"Oh good, you're here Ginger. Food's ready." Mary Ann put a plate on the table as Ginger sat down. She didn't notice the furious blush on her cheeks or how quiet she was. She prepared another plate, piling steamed veggies on top of a succulent piece of fish and set it on the table.
Mary Ann looked up from the table, expecting to see the Professor ready to eat. Instead she caught sight of him before his door closed firmly. She furrowed her brows, confused. He was just talking about how hungry he had been. She turned back to the table, still deep in thought, when she heard the other castaways preparing to sit down.
'I don't get it,' she thought. 'The Professor was looking forward to dinner. Maybe I should go and make sure he's alright. I'd hate to see him miss out.'
"Hey Mary Ann – looking forward to dinner!" The Skipper sat down with Gilligan next to him and the Howells on the opposite side next to Ginger. He looked up at Mary Ann. "So what's on the menu for tonight?"
"Mary Ann!"
She jumped and looked down to see four pairs of eyes staring at her. Ginger was still lost in her own world. "I'm sorry, what did you say Skipper?"
"Mary Ann, dear, the Skipper was asking what you prepared for dinner,' Mrs. Howell said with a smile. She then turned and took the napkin Mr. Howell had tucked into his collar and put it on his lap. "Thurston, just because we're in the jungle doesn't make us savages."
Her nagging irritated Mr. Howell but he never let it show. This day was no exception. He did not appreciate her ripping his napkin away but he made sure his face was completely blank as he faced her. "Quite right Lovey, quite right. The Howells must continue to be the very models of high standards."
"I'm sorry," Mary Ann said. "Tonight we're having fish and veggies." She stood still for a moment still lost in thought. 'Yes, I think I'll go and see if there's anything wrong. And maybe I'll bring him a plate.'
"Well," the Skipper asked. "Were we going to get some?"
"Yeah, it's in the pot on the stove and the plates are right next to it," she replied. "I'll be back."
Mary Ann ignored the Skipper and walked over to the Professor's hut. She tapped hesitantly on the door and waited for an answer. After a moment she knocked a little louder. Still nothing.
"Are you alright," she asked. "What's wrong? You were hungry just a little bit ago – don't you want to eat with us?"
She waited and still got no response, but she was determined to talk to him. She knocked more forcefully. "Professor – I can hear you breathing in there! Come out please!"
After a moment, the door opened wide enough for Mary Ann to see an eye staring down at her.
"I'm fine, Mary Ann," the Professor said, his voice muffled by the door.
"But we have dinner."
"I'm not hungry anymore."
"Professor, don't lie to me. I know you are. Come out. Or at least let me come in," she pleaded.
He considered what she said for a moment before answering.
"Bring me a plate and then I'll let you in," the Professor said before shutting the door. Mary Ann turned to get his food but was stopped by the sound of his door opening again. "And make sure you don't tell anyone anything. If they ask – I'm sick," the Professor added.
She nodded and went to fetch his plate.
"Mary Ann is the Professor alright," Gilligan asked. Everyone but Ginger was concerned about the Professor. She was still in shock but no one realized it.
"He's fine Gilligan, just feeling a bit under the weather," she answered. "I'm gonna take some food to him, you all just continue eating."
After a moment Mary Ann was back with his food. "Professor? I'm back."
The door opened. "Hurry, get in," the Professor said.
The door was shut quickly behind Mary Ann. She turned and looked at him. He seemed perfectly fine. "Professor, what's going on?"
"Let me eat and I'll explain." Mary Ann handed him the food and watched him tear into the fish ravenously. He ate for a few moments before he began to talk.
"Alright Professor, you've been acting strange all afternoon," Mary Ann started. "What's going on?"
"Oh Mary Ann, I think I might have really bungled things up," he said with a heavy sigh. "You remember that flower I've been looking for?"
She nodded. It was all he talked about lately.
"Well, I found it. It is truly a miracle plant. It can cure so many things. So, knowing all of that, I collected some specimens and brought them back to camp where I made an extract to be used. I was careless and left it out on the table where you found it."
Mary Ann's mind went back to the coconut beaker. "I thought that was the vanilla extract. They smell similar."
"They do," he agreed. "But this has a slightly sweeter smell to it. More floral. At any rate, when I read the book on these flowers I didn't pay attention to the warnings. The book says that if you ingest too much it can delusions and hallucinations. What it doesn't tell you however is that the extract is like a love potion of sorts."
Mary Ann gasped. "A love potion? What do you mean? Those aren't real!"
"I didn't think so either, but I don't know how else to explain this. I ate your tarts, which had the extract in them, and then I saw Ginger. Next thing I know, I'm hitting her with pickup lines. And not just any old lines either."
"What did you say," she asked.
The Professor was silent for a moment before walking over and whispering in her ear. Mary Ann turned bright red and her eyes widened.
"Professor!"
"I know!" He turned and began to pace, running a hand through his hair.
Mary Ann was completely silent, watching the Professor pace.
He deliberated telling Mary Ann about Ginger's infatuation for a few moments but ultimately decided against it.
'There's no need to make this more complicated. All we have to do is get rid of the extract and this will be a thing of the past. No need to involve Ginger. She's already got enough to deal with.'
"Mary Ann. Do you still have the beaker with the extract in it," he asked.
"Yes," she said. "It's with the food."
The Professor stopped pacing and looked at her, hoping shining brightly in his eyes. "I need you to do me a huge favor. After everyone goes to sleep, I need you to dispose of the extract. Can you do that?"
"I could, but wouldn't it be better if you did it," she asked.
"Yes, but everyone's already suspicious. I'm supposed to be sick and it's not unusual to see you out in the evening cleaning up. I don't want anyone else to know about this. It would make a bigger mess. Will you help me?"
She nodded. "I can help you. I'll do it."
The Professor sagged against the wall in relief. "Thank you Mary Ann."
"You're welcome. Did you enjoy dinner?"
"Yes, it was wonderful."
"Thank you. I'm going to go back out now." She turned to leave before one last question popped up in her mind. "Professor, before I go, I was wondering something. Why did you tell me all of this?"
"Mary Ann, I confided in you because you've got a good head on your shoulders," he replied. "The Howells would just try to make money with it and although the Skipper is trustworthy, Gilligan is always around and would somehow mess everything up. And I don't think Ginger would want to deal with this."
Mary Ann smiled and nodded. She understood exactly what he was saying. "Thanks. I'll let you know when it's done."
The Professor breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on his cot. All he had to do now was wait for Mary Ann to do the job.
Mary Ann went back out and ate with the rest of the group. Everyone was concerned of course, but she was expecting that.
"Perhaps we should take him some of our pills," Mr. Howell suggested. "We've got a pill for every sickness you can think of!"
"Yes Mary Ann, please take some! We can't stand to know that the Professor is unwell. " Mrs. Howell stood up and turned to go towards their hut when Mary Ann stopped her.
"Mrs. Howell, that's very generous, but I'm sure he'll be fine. A little food and rest goes a long way."
She agreed with Mary Ann and sat back down to finish her meal. Mary Ann tried to hide the look of relief on her face. Maybe this was going to be easier than she thought.
Before long dinner was over and everyone made their way back to their huts for the night. Mary Ann was clearing the dishes when she stopped and looked around to be absolutely sure that nobody was nearby. The common area was empty. Mary Ann took the opportunity to finish the dishes as fast as she could. Then she quickly reached down under the makeshift sink and grabbed the coconut beaker.
"Mary Ann, do you need any help?"
Mary Ann jumped out of her skin. She whirled around to see Ginger standing right behind her.
"Ginger! You scared me," she cried. Mary Ann realized the beaker was in plain sight and put it behind her back.
"I'm sorry," Ginger said. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I just wanted to know if you needed any help with the dishes."
Mary Ann looked closely at the redhead and realized that something wasn't right. She looked as though something was on her mind. "Sure you can help Ginger. Are you alright?"
Ginger began to wipe the table down. "Everything's ok Mary Ann. I just didn't want to be alone tonight, that's all."
Truth be told, Ginger was having an all out battle with herself. She knew the Professor had no romantic interest in her, but she couldn't explain his behavior earlier in the evening. And then he wouldn't come out for dinner.
'I can't understand what's going on. I try to stay away from him to get over him and then he pops up like a bad penny. He's everywhere! He doesn't want me and yet he ogles me. Maybe I'm losing my touch with men. Ginger Grant… a has-been? This can't be right!'
She desperately wanted to confide in Mary Ann but held back. She didn't want anyone to know that she couldn't even rouse the Professor's interest. She sighed and continued to clean the table. Suddenly Mary Ann spoke.
"Ginger can I talk to you about something?" Mary Ann was going to just dump the liquid somewhere but Ginger looked so upset earlier.
Mary Ann assumed that she was upset because the Professor wasn't feeling well and wanted to let her know that everything would be alright. After all, it wasn't as if Ginger had any interest in the Professor.
"Why sure," Ginger said. "She set her rag on the table and sat down. "Come and sit down. What's wrong?"
Mary Ann sat next to her. "Well, I guess technically nothing is wrong."
"I don't understand. What do you mean?"
"With the Professor," Mary Ann said. "I told everyone that he was sick, but he really isn't."
Ginger frowned. "Then why did he hide at dinnertime?"
"If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone else, ok?"
"Alright, I promise. Now, what's this all about?"
Mary Ann proceeded to tell her about the somnium tropicus and what it did to the Professor, not knowing that Ginger was there when he picked the flowers. She then proceeded to show Ginger the coconut beaker.
"So now you know everything," Mary Ann finished.
"My my. So that explains the Professor's strange behavior," Ginger said, tapping the table with her long nails. "So what are you going to do now?"
"He told me to get rid of the somnium tropicus," she replied. Mary Ann suddenly knit her brows together. "Oh darn!"
"What is it," Ginger asked.
"I just realized – I forgot to bring in the spades. I was going to clean them tonight and thought I had everything in. I left them out in the carrot patch. I have to go back and get them before it gets too dark."
Ginger's mind was going a mile a minute suddenly at the opportunity that presented itself to her. 'Mary Ann said that the extract in the tarts was what made the Professor all lovey dovey. All you have to do is make sure he keeps getting the extract in his food. Ginger, you might never get a real chance at him. Are you gonna let this one go by?'
It felt like a dirty trick but at this point Ginger was desperate. She wanted him so badly she would take him even if it wasn't really his affections being showered on her. Pretending wasn't so bad. It was what she did for a living, after all.
Mary Ann was halfway down the path to the little garden when Ginger spoke up. "Uh, Mary Ann?"
"Yes Ginger?"
"I was thinking – it's getting dark and you have to do all this stuff… do you want me to get rid of the extract for you? I could dump it out near the lagoon or bury it somewhere. That way, you won't have to rush all the way back here."
Mary Ann was silent for a moment. Ginger was afraid she would say no but then her face lit up.
"That's a great idea! Thanks!" She went back over to the table and picked up the beaker. "Here you go. I was gonna just dump it out in the sand somewhere far from us."
"Oh, don't worry," Ginger said with a big smile. Her voice was like silk. "I'll take care of it. I'm going down towards the beach tonight anyway. I have the perfect place to put this."
"You're the best," Mary Ann exclaimed. "Thank you again! But, don't tell the Professor – he didn't really want anyone to know."
"I wouldn't dream of telling him," Ginger replied, eyes gleaming. "Don't worry – it'll be our little secret."
Ginger watched Mary Ann hurry off to the carrot patch before studying the coconut beaker. She could hear the solution to her problem swishing around in there.
Suddenly that other voice could be heard. The one telling her that she knew what she was doing was wrong and that she should just either dump out the extract or give it to Mary Ann. She muzzled the voice. Ginger didn't want to hear it.
She took the beaker and strolled back to her hut. She needed to find another container to put the extract in so nobody could find it. After a few minutes of looking around, Ginger found an empty perfume bottle shaped just like her that never had any perfume in it.
She was planning to create her own perfume but never got around to it. Ginger poured the extract into the perfume bottle and set the beaker down on her dresser. She held the bottle up to the candlelight and smiled. She was looking at her future in that bottle.
'One way or another, what Ginger wants, Ginger always gets.'
A/N: Apologies again for not updating in so long! I work a lot, but I'm going to try harder to update sooner. Thanks again for reading!
