The following day, Kendall was up early. She had a lot to do to set up for Fossil Fun Day at the weekend.
She'd have loved to say that she had left it all so late purely because they had been so busy with Sledge and his forces lately. Within the last couple of weeks alone, they had barely a single day to themselves. They had managed to get involved in an international incident when the Prince of Zandar took offence to them impersonating him, they had found a new Energem, and even recruited a new Ranger. However, that wasn't the only reason she had been putting off the preparations for Fossil Fun Day.
She understood the point of community outreach programmes, and she understood the publicity the museum got from events like the Fossil Fun Day. It was something Anton had set up when he first opened the museum. Every year, the museum would have a day where they would set up activities designed to get kids interested in palaeontology. The concept was relatively simple, so simple it seemed almost ridiculous to Kendall. They would cordon off an area in the museum grounds, where they would have a sand pit set up, in which they would bury a bunch of plaster "fossils" for the kids to dig up. They would serve food, and drink, all for free of course.
Kendall never really understood that part. While she knew Anton was keen on getting young people interested in the field, she never really got why he would run an event every year that took a couple of thousand at least out of the museum's budget, and saw no real return. Sure, kids loved it, but the kids that came; it was mainly aimed at kids under ten. Many of them were still in kindergarten from what she had seen of previous years' pictures. Most of these kids would have the attention span of a gnat. It seemed unlikely that any of them would take one day of pretending to dig up dinosaurs, a job Kendall had trained for years to do, and suddenly decide that was their life's work. After all, she could remember a time in her past at that age when she insisted her life's ambition was to become an astronaut.
She put on the coffee maker, yawning loudly as she went to get a mug out of the cupboard. She didn't even notice as Matt came into the room behind her.
"Now that smells good." He greeted her. Kendall jumped in fright, dropping her mug on the floor where it shattered. She held her chest as she turned to see him. "Oh...sorry..."
"No, its fine, I just...forgot you were here, that's all." Kendall told him. "I don't really do too well without my eight hours."
"Eight hours?" He chuckled. "You like long lies don't you? I can't remember the last time I got eight hours. The cockerel is one heck of an alarm clock."
"When guns are that readily available out there, I wouldn't find it a problem for long." Kendall answered as she got a dustpan and shovel and started to clear up the mug.
"Wow...you really take your sleep seriously." Matt chuckled as he took the dustpan from her. "I really hope this wasn't a special mug or anything."
"Not really." Kendall answered with a shrug. "You know that old t-shirt, my parents took me to Disney World and all I got was this lousy t-shirt?"
"Yeah?" Matt asked.
"Well, that's pretty much the story of this mug." She told him, emptying it into a trash can. "I spent a couple of months as a grad student. I worked hard with him co-writing a research paper..."
"That sounds pretty good." Matt replied.
"Well, it would be...except he 'neglected' to put my name on the paper that we, and by which I mean I, wrote almost single handed." Kendall said, closing the lid on the trash can. "He gave me an important lesson and a crappy souvenir mug with his picture on it."
"Well, in that case I guess I'm glad I caused you to break it." Matt answered as the coffee machine clicked off. "He sounds like a colossal jackass."
"Why do you think I've stuck with Anton all these years?" She asked him as she got a couple of mugs and started pouring. "At least he gives me the credit for my own work. How do you take it?"
"Milk and two." He told her. Kendall went to the fridge, getting out the milk. "So, what's the plan for the day?"
"Tyler's kindly agreed to get the delivery from Toys 'R' Us." Kendall responded. "So that just leaves a few dozen plaster bones to mould."
"That sounds like fun." Matt answered with a smile.
"I really hope you brought some clothes you don't mind getting messed up." Kendall sighed as she handed him his cup. He just raised an eyebrow.
"You have visited the farm right?" He asked her. "I really don't mind getting my hands dirty."
"I'm really glad you're here to help." Kendall told him, taking a sip of her coffee. "I really wasn't looking forward to moulding all these by myself."
"Well, what kind of gentleman would I be if I left you to do that all by yourself?" He asked her, drawing in closer. They were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Ms Morgan!" Riley called through the door. "We're just heading out to the toy store now!"
"OK Riley, that's good to know." Kendall answered. "You have the list to check the delivery?"
"Its fine Ms Morgan, we'll handle it." Riley assured her. "Would you like us to bring anything on our way to the museum?"
"No, just the delivery should be fine." Kendall told him. "I'll see you there."
"OK then, see you." Riley answered, before heading out with the others. Kendall turned, looking to Matt, who was sitting, drinking his coffee.
"So...um...good coffee huh?" He asked.
"Yes, it's good coffee." She replied, continuing with her own coffee. Looking to Matt as he started to look around for something to eat, she wondered about the wisdom of living so close to the rest of her team.
Over at the gym, Koda was working out with some of the other trainee wrestlers, while some of the veterans were getting ready for the show that night. Koda hit the mat, having been on the receiving end of a clothesline from one of the others. He accepted a hand, helping him up.
"I heard you're on the ring crew tonight." He stated. Koda just smiled and nodded.
"Carl tell me about show." Koda answered. "Very excited."
"I'll bet you are, have you seen the roster?" Another trainee asked. "The Killer Koallition, Rocket Andrews, Chris Sabin...there are tons of great acts showing up, and we get a front row seat!"
"Not sitting." Koda responded. "Working security..."
"OK, not exactly what we meant dude." He chuckled. Koda looked over to the veterans, and saw that there was one who was noticeably absent.
"Where Jack?" He asked. Another of the trainees just shrugged.
"Damned if I know." He responded. "He usually likes to get ready by himself. He normally just turns up about an hour before the show."
"Usually he doesn't even talk to anyone." Another said. "I think it's an old-school thing."
"Hey, is this a knitting circle?" Carl called over to them. "You can chat on your own time!"
"Sorry Carl." One of them replied. As they went back to practicing their drills, Koda looked over to where Carl was taking a phone call. He looked to be more than a little agitated.
"You're kidding right?" He asked. "What do you mean he's out?"
He listened to the voice on the other end.
"He was arrested?" He asked. "What kind of MORON gets caught smoking a spliff trying to cross the border?"
There was some more talking on the other end. Carl just sighed.
"Alright, then I guess half of the Killer Koallition has to do." He grumbled. "Alessandra! We're changing up your match!"
She just looked a little surprised to hear this. She started gesturing to one of the others, the guy she was meant to have a match with. Carl just held up his hands.
"Look, I know you were planning on having a match with Vinnie, but we've already paid for this guy. You're the only singles wrestler we have that's ready for a match like this." He begged her. Alessandra didn't look at all convinced. "Look, just...do this for me. If you do this, I promise, you'll get to pick your next three matches."
She just nodded and went back to her workout. Koda decided to go back to his workout, but what he had heard did sound pretty good. By the sounds of it, Alessandra had been matched up with one of the headline acts. As he went back to his own exercises, he found himself looking forward to the show more than ever.
Back at the Dino Lab, Kendall and Matt had just finished up the equipment they would need to cast all the plaster bones they would need for the Fossil Fun day the next day. Seeing the massive buckets of plaster and all the moulds arrayed before them, the enormity of the task finally hit Kendall. She had been putting this off as long as possible, but seeing this, she finally realised she might have just left it more than a little too late.
She had brought an old pair of sweat pants, and a deep purple t-shirt she hardly ever wore. Even being careful, she knew it was likely to be a messy task, and had already lined a large area of the lab with sheet plastic to keep the worst of it under control. She was just staring at the massive amount of equipment before her and just sighed.
"Well done Kendall, this is the price of procrastination." She muttered to herself as she re-set her glasses. "Matt, are you nearly...?"
Her words tailed off as he came out of Koda's cave, having changed into an old pair of jeans, and a sleeveless, grey t-shirt. Kendall already knew he was pretty well built as a result of his years of hard work on the farm, but this was the first time she had seen...well...so much of it.
"Yeah, I'm ready." He replied. He noticed Kendall staring. "What?"
"Oh, I was just thinking..." She started to tail off. "This is the first time I've seen...uh...you without your hat. I was beginning to think that thing was nailed on."
"I have had it a while." He chuckled. "Alright, what do we need to do?"
"Well, um...these moulds here are all vertebrae." She told him. "These long ones here are ribs, we'll get started on these first, before we work on the unique ones like the legs and the tail."
"What about the skull?" He asked.
"I think that would be a bit morbid for a kids' event." She told him. "Besides, the kids get to keep these. How happy do you think some parents would be if their kid couldn't sleep because he had a stegosaurus skull sitting on his night stand staring at him all night?"
"Fair point I suppose." He answered.
"Alright, the moulds are sealed, so all we need to do is..."
"I've poured cement before." He interrupted Kendall. "I can't imagine it's too much different."
"I hope not." She answered. "I have to admit, it's been a while since I've done this."
"You've done stuff like this before?" He asked her. She just nodded.
"I spent a lot of time taking plaster moulds of fossils." She informed him as she took a bucket and started to fill one of the rib moulds. Matt took a bucket and started to work on some vertebrae. "I swear I must have built a couple of hundred whole dinosaurs if I add up all the castings I've taken."
"I guess it's just as well you're an expert, seeing how much we have to do here." He responded. "I guess there are worse ways to spend a day."
Kendall caught a little glance of Matt bending over a table to fill some more moulds and was momentarily distracted.
"Definitely." She said, before realising she was missing the mould completely and had just poured some of the plaster over herself. She quickly stopped and started to hurriedly wipe off as much as she could before she carried on with her task.
Over at Toys 'R' Us, Riley and Tyler were waiting by the collection desk. Chase had disappeared into the store to take a look around. He had said something about looking for something for Allison.
"Where the hell did Chase get to?" Riley asked. "I swear, we should get one of those parent leashes for him."
"Riley, would you rather have Chase happy, or Chase bored?" Tyler asked. Riley just shrugged as he conceded this point. A moment later, a woman came to the collection desk, carrying a large box.
"Alright, here we go, one hundred plastic shovels and one hundred children's safari hats." The attendant said, setting down the box. "Could you just sign here for the delivery please?"
Tyler signed for the delivery, at which he and Riley each took an end of the box and headed for the door. They loaded it into the back of Tyler's jeep, securing a tarp over it to hold it all down into the back.
"Alright, so we have the shovels and the hats." Riley stated. "Now all we need to do is stop at the hardware store for the sifters."
"Once we find Chase of course." Tyler told him. "I'm starting to think you might have a point with that parent leash."
"Hey guys, check it out!" Chase called out as he joined them. "I just found THE perfect gift for Allison..."
"Look, you can show it to us later." Tyler interrupted him. "We really need to get to the hardware store."
"Why the hurry?" Chase asked. "We have at least an hour until..."
"The thing is, I went shopping with Shelby last night." He told them. "I figured after...you know...chickening out on her and Ivan, I needed to make it up to her."
"You know she doesn't blame us for that right?" Riley asked him.
"Well, yeah...but I still feel a little guilty." Tyler told them.
"So what did you get her?" Riley asked.
"That's the thing; she's so hard to get anything for." Tyler replied. "I took her to the book store, but she already had everything they had on dinosaurs."
"So you want to go back now?" Riley asked. "We only have an hour..."
"No, I know it'll take longer than that to find something Shelby would like." He told them. "But I saw this really cool coat in the store next door."
"You want to buy a coat?" Chase asked him.
"It was a really cool coat!" Tyler protested. "I don't want to risk them selling it before I can get it, and the store's right next door to the hardware store."
"Alright, let's go." Riley answered, finishing securing the tarpaulin. "We've got a museum to run."
"And I still have to think of something to get Shelby." Tyler reminded them.
"Well, it could be worse." Chase remarked. "Ms Morgan's spending all day making plaster bones. Can you think of anything more boring than that?"
Back at the Dino Lab, Kendall brought the first of the bones out of the kiln, inspecting the work. She tapped them to ensure they were solid, before getting a wrench and taking one of the moulds. She started to loosen it off, hoping she had gotten the timings right, while Matt continued to fill moulds a little way off.
She quickly whispered something under her breath, hoping and willing it to work. She cracked open the mould, and pulled it apart. She smiled as she saw that it had indeed worked out, pulling it out and inspecting it.
"Wow, now that looks good." He complimented her. "You know...and the bone doesn't look bad either."
Kendall smiled hearing this. She placed the finished piece aside.
"All we need to do is grind off the mould lines with a multi-tool and coat them in resin to protect them." She informed him. "Which we'll do once we've finished with the rest of them of course."
"Of course." He responded, patting her on the shoulder. He pulled his hand back, looking a little apologetic as he realised there was some errant plaster on his hand. Kendall just looked to him as he pulled away. "I'm...I'm sorry, I just..."
"Hey, don't worry, it's a messy job." She told him, coming in closer. He started to put his arms around her, but at the last moment, she slapped her hands into his chest, splattering some plaster into his shirt. She chuckled as she parted from him. "See what I mean?"
"Oh, you're going to pay for that!" He laughed as he went to a bucket and took some more plaster, and threw it at her. Kendall started laughing as well as she followed suit, and a full-on plaster war started to take place.
Matt grabbed Kendall and brought her down to the floor, before taking some plaster on his fingers. He just looked Kendall in the eyes.
"Oh, don't you even dare!" She warned him, but it was too late. He smeared some of it across her cheek as she protested in a half-hearted way, laughing the whole time. It only took a moment for the laughter to subside as they looked into each other's eyes, before Matt drew in close, and they kissed. They didn't notice as Shelby came into the lab.
"Ms Morgan, I have a group here with some coupons for a free tour, but they expired yesterday." Shelby said as she came in. "It's a kindergarten, so I was wondering if we could look the other way this..."
She saw the scene before her and her words tailed off.
"...once?" She concluded. "OK, not a good time...you know what? Judgement call, I'll just...yeah."
With that, she walked away. Kendall and Matt parted, and Kendall just looked to him.
"Did you just hear something?" She asked him. He shook his head.
"I'm sure it was nothing important." He replied, before pulling her in once more.
