerald meanwhile took his document bag and the box that contains his paraphernalia and slowly walked off the stage. The crowd tun silent, you could almost hear a pin drop.

When he was almost out of the stage, he heard somebody speak. The crowed gushed.

He looked back, it was Kim....

“Uhhm...Ladies and Gentleman,” Kim said nervously. “I’d like to speak in my partner...uhhmm,I mean... my lab partner’s behalf.”

Mr. Ocampo immediately stood up and grabbed the microphone from the judging panel’s table.

“Ms. Tan, you’re time is up. We will have no more of this...craziness.”

“Mr. Ocampo, judges, you may think Mr. Lewis is crazy but he is not. I can actually prove that his potion does work," begged Kim.

The crowd went ballistic. They rooted and egged Kim on. Gerald stood there by the side, looking at her with a proud smile on his face.

“He is not mad, he is not crazy! He is the most brilliant person I’ve ever met...the reason I know his love potion works is because..." Kim said, tears falling from her eyes. "...I tried it on myself!”

This is the only thing Kim could think of to preserve his reputation. It’s about time she stood for what she believes in, especially if it is for the man she truly loves.

“...and it truly works, because yesterday, for me he was just an ordinary guy, he was just the guy across the street, but once I put some potion to myself, I learned right away that I in fact love him...yes, I do love him...I am completely in love him...I love him...”

The crowd stood up on its feet! The students erupted in cheer, shaking the whole expanse of the auditorium. There were continuous whistles and praise. The judges were astounded.

Kim looked at Gerald wistfully. She dropped the mike and ran to him and gave him the biggest hug she ever gave anybody. Gerald hugged her back, kissing her all over in excitement. For the longest time, there they were, sharing the limelight, holding each other for everyone to see. No more shame, no more trepidation. Just love...

The crowd cheered even more.
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Kim and Gerald were now sitting on the steps that lead to the entrance of the main university building. It was only then that the weight of what happened that afternoon began to take a toll on them. There were passersby that would occasionally go up to them and gave them their best wishes. Gerald meanwhile was content on ruffling Kim’s hair as they were content looking at one another. By their foot are the caged mice, still going at it.

“That was some show we had out there!” he said.

“If you count my incorrigible grand gesture of love, then, yes THEY truly had a show --- at my expense.”

“Thank you,” he said warmly. “I really thank you for coming up to my defense.”

“You better! After all that!” she said, pinching him on his side.

“But...you didn’t have to lie about putting some of the potion on yourself,” said Gerald.

“Who said I lied?”

“Kim, did you really put on some of it on yourself?” said Gerald in disbelief. “When? You shouldn’t have! Something could have happened to you!”

“I was curious...”

“What if something happened to you...”fretted Gerald. “I won’t be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

“Okay, I shouldn’t have,” Kim said as Gerald was checking her neck and hands for any signs of trauma or effect of the medication. “But see, I’m okay now!”

Gerald thought for a minute.

“So you mean to say, all this...the way you feel about me... could just be an effect of that stupid potion...my experiment?”

Kim laughed.

“No! Of course not! They were right, that stuff of yours is crap!” she exclaimed, pinching his nose. “I realized I loved you... way before I put that stupid potion on. The moment you answered the door yesterday, right then and there I knew. I already knew I loved you. Plus, I did not feel anything new once I put on a few drops on myself...”

“Really? You didn’t feel any effects?” asked a concerned Gerald. “How about any ual aggression...or fantasies?”

“You wish!”

They both shared a warm laugh that turned serious once their eyes met once again.

“I love you, Kim.” He said as he lightly her hair.

“I love you too, baby!” Kim responded, nestling her head unto his lap.

“Are you sure you don’t mind having a crazy guy for a boyfriend?” he asked.

“They call me crazy all the time. What difference if I have a MAD SCIENTIST as a boyfriend?” Kim answered.

“I’m not a real scientist yet...but I sure am mad...madly in love with you,” Gerald whispered.

“Yes, and I am crazy in love with you too...”

Gerald slowly lowered his head to kiss her lightly on the lips. Kim smiled and lovingly touched his face.

Then, they just sat there on those storied steps, watching the beautiful December sunset, holding each other’s hand...knowing that world is just as it should be, full of love and happiness for those seek it.
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THE END
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Phew! 2 down, 5 to go! Next story will be up in a jiffy...
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Thanks for reading (and the comments!) -the author -
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