He knew he wasn't supposed to, but Tom couldn't help but sneak a peek in the Doctor's private office. He had learned exactly the right way to jiggle the doorknob to make the cheap and ancient lock pop open. And there, inside the room, he spotted the two formulas brewing inside a device not all that different in principal from an ordinary coffee machine, though presumably made with special materials that rendered the parts unaffected by the potions' powers.
"Someone's not supposed to be in here!" a voice shouted behind Tom, startling himself so much he tripped forward and very nearly went crashing into the formulas headfirst. Luckily, he caught himself and spun around to see Darren Roberts and Alicia Young. Darren was a pretty stereotypical jock bully who relied on Tom for his chemistry homework. Alicia, though drop-dead gorgeous, matched Darren's intelligence level and, not surprisingly was the school's top cheerleader.
"Please be careful!" Darren pleaded and Tom advanced to the liquids on the desk, laughing at Tom's fright.
"What's all this stuff?" he asked, "Did you make that giant apple outside?"
"We should really get out of here," Tom said, trying to lead Darren to the door.
"I mean, I knew the labs were full of giant fruits," said Darren to Tom, "But I thought they were more like you!"
Alicia giggled as Tom sighed, unable to draw Darren's attention away from the colored liquids.
"Please," said Tom, "This stuff is dangerous."
"Dangerous?!" grinned Darren, plucking a full eyedropper from the table, laughing as he menaced in Tom's direction with it.
"Wait!" shouted Tom, but it was too late. A single drop from the vial went flying through the air.
