Over Gruel
by Helen W.
"How's the gruel today?"
Ah, the lovely and taken Chloe Armstrong! "Gruely", Eli answered. "With a hint of greulishness."
"Good, I hate to be surprised by my food," said Chloe, settling into the chair across from him. "Eli, I want to thank you personally. For making that floating sled. Matt would be dead if you hadn't."
Eli shrugged. "It was just something I did," he said. "Well, thank you," said Chloe. "How's Matt doing?"
"He's fine," said Chloe. "He's asleep. TJ says he'll be able to make the service for Corporal Gorman this afternoon."
Eli shuddered. "Those things could have sliced up any of us," he said.
"No," said Chloe, "I don't think so. People say they mostly reacted to aggression." She paused. "Maybe they'd have gone after Dr. Rush."
"He's not so bad."
"I don't know how you work with him."
"I've been hollered at by more assistant managers than I can count," said Eli. "One old, skinny scientist really isn't that hard to take."
"Well, that's good," said Chloe.
"Only..." and Eli realized he did want to bounce this off of someone, and it might as well be the lovely and taken Chloe Armstrong. "Yesterday, he had this thing going where he was all, Grow Up, Eli! Lie to your colleagues! Making unilateral decisions that affect everyone is what adults do!"
"That's ridiculous," said Chloe, on cue.
"Yes, of course," said Eli. "But the thing is, I sometimes do feel like I'm ten years old around him and Young. Like I'm in the middle of a custody battle or something. I just want to say to Rush, look at the adults around you! Most of them are - excuse me, Chloe, but most of these people are kind of immature and idiotic and can't think themselves out of a paper bag, and I'm talking about the PhDs. Do I want to be like them? I don't think so."
Chloe laughed. "Or they fall in holes."
"I'm sure it was a very tricky, stealthy hole."
Chloe nodded. "Matt says it was covered in snow. Not his fault."
"Glad it wasn't me, or Young'd still be pulling," Eli said, and Chloe laughed again.
Suddenly, she sobered. "Rush... is full of it. If you hadn't been fooling around, trying to make something that you could fly around on, Matt would be dead."
"So I should keep my childish sense of wonder and fun?"
"You should be yourself." She stirred her gruel. "Does the kitchen staff know you can cook, too?"
* * * THE END * * *
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