brains

By Dan Clark

-Legs. New pair-not seen these before. Great pair. Thighs strong, rich quadriceps. Muscled to the knee: short shirt showing all. White skin at back of knees smoothed down to top of full calf. Calf defined nicely: an athletic--. Shins long, skin shaved, ankles round and hard. In sandals, feet displayed cutely: no tan-line, feet often naked. Toes daintily, sexily painted fox red.

-"hey professor, do you mind if my girlfriend sits in on today’s lecture?"

-So these legs not here for good: a temporary distraction. Try to ignore…

-Get on with lecture: delivered year after year, though these children didn’t know it. Get on with the lecture: beaten into the ground a hundred thousand million times before, flows too fluidly from mouth: "…brain to the nucleus accumbens: the center of most addictive behaviors. Dopamine activity in the nucleus accumbens is the primary cause of drug dependency, and has been found in some studies to be involved with religious ritual, sexual behaviors…" On with the lecture until finished. Then pack up and leave. Every other day. On with the day, but first: routine announcements. Routine. "…help needed with dissection and brain preparation…extra credit…sign-up sheet available…" On with the week.

-Brains. In jars of formaldehyde on shelves along walls of room in lab building of University. Brains. of the dead. of many species. of many sizes. shapes. textures. smells. elasticities. tastes. Convolutions, crevices, folds, whorls. Brains. Just watching. And thinking.

-Switch lights on. Blinking and fluttering on. Coldly. Fluorescently. Bzz. Sound switches mind to routine. Room of walls of shelves of jars of brains in formaldehyde flashed to life with light. Sharply contrasted convolutions and whorls.

-Where was the help? Check the sign-up sheet once more: where was the help? Start work nonetheless. Human brain off wall off shelf out of jar, drain formaldehyde. Irritating intricacies: thirty two slices, equal widths. Dye 25^th, 26^th, and 32^nd deep blue: accent the nucleus accumbens and dopamine receptors. The other slices, iodine to show general structures and pathways.

-Get routine rhythm: scalpel careful cut, lay to side. Dye in tray a or tray b. Number tag with pin. Lay in proper order: to be labeled by students. Rhythm; scalpel cut, number, dye, in order. Slice three, routine rhythm. #4 the same. #5 and on and on.

-Knuckles hard rapped on wood door. Scared the hell out of… Girl’s voice, attempting menacing tone:

-"I know you’re in there…I CAN SMELL YOUR BRAINS!"

-Climb out of routine, set down slice number twenty. Open door:

-Legs. The same. Smelled strongly: rich vanilla perfume. Blonde- girly smile on full full lips. Sharp teeth, cat’s teeth. Face- eyes- neck- neckline- chest- stomach- waist- hips- legs- back up to face. Distracting. Try to ignore…

-"Hey professor, don’t look so confused: haven’t you ever seen Return of the Living Dead II? Classic line!" Girly smile still there.

-"What are you doing here?" Words forced: timidly boyish.

-"Chris signed up for the extra credit thing, but he told me to tell you he isn’t going to make it." Didn’t answer her. Kept talking about Chris and followed me into lab room:

-Blue eyes cat-flashed. Morbidly lit up at sight of brains in jars on wall. Rushed over to one, fox red fingernail scratching delicately at glass. Fascinated, obviously. Talked of so amazing so interesting. Brushed stray blonde lock from shoulder with back of hand. Asked where do you get all these? Asked can I get one? Strange request. Waited for reply. Brain franticly spat one out:

-"The school buys these for the lab. They are about forty dollars each, but are only available for school use…"

-"Forty bucks? Can I buy one?" Joking around? Perhaps. Really wondered, though. Went to wall of shelves: "Here, I want this one…" Brought it down. Set it on table. "I’d buy this one if I could." A cat’s brain.

-Mouth speaks on its own: "That one’s a cat’s brain. Actually it probably went to us for around twenty."

-"Really?" What am I doing? Under twenty?

-Her hand to pocket of short tight skirt. Hips squirmed with the effort: left calf and right thigh flex: make pocket accessible. Hand in pocket. Pulled bills out. Separated out a twenty and set it on table. Next to brain jar.

-Something snaps. Pick up twenty. Push it back in her hand. Put jar back on shelf. Voice comes more forced, more boyish: "No, I must get back to work. Tell Chris he gets a letter grade off his test for missing this..."

-Out out out. No more distractions. Legs out the door, leaving rich vanilla. Close door.

-Next day, on with the day. To University. to science building. to office. in-box. Read contents. Insipid papers. Faculty information. More papers. A twenty dollar bill. Eyes quick-searched the room, searched the hallway for legs. Idea: check dissection lab. Out of science building. Into lab building. To dissection room. Lights on. Bzz. No legs. Cat brain still on shelf. Rich vanilla still in room. Legs still in mind. Twenty dollar bill in hand.

Two full fox red lip prints on jar of brain in formaldehyde on shelf on wall of room in lab building of University.

Legs still in mind.