"Good," Earl grunted, starting to recheck the charts. "Let me know if you liked it. If it's any good I might go see it."
"Why don't you come see it with me?" Irene said.
"Uh," Earl hesitated, not looking up from a chart he was studying.
He was saved by the hall door opening.
"Hi, Basil," he said, taking in Basil Nelson's expression of mild haste, and the empty test tube in his hand.
Irene frowned in annoyance.
Basil looked at her with a mixture of apology and hopefulness, then turned to Earl. "Uh, I came in to borrow some base formula," he said. "Just need a few cc's and didn't want to take the time to get a full gallon from the storeroom."
"Help yourself," Earl said. He grinned sidewise at Irene. "By the way, Irene is looking for someone to go with her to see some show that's on at the Rialto."
"I'll be glad to," Basil said eagerly.
"No thanks," Irene said. "I'm going with my aunt."