Waiting for Stephen

Amber hurriedly entered the main entrance to the Bristol Public Library and found her friends sitting at a table in the back corner.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late. I had to wait for my mom to get home from work so I could take the car,” Amber said almost out of breath.

“It’s cool, Amber. We’re still waiting for Stephen,” replied Eric without expression.

“He’s not here yet?” Amber said with a combination of surprise and disappointment.

“No.” Cindy replied with a slight somber tone.

Amber let out a simple sigh. “Did anyone talk to him today?”

“I called him this morning but he didn’t answer,” Will shrugged off the answer.

Amber questioned the group, “He did know that we were meeting today, right?”

“We told him a thousand times, Amber,” Will spoke in a slightly sarcastic tone while almost rolling his eyes.

Amber’s faced dropped with disappointment.

Eric interjected, “Alright guys. We really need to get to work.” He then spoke softly to Amber, “Amber, have a seat. I’m sure Stephen will be here soon.”

Will looked down at his science textbook and notes and made a smug face. Everyone saw including Amber. Amber glared at him but he never looked up from his notes. Amber took a seat next Cindy. Eric led the discussion.

“Cindy, what are the four branches of Earth Science?’ Eric said.

Cindy replied, “Oh that’s easy. Astronomy, Oceanography, Meteorology, and Geology.” She paused for a moment and then turned to Amber. “Amber, which branch of Earth Science is the study of atmospheric phenomenon and weather?”

Amber replies, all of a sudden chipper, “Oh another easy one. It’s meteorology. Will, which system of measurement is commonly used in the field of science?”

“The metric system,” Will said without enthusiasm. Amber looked at him, annoyed at the fact he was being difficult. Will continued, “Eric, How do you find the volume for an irregular shaped object?”

Eric answered without hesitation, “Place the object into a known volume of water and subtract the volumes.”

Cindy was impressed, “Nice job, Eric!”

“Oh, thanks,” Eric responded modestly and continued, “Amber, which variable is the one that causes the change in the experiment?”

“Oh, I always get these two mixed up. Is it the dependent?”

“Judges?” Eric said to the rest of the group.

Cindy and Will both put their thumbs down and made the sound, “Annnnnt.”

“Oh darn.” Amber was disappointed with herself. “I can’t seem to get those straight.”

“Here is the way I look at it,” Eric said. “The independent is what the experimenter changes. They want to see what happens as a result of changing the independent variable. The dependent variable is what happens or the results.”

Amber thought about it. “Hmmmm. That does make sense. Alright Cindy, what is the name given to the variables in an experiment that should remain the same for all levels of the independent variable?”

Cindy thought for a moment, “Constants.”

“Yep, you got it!” Amber said excitedly and clapped her hands to together. Will rolled his eyes and Amber saw. Amber glared at him, “What is your problem, Will?”

“No problem here,” he said dejectedly.

“Stop being such a jerk, Will!” Amber said angrily. “Just because you're mad at Stephen doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me.”

“I’m not mad at Stephen. I’m mad that you won’t shut up about him,” Will barked back.

Amber became tearful, “Well, I’m sorry that I care about him. I miss him. He’s never around anymore.”

Will went on, “Well, talking about him isn’t going to make him come around.”

Eric interjected, “Alright guys, that’s enough. I think we all feel the same. We all miss Stephen. We all know what Stephen has been through. We have to give him credit for doing as well as he is.”

Amber jumped in, “He never talks to us anymore. How can we be there for him if he won’t even talk to us?” Tears rolled down her face.

Eric responded, “Amber, everyone grieves differently. The only thing we can do is be there for him when he does need us.” Amber slumped in her chair. She had nothing to say that hadn’t been said already. Eric got up from his seat and walked over to Amber. He put his hand on her shoulder and then crouched down next to her so he could look into her eyes. “Listen, I know it’s hard but you have to know that Stephen still cares about us, especially you, his girlfriend. What you’re feeling now can’t even be close to what Stephen felt when he found out his parents had been killed in the car accident.” Amber put her hands up to her face and began to sob. Tears began to fall from Cindy’s cheeks. Will’s lip began to quiver and he scrunched his eyes trying to hold back the tears. A single tear drop fell onto to Will’s cheek.

Amber choked back her tears and tried to speak. “I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

Poised and steadfast Eric continued, “I suggest we just keep waiting for Stephen. Eventually, he’s going to come around and when he does we’ll accept him into our lives and help him in any way we can.”

Amber didn’t like the answer, “So I just have to sit here and wait for him.”

Eric continued, “I think the only thing we can do is to keep waiting for Stephen.”