The Chemistry Set

My brother was one curious person. He spent a lot of time in his head.  In books, some of which were comic books. He planned, strategized. The wheels were always turning. He even planned a near perfect bank robbery once. He was in his early teens then. Of course, he didn't pull it off.  He just liked planning things. This was the same brother who one Sunday afternoon mixed everything in his chemistry set.  I was in my room across the hall when I heard the explosion.  There was smoke everywhere.
My mother, who held advanced degrees in geophysics came running up the stairs.  She was silent looking around. 

"What happened?" she inquired.

"I mixed everything together to see what would happen," he said.

"Well, I guess you found out," she said softly.

My mother retreated downstairs back to her Agatha Christie novel.  Mom was like that.  Walls could be repaired. She liked curious people. 

A few days after I had sanded and plastered the two inch hole in the wall too many times to remember, I was finally able to paint it. Just two years his junior, I often worried about him. And for good reason.

It is noteworthy that my brother has undergraduate degrees in biology, chemistry and mathematics with a masters degree in math. He works in the IT field today. He doesn't mix chemicals anymore.