Disclaimer: ST is not mine.
Thanks for all the kind reviews. Some people have noted that Nyota seems a bit harsh - I will admit she is drawn a little thinly but I will also submit to you that she is viewed through Gaila's lens. Anyway, it lays the foundation for character development. ;) Nevertheless, I still welcome whatever thoughts you have on her or any other part of the fic - whether it is criticism or otherwise. Thanks! And enjoy!
Chapter 3 – Someplace Special
"That's not fair! You can't do that!" Nyota charged into the room, threw her PADDs on the floor and threw a blanket over Gaila's naked form.
"Hey! I like being naked!" Gaila protested, tossing the blanket on the ground.
"You can't do that!"
"Oh yeah, you want to see?" Gaila cried. She scrambled to a standing position on her bed and started doing jumping jacks. "See me naked, look at me, I'm naked!"
"That is obscene! And I wasn't talking about your exhibitionistic tendencies! I'm talking about Lieutenant Spock!"
Gaila stopped her teasing. This was serious. "You stay away from him."
"Well, I have no choice! He says he cannot interact with me until we –" Nyota wildly gestured between the two of them, "resolve our differences."
Gaila smiled as this. Spock was so loyal.
But Nyota was not done. She was only beginning. "I can't believe you are using your pheromones to get people to submit to your will!" she barked. "It is completely unethical and it violates Starfleet Regulation 384.19 –"
Gaila cursed colorfully in Akritirian. The nerve! "You have no grounds for making that accusation!"
"On the contrary, I have plenty of evidence. There's always a different male in here. Practically everyday! It's bad enough you use your-your…abilities…or whatever you would call them to lure them in but to manipulate a Vulcan –"
Gaila would not take anymore of this. She jumped off the bed and stood nose-to-nose with Nyota. "You apparently don't know anything about off-worlders. Vulcans are immune to Orion pheromones. He's my friend."
"Well that would be a first!"
Gaila pushed Nyota who stumbled back into the divider. Gaila was slightly surprised at herself but then Nyota propelled herself off the glass and pushed her back. She was not as strong as Gaila and when Gaila only stepped a few paces back, Nyota grabbed the Orion's hair and twisted.
Gaila gasped – it wasn't that painful, physically, but she couldn't believe Nyota would do such a thing. Instead of fighting back, she grabbed Nyota's PADDs and threw it out the open window, aiming for the fountain outside.
Nyota screamed in dismay and ran out to salvage them. Gaila chased her out, shouting, "I'm going to make sure you will never ever get the chance to talk to him again!"
She was shaking her fist naked in the hallway when someone gave a wolf whistle. Gaila, for once, was not in the mood and returned to her dorm room.
***
"We should find our own diner though." Gaila rubbed her hands together in anticipation. She hadn't been this excited in weeks. Ever since the disciplinary hearing between her and Nyota, she had felt what Spock had termed as 'dissatisfied.' Gaila found she was dissatisfied with the meaning of the word but she was too listless to flip through the dictionary herself and find a more suitable one.
She looked over at Spock now who was seated with his legs crossed, his hands resting on his outturn knees and his face tilted down towards where she was reclined on the grass beside him. She suspected that Spock had brought up the ritual again to distract her – or, to get her out of the room with Nyota. The Board showed some reluctance in expelling both girls and eventually voted against it so they were fortunate in that regard. However, Gaila didn't feel so fortunate when the Board announced as part of their punishment, Gaila and Nyota would have to room with each other for their remaining years at the Academy. They were not permitted to rotate out no matter the circumstances. Gaila also had to work on retrieving the data from Nyota's PADDs while Nyota only had to apologize for pulling her hair. Gaila had been fuming – she understood that humans might not have known what a cultural offense it was to pull a female Orion's hair but they barely gave it more credence after she explained it. Good thing Spock had been there, guiding her out with only a nod to Nyota.
"The other cadets talk about this place called Denny's." She liked the name of the restaurant – it sounded friendly. Unlike another place that some cadets had mentioned as well. An IHOP's. That sounded like a children's game and children usually did not make good food.
"It is illogical to reject this diner without trying its cuisine first. Also, Denny's is part of a chain. Surveys have consistently shown that restaurant chains serve inferior food in comparison to independently-owned establishments."
Spock was not looking at Gaila anymore. He had his head tilted towards the sun and his eyes closed. It was a rare warm day in the fall. However, he could hear her sit up from her reclined position and dig into her book bag. He opened one eye and looked at her from the corner of it. She was pulling out her dictionary.
This was a good sign. Gaila hadn't perused her dictionary in a while – perhaps since the disciplinary hearing. He knew she was deeply disappointed with the results of it, especially after she explained the cultural offense that Cadet Uhura had committed against her. Spock always had difficulties discussing cultural differences and had come to expect humans to misunderstand him even after he explained them. He understood Gaila's dissatisfaction and as illogical as it was, he was disappointed for her too.
Before she paged open the book, he explained, "While a chain can refer to a series of usually metal links or rings connected to or fitted into one another, it may also refer a series of things linked, connected or associated together. A restaurant chain is thus a group of enterprises of the same function under a single or coherent ownership, management or control."
"Like the Federation?" Gaila suggested.
"An imperfect simile but it will suffice."
"Aren't all similes imperfect, Lieutenant?"
"One could argue that."
Gaila laughed and Spock felt his lips quirked up in response to this show of glee. "Well, I'm not interested in engaging in pointless arguments. I have had enough with my roommate! I want to try restaurants! And I think we should give other places a chance! Anyway, that diner is special to you and Pike. I want my own special place with you."
Spock opened both eyes and looked at the Orion next to him. He raised one eyebrow but only said, "If we must."
"We do!" Gaila smiled broadly. Sometimes she had to restrain herself from hugging Spock. She knew he would tolerate it but it was disrespectful to his nature so she only squeezed his upper arm affectionately. And even then, she made sure no one was looking. Well, she saw one person looking – Nyota. She was far across the lawn, under a tree, but Gaila saw her. After going through Nyota's files as part of her punishment, Gaila knew why Nyota wanted to talk to Spock so desperately. The xenolinguistics major had already decided on her thesis – Romulan dialects – and while there were no Romulans at the Academy, Vulcans and Romulans were cousins. And of course, the only Vulcan around was Spock. Well, tough luck, sister because she was not going to let Nyota get close to Spock just to use him. It didn't matter if Vulcans and Orions were nothing alike, they were the best friends that she and Nyota would never be.
***
As the semester got under way, Spock and Gaila's schedules kept conflicting. Instead of finding their special place, Spock and Gaila met in the mess hall. Even then, it was not on purpose, scheduled ahead of time. Gaila would see Spock across the room, sitting by himself with a PADD in hand, and she would pick up her tray and walk over, leaving a disappointed group of male cadets.
Today she saw Nyota seated at the table behind Spock. "How pathetic – trying to inch closer to Spock," Gaila muttered under her breath. Gaila gave her roommate a pointed look before she dumped her tray down dramatically.
"This is not special."
"I believe you would find it fits the definition of a ritual," Spock observed, glancing up from his PADD.
"It's still not special," Gaila pouted, stabbing her banana with a fork.
"I believe most humans do not use utensils while eating bananas. They also do not consume the peel."
"Do I look human to you?" Gaila raised her eyebrow in imitation of one of Spock's favored looks.
"No, you do not." Spock inserted the prongs of his fork in a zucchini slice. "I believe, however, you have been practicing how to look like me."
"We all must have aspirations in life, Spock." She smiled at the Vulcan but her smile caught someone else's attention.
A broad-shouldered cadet sauntered over and slid into the sea next to Gaila. "Hey, beautiful."
Gaila's smile widened. She knew that adjective in at least 28 languages and she was starting to learn all its variations in Standard as well.
"Why don't you share some aphrodisiacs with me instead of with this pointy-eared walking computer?"
Even though Spock never showed any outward signs that he was offended by such slights, it did anger him. He would breath deeper and try to organize his emotions but this time, he was distracted by the interesting shade of color Gaila's skin was turning. She looked as though she was holding her breath and went from bright green to bright blue in 3.48 seconds.
"Aphrodisiac?" she asked in a strained voice.
"A substance that arouses or intensifies sexual desire," Spock offered, tilting his head in interest at what was about to happen.
"Like?"
"Bananas."
"Anything else on my tray?"
"Tomatoes."
"Perfect." Gaila turned to the cadet and said, "Yes, let's share." The oblivious cadet grinned and leaned forward, giving Gaila the perfect angle for her to push his face into her soup.
"Don't you dare interrupt our special time ever again!" she hissed once the cadet managed to free himself from Gaila's grasp, the creamy bisque dripping off his face and all over his uniform.
When Gaila looked up, both Spock and Nyota seemed amused. Nyota even nodded at her.
***