It's a warm and sunny summer day in August and I'm currently walking in Boston towards a huge and impressive looking building. It took me forever to get here by public transport, but the important part is that I finally got here.

  While I'm still enjoying my summer holidays, my cssmates and I have been invited to attend a school funded low budget field trip, which is all about science. It's basically a voluntary field trip for students who can't afford to travel during the holidays, and that perfectly describes my situation at home. My part time job is on holiday mode too, so there's no work for me to do either. Long story short, I'm bored to death and need to get out.

  I have lived in Lynnfield, Massachusetts all my life, and I rarely get to leave the pce. I wouldn't have missed this field trip for anything, since it means that I get to explore the world a bit more.

  Lately almost all conversations at home end in an argument and my two elder sisters always side with my mom. Sure, we don't have much to spend, and having three girls might be a bit more expensive than having boys, but c'mon! Why can't I simply wear what I want?Well.......sorry...I needed to vent that. I'll stop doing that, I promise.....maybe.

  Let's stay positive. All students attending this event need to shut down their phones completely, meaning that I'm also off mom's radar.

  "Heeey, Diane! I thought that you of all people would be spending your holidays in your room?" A dear friend of mine, Ky Adams said. I always tease her with her st name.

  "Well...well...well.....look what the cat dragged in. Morticia Addams in the flesh, hehehe."

  "Diane! You know I hate that name!" She put her backpack on the floor, making it more comfortable to talk.

  "Hahaha...that's my revenge for having to endure your continuous teasing. How could you forget that I can't stand being at home non-stop for the holidays?"

  "Right....so...let's call it an honest mistake?"

  "Alriiiiiight, then I'll forgive you this time as well."

  She smiled and hugged me, since she's definitely the hugging type. "Thanks, I will make it up to you. Also...I'm sorry for not telling you that I would be here today."

  "Nah, we're cool. Not that I mind seeing my best friend, but I thought that you were going to Florida? If I had known, we could have traveled here together."

  "Diane... stuff happened. My mom and dad can't afford to go on a holiday anymore, or at least not for a while. The bus fare to this pce was already the most I could ask for. They are really generous to me, but I can't take advantage of that. Besides, your parents probably wouldn't like me joining you here anyway."

  "True. Well....since we're here, do you want to team up?"

  "Of course I do, silly!"

  We wait for the teacher to arrive and finally see him performing his sacred roll call duty.

  "Alright, everyone. It seems like we're all here. Thanks for joining, and I'm absolutely sure that you'll have a great time seeing modern day science in action. Stay together and don't take any pictures inside. You'll be going through security first and then you'll get your visitor badges. Don't lose them!"

  He then motions us to follow him, walking into the building. The doors slide open and I immediately feel the air conditioning running at full speed.

  "Are you excited to see this pce?" I asked Ky.

  "Not really. The exciting part is when all of this ends in about two hours. Shopping time!"

  "Hahaha....it's always about shopping for you, isn't it?"

  "Boston is a major city, Diane. They don't have the good stuff back home and I'd rather spend what little I have on what I really like.

  Why don't you join me? You could.....try something girly for a change? Or maybe just look at something cute and girly instead? Awwww.......are you bluuuushing?" She said in a teasing tone of voice.

  She knows that I'm attracted to women, and that I like girly things too, but my father especially seems to have issues understanding that. Sometimes I think that he doesn't understand me at all and has this annoying tendency to treat me like a boy, especially when talking about his past military career as a marine. It's like "you like girls, so you must be a guy." Something like that. He even taught me how to tie a Windsor knot, yes, no joke! I couldn't care any less, but I have to stay polite in order to avoid yet another discussion.

  And no, it's not as bad as I make it sound, but still....they could be more open to my own feelings and such. Ky, however, wants to support me and I appreciate that.

  "Oh.....I'm sorry." She noticed the annoyed look on my face, caused by memories of my dad treating me like a guy and my mom whining about me using too much makeup. I only use lipstick, so how on Earth can that be too much?

  "No....you're good. I'd love to come along, but....... I'm sorry, just...talk about something else, okay?"

  "I promise. I'll make you smile in no time, I promise!!"

  "I like that about you."

  "What?"

  "You're always so full of energy. I'm jealous."

  "Hahaha......no, you are definitely jealous about other stuff. I guess that's why we're best friends. Anyway, I just made a promise and I will keep it!"

  "Hehehe.....yeah, okay. Wanna have lunch somewhere after this event? I can afford that at least. It will be the perfect way to start your shopping spree."

  "You're on!"

  It's my turn at the security checkpoint.

  "Passport, driver's license.." the security officer asked, so I gave him my passport.

  "Miss Nicholson, 17, resident of Lynnfield, Massachusetts. Correct?" He asked while still staring at his computer screen.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Okay, all is in order. Here's your passport and your visitor badge. You will need to return the badge ter. No pictures."

  "Yes, I understand. Do I need to hand over my cell phone?"

  "No, but it needs to be powered off. If we detect a signal, you will be in trouble. Trust me, it happens every day."

  "It's already powered off."

  "Then you're good to go. Have fun! Next!"

  I wait for Ky to join me and we both proudly carry our visitor badges on top of our clothing. We're still wearing our coats, because the air conditioning inside is insane. It's like winter inside, apparently a requirement for the sensitive equipment we're about to see. Thankfully our teacher warned us to bring a warm jacket today so I packed it into my backpack.

  After a few moments we reach an area with one very, very wide gss window. Through the window I see people walking in a huge clean room downstairs, so it's like we're standing on an elevated ptform. It's a complete dust free production environment. The people down there are wearing protective gear with helmets since there's a vacuum inside, which is apparently a requirement for the equipment.

  I hear some other visitors, who are not from our school, discussing other simir science experiments while our teacher is talking about quantum computing...again. Without wanting to, I'm subjected to all sorts of gibberish and techno babble, words designed for a science fiction movie. At least it sounds cool.

  I understand most of it, since reading has always been my greatest passion. Especially this kind of stuff....I'm in geek heaven! But too much of this is still too much.

  We're waiting for the tour guide to show up, so Ky says "did you take my advice and carry something girly with you at all times?" Ky has read lots on the internet and sometimes finds little things to comfort me with.

  "I did. Your compact makeup mirror is always in my bag, well hidden of course. It's like it's comforting me, radiating mysterious Ky energy all day long. I love it. Especially since my mom hates such girly designs."It's just a simple mirror made from metal...but the front side has a few flowers on it, making it girly by my standards.

  "Awww......but it's just my old one?"

  "I know. But a gorgeous woman carried it with her, so it has special powers." I grinned.

  "Sometimes I doubt whether you are sincere or are pulling my leg."

  "Just having fun."

  She smiles and whispers "It's okay. As long as it helps you feel better. Maybe grow your nails a bit longer?"

  "Can't.....that's crossing the line. Mom already told me to clip them because that looks too slutty, sheesh."

  "Awww... well, can't be helped. Do you still think that your dad will encourage you to sign up for the military?"

  "Yes....I totally see that happening." I grimaced. "He keeps telling me about military hierarchy, medals and even weapon types. I can probably correctly identify all types of weapons and military vehicles by now."

  "Might come in handy for a game of trivial pursuit?" She snickered.

  That made me giggle. "True. And you really are made out of sunshine, aren't you? You always manage to cheer me up. Thanks, Ky."

  She patted my shoulder. "It's my sacred duty to help you stay positive. It's a difficult task, but someone has to save the world. I'm the hero! Yaaaay!"

  I shake my head while smiling, feeling much better now. I guess she's right. Things could be worse, and my parents aren't evil or anything. Maybe she's right and I'm just being negative all the time.

  Moments ter a woman approaches us, and she's wearing a white safety hat. A text on it says "NEXTA - Apex Industries - M. Nielsen."

  "Everyone...may I have your attention please? Yes...thank you. All of you...thank you for showing interest in our Near lightspeed Explorative Xenon Tunnel Array, or in short....NEXTA.

  And before you ask, no, we're not making nukes here. Trust me, people ask that all the time."

  "Hahaha." People seem to find that funny, but Ky and I only shrug when we look at each other.

  "The Xenon in the name stands for a gaseous compound which is used to detect the subatomic particles we are researching. This Array is expected to finally uncover the true nature of atoms....and marks the beginning of the era of quantum realm exploration.

  It's the next evolution of the Large Hadron Collider many of you will have heard about. That experiment however is located in Switzernd. Oh...wait a moment please,...my colleagues will be handing you a few goodies now."

  We're all receiving a small paper bag with a pen, notepad and some other interesting items. One of them is a piece of pstic resembling a credit card.

  "Good....now I need a volunteer. You perhaps?" She pointed at me, probably because I was the only one actually making eye contact with her.

  "Eh....I dunno...that sounds dangerous?"

  "C'mon....don't be such a girl." One of the guys from my css said while showing an obnoxious grin. And no, he's not one of my friends. When suddenly all of them start shouting "Diane!!! Diane!!!" and even Ky is nodding...I give in.

  "Alright....alright....I'll be your guinea pig." I said while stepping towards the dy.

  "So you are the pack leader?" She grinned, while enjoying the other student's dismayed expression. "And your name is Diane?"

  "Em....yes, ma'am."

  "Alright then, Diane. In your bag, you'll find something that looks like a credit card. Take it out and show it to the others."

  I do as I'm told and show them the big red circle on the otherwise white pstic card.

  "Well done. We're going to do a little experiment. All of you must remain behind this yellow line on the floor. Only Diane will stand close to the gss window. No worries, you'll be quite safe. Once the test has ended, only her badge will turn blue. It's an indication of nearby subatomic particles.They can only barely be noticed, and even then only for less than a microsecond. So that's why nothing will be detected behind that yellow line."

  I'm starting to feel nervous, but still do as I'm told, while everyone else takes a few steps back.

  Even the dy has abandoned me. "Diane, in a few minutes, when I give the signal, we will start our daily science experiment. Today we'll be analyzing what happens to the subatomic particles when a single gold atom and a single copper atom collide. But unlike previous experiments, the primary test chamber will today be filled with a gas called Krypton."

  "Superman!" Another guy said.

  "Hahahaha, you are not the first to say that. No, this has nothing to do with superman. The atoms will be unched at 99.99% the speed of light. But don't worry, nothing dangerous will happen. Do any of you know what conspiracy theorists predict that will happen?"

  One of the guys raises his hand. "A bck hole!"

  "Hahaha....yes, quite right. Bck holes....tears in the space time continuum....alternate dimensions and even time travel. All of these things have been suggested, but none of those have ever happened. In theory we could one day open a micro singurity, but it would only st for a fraction of a second. And as the word micro implies.....it's too tiny to even worry about. It would also require insane amounts of energy, and that's not going to happen for a few more decades at least.

  The bottom line is that all of you are very safe. And to prove this safety, we invite the public....such as yourselves, to witness these tests. And of course.....witnessing this is also cool as hell." She deliberately used words to impress us teenagers. "Everybody ready? Diane too?"

  "Yes, miss."

  She smiled, probably because I said "miss" instead of "ma'am."

  The dy takes a walkie-talkie, or whatever those things are called, from her belt and says "Lab1, this is Maya Nielsen, PR. Visitors are in position, green lights to start the test."

  "Maya, Lab1...starting up experiment number 2-5-7 in a few minutes. We're still loading the test particles."

  "Copy that. Proceed when ready. Out."

  She then smiles. "It seems that we have to wait for a few more minutes. The countdown timer has started...see?"

  We all see a huge LED screen near the entrance with a 2 minute countdown. Miss Nielsen continues with some science babble while I simply stare into the secure area downstairs.

  Suddenly we hear an announcement on the PA system."Ding-dong. Attention to all personnel and visitors. The NEXTA array is now ready for the daily test. Please vacate all red areas. You have 2 minutes before the test will start. There will be no further messages. The countdown timer is visible in all areas. Follow the blue arrows on the floor to reach the nearest safety zone. End of message."

  Downstairs in the equipment room, I see every worker leaving the room.....it's totally vacated now.

  When the countdown finally reaches zero, I hear the sound of a generator spinning up. One of the parts downstairs slowly starts to spin.....and slowly increases in speed. Faster and faster....faster and faster.The sound is getting loud, but these windows keep everything within safe limits, thank heavens.

  When I see a basketball sized bright silvery light in the middle of the room, I'm astonished. It's like someone opened a window through which wind is blowing inside. It's probably the xenon or krypton the dy told us about, needed to analyse the results.

  The following happens in mere seconds.First a siren sounds, immediately followed by red warning lights fshing around me.

  "AAAA AAAA AAAA AAAA" A deafening loud siren using a deep tone, almost like a truck horn.

  At the same time I see a phenomenon like several lightning bolts emanating from the center of the light to all the corners of the test area.

  "Diane!" The dy shouts. But before I can turn my head, I see a very bright fsh....