Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia but I own a lovely emotions map that kept me up all night with its prattle. Its ok though, I love it dearly.
A/n: I am extraordinarily sleep deprived and was listening to Benjamin Calypso. For some reason my mind interjected the phrase "banana boat". How that evolved into a cucumber boat, is a mystery to me. Oh well, enjoy!
The sun was beating unmercifully upon the lawn of the Professor's house and although the weather had permitted all the prospect of the adventure Peter had promised their first night there, it was far too hot to do anything but sit out on the back terrace.
Susan pulled her lips to form a straight line and exhaled. Even if it wasn't hot enough to roast an egg on the cement, she knew Lucy was in no mood to explore after the entire "wood in the wardrobe" fiasco.
The extreme heat did not keep the baby of the Pevensie brood from sitting quietly and moping. Edmund, the instigator of Lucy's sullenness, shared Lucy's ill-mood and much to Susan's dismay sat slumped in the patio chair to her right. Ed was being quite the prick ever since the four had left and silently Susan was placing her personal bet on how long it took Peter to row with Ed again over it. Susan, of course, had a book to entertain her whereas Peter had counted on conversation to entertain himself. Of course, that did not happen and he was reduced to slicing cucumbers for an afternoon snack for the four.
For Peter, the silence and sulking was far too much to deal with on top of the heat. He would have to talk to Edmund anyway about how he was treating Lucy. And then to Susan for not backing him up half the times he argued with Edmund. And of course, Peter had to find a way to get his baby sister's spunk back and her mind off of that land she made up. Inwardly sighing, Peter set down his knife and the cucumber. It seemed that his entire existence lately had been purely business. He did want his brother and sisters to be happy and he knew that the situation was not exactly an outing to the movies. But dash it all! It was far too hot to for much of anything and that warranted keeping the other three happy.
How Peter wanted to be back in Finchley with Dad home again and reading aloud from the works of Mark Twain. 'Come to think of it,' Peter decided, cocking his head slightly to the side in thought. 'I just want to be carefree again.' He sighed and got a reprimanding look from Susan. More than anything he wanted Susan to act like a twelve year old and not a twenty-seven year old schoolmarm. He wanted Edmund to return to the Edmund that they knew before Ed went to that awful school. And he wanted to hear Lucy giggle again. He also wanted answers as to how to do this.
Peter returned to the cucumber cutting and as be skinned the dark green skin of the vegetable, an idea occurred to him. And disregarding Susan's pointed glances; Peter sunk the knife into the center of the cucumber and carving an oval, scooped out the center of it. Then with out warning, slid the hollowed out vegetable under Susan's nose and announced in an odd accent, "Cucumber boat!" Susan returned an unimpressed look that mirrored Edmund's but Peter's random declaration got one of his siblings to giggle and that was good enough for him.
"Cucumber boat." Lucy chorused with a giggle as she hopped up to inspect her big brother's handiwork.
"Yes, it is and we're all proud of Peter." Susan responded flatly, annoyed that her reading had been interrupted, "But no 'cumber boat will pull me away from Tolstoy."
"Lighten up, will you?" Lucy almost demanded, launching the discarded innards of the vegetable at Susan and hitting Edmund (who was not paying attention) upside his head instead.
"Oy!" he exclaimed, tossing the cucumber innards at Peter. "What was that?"
Peter opened his mouth to reply but Susan got there first. Taking her elder brother's hand, she put the cucumber boat under Edmund's nose and exclaimed with a laugh, "Cucumber boat!"
Edmund regarded her with a quizzical look for several long moments. Susan had a tendency to be too tightly wound but still, he always thought she had more sense in her than domineering Peter and childish Lucy. Edmund's quizzical gaze did not waver for several moments before he stood up and yelled, "I'll 'cucumber boat' you, I will!" and attempted to snatch it from Susan's hands. She gave a yelp and began to run down the lawn with Edmund and Lucy at her heels.
All three disregarded the stifling heat and as Susan attempted to toss the vegetable to Lucy, Peter nodded in satisfaction. In some odd way, his mission was accomplished. And though he did not know it then, his wishes for his siblings were indeed heard and would be answered in the near future.
A/n: So…please review and tell me what you think. Tis a little odd in my opinion but keep in mind that I have not really had sleep yet…