《pavement》vernon

2、第 2 章

　　Arthur watches the two strippers disappear towards the dressing room, Merlin’s dark hair catching reflections of the mirrorball. Merlin glances back once, just quickly over his shoulder, and Arthur doesn’t bother averting his gaze. It earns him a dark frown from Merlin, and for some unknown reason, Arthur actually delights in the blatant dislike few people would dare throw in his face.

　　He pushes away from the bar, leaving his drink behind, and looks around for a free spot at a table, preferably close enough to the stage to unsettle Merlin. According to Morgana, Merlin’s been working here for a few months, so he should have learned not to be easily distracted; that sort of mistake is more forgivable on the new stripper currently occupying the stage. For all that the guy’s nerves are clearly showing through, he does a decent job for a first time.

　　When someone gets up from the couch just left of the stage, Arthur quickly slips into the vacated spot. Over by the bar, he catches a glimpse of Morgana’s hair as she leans in to have a conversation with the waitress. Returning from the dressing room, the stripper that towed Merlin away – probably thinking Merlin needed saving from an insistent customer – joins the waitress and Morgana, and the three of them simultaneously glance in Arthur’s direction. He gives them a cheerful wave.

　　The new guy is rewarded with a promising round of applause. He scoops down to pick up his clothes before leaving the stage with a pleased expression, his face flushed. Arthur settles further in the cushions, resting his head against the backrest. To his own surprise, he finds that he’s beginning to enjoy himself.

　　--

　　There’s no sign of either Pendragon or Morgana when they start cleaning up, so Merlin can’t be entirely sure he actually still works at Camelot. Then again, it’s not as if he’d just walk out on Gwen, Lance and Joel – he isn’t like Valiant, who has a certain talent for disappearing when it comes to rounding up empty glasses and wiping down tables.

　　It can wait until tomorrow.

　　Come to think of it, maybe it would be better to keep quiet. Merlin doesn’t want to get Morgana into trouble, and it’s possible that her protective streak would surface when talking to Pendragon. Maybe Pendragon’s already forgotten about the whole thing. Given the demonstrative way he was watching Merlin’s performance, as if mentally jotting down every single misstep, it isn’t very likely the whole thing will just blow over without a trace. Merlin can hope, though.

　　--

　　Friday afternoon, Merlin accidentally runs into Gaius on his way to Bioinspired Chemistry. While Merlin was careful to slip in and out as unobtrusively as possible during yesterday’s session of Gaius’ course, there is no way he can hide in a deserted corridor with Gaius just a couple of feet away.

　　“Hello, Gaius.” Merlin pastes a large smile onto his face.

　　“Merlin, hello.” Gaius glances around to ensure no student or colleague will catch the familiarity of their interaction. In Merlin’s opinion, the professional distance Gaius insists on is rather ridiculous, but he’s not about to openly disagree with Gaius’ wishes. His mother would not be pleased.

　　“How’s it going?” Merlin asks, still beaming, hands laced behind his back, and he knows Gaius will be able to see right through him.

　　“Quite well, I must say.” Gaius pushes a wispy strand of white hair back behind his ear, his gaze sharp. “And that guilty look on your face tells me you haven’t read the article I gave you. Am I right?”

　　“I was busy writing a paper for my bio requirement,” Merlin lies. “Slipped my mind.”

　　“I see.” Gaius sounds inexplicably disappointed. Merlin manages to hold his gaze for an estimated three seconds before he lowers his head and sighs. It’s kind of unfair how the years of knowing each other allow Gaius to shamelessly exploit Merlin’s need for parental approval.

　　“Sorry. I promise, I’ll have a look at it this weekend.” He pauses and considers asking why it appears to matter so much to Gaius. The article’s title sounded more like a something that might be of interest to a marine biologist, not so much to a chemist in need of a dissertation topic. Gaius tends to reveal his intentions in his own time, though.

　　“You do that,” Gaius says. He sounds slightly less disappointed.

　　'Gender-bender' threat to marine life

　　A water-borne chemical is causing oysters to develop into hermaphrodites, which cannot breed, according to British scientists. By Helen Briggs

　　The pollutant could affect other marine life and further research is needed to find out if it can harm people, say ecologists at Royal Holloway, University of London. The substance, nonylphenol - a breakdown product of spermicides, cosmetics and detergents - is discharged through the sewerage system and is widespread in the aquatic environment. It is a so-called endocrine disruptor - a chemical that can mimic hormones and disrupt normal sexual development.

　　The researchers looked at the effect of the chemical on Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) raised at a commercial hatchery in Whitstable, Kent. It caused death and abnormalities in developing embryos and larvae at "environmentally realistic" levels 10 times below the safe limit set by the UK Environment Agency, they say. Of those that survived, almost a third became hermaphroditic - they possessed the reproductive organs of both sexes.

　　"These results are worrying," says lead researcher Helen Nice, "not only because of the damage to the oysters themselves, but also because this chemical may well be affecting other organisms sharing their environment." She says it is vital that effects on vulnerable developmental stages should be considered when chemicals are screened. "We clearly need further research to find out exactly what harm this chemical does and if it can harm people," she adds.

　　Professor Michael Thorndyke, who supervised the research, says other types of oyster, as well as molluscs and crustaceans, may also be at risk. "It has important implications for the numbers and types of animals in the marine environment because it could affect diversity," he says. Susan Jobling of London's Brunel University, a leading researcher in the field, says nonylphenol is known to interfere with reproduction in fish. "It is an oestrogen mimic and therefore, when present in the body, it is an impostor," she explains.

　　The Environment Agency says the current environmental quality standard for the chemical is being re-negotiated taking into account any new science and evidence. "Of extreme importance is the fact that this chemical has been very largely and effectively phased out of use now because of its known endocrine disrupting potential," says a spokesperson.

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