Doc code 1278803-4576a
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Entry 29--
"SURPRISE!!!"
The shout startled me as I walked in the door to my apartment. In fact, the shout startled me so badly that I slammed the door shut, leaped to the right, rolled and came up with my hands pointed at the intruder-- as though that would be effective against an assailant now. I believe I was experiencing the curious phenomenon known as learned instinct.
"Wow, nice move!" Thaal exclaimed, jogging over and clapping a hand on my shoulder. "Really, though, it's just me, Cselia and Arno. No need to worry."
"You shouted at me when I was expecting an empty room," I replied, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart. "Can you blame me for the reaction?"
"Most people just scream," Thaal said, pouting.
"I'm a hero. I don't scream; I save screaming people," I retorted.
"A hero who ditched his team and is hiding on a solitary planet 'finding himself' by writing in a journal?" Thaal retorted.
"It is not a journal!" I snapped.
"He still managed a smattering of heroic deeds," Cselia piped up. "I mean, he gave Arno a great portrait subject, and gave me my little brother back!"
"It's been a few days since you left Cselia's house," Thaal said. "And she had your journal. How have you survived since then ---since you couldn't seem to put it down before-- and more importantly… WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"
"In the tech lab," I replied. "I had a breakthrough, and I had to finish--"
"SO YOU JUST BUILT SOME STUPID INVENTION FOR THREE DAYS STRAIGHT?!" Thaal shrieked.
"Yes," I replied, "Is that a problem?"
"No wonder the kid has issues-- he never sleeps!" Thaal exclaimed.
"Kid?" I replied.
"Well, you're shorter than me," Thaal said. "And scrawnier. And younger. That makes you a kid, at least in my book."
"I'm shorter, scrawnier and younger than you," Cselia retorted, "does that make me a kid?"
"No, it makes you a woman. And don't use a word like scrawny, it's unbecoming for a lady," Thaal replied, smirking.
"So you worked on the project nonstop?" Arno asked.
"I drank some water every few hours," I said. "I was beginning to develop a dehydration headache at one point because I lost track of time for sixteen point four five three two hours."
"Ouch," Thaal said, wincing. "You need to take better care of yourself, Brainy."
"I don't care about myself," I replied. "I care about my work."
"ANYway," Arno said loudly, "Welcome home! I brought food, so let's eat!"
"Wonderful," I said, "I'm absolutely ravenous."
"I should think so!" Thaal snarled, shaking his head. "Three days!"
I realized he was talking to himself.
"Thaal couldn't survive three hours without food," Cselia commented, setting out four plates on my table, which had been cleared of omnicoms and several experiments which I'd left scattered across the top. "He has a small brain, but it needs a lot of fuel."
"Hey!" Thaal cried, a pained look on his face. Then, feigning a pout by folding his arms and extending his lower lip, he slouched awkwardly. "That's cruel!" he exclaimed, engaging in a mock-faint that ended with him collapsing dramatically.
"Get off of the floor and help me put the food on the table and find chairs," Cselia commanded Thaal, marching across the room and relocating several papers and other omnicoms and dragging two chairs away from my counter.
"Chair ho!" Thaal screeched, pointing a finger across the room and dashing across the floor to snatch another chair. "I, Thaal the magnificent, have succeeded--"
"At spilling omnicoms and other supplies all across my floor," I interrupted, irritated and a bit unused to the commotion after I'd been alone for three days. "Pick them up, please."
"Sure, sure… you could have waited until after my monologue though," Thaal grumbled, picking up everything he'd tossed to the floor in his enthusiasm.
"Hah! Food's ready!" Arno declared, bringing it over to the table. Glancing at me, he grinned. "Were you using that thing over there as a Bunsen burner instead of a stove?"
"On occasion," I admitted, sitting down.
"I wondered why it was burning weird," Arno commented. "But I figured out how to change it back."
"It isn't difficult," I said.
"That's why I was able to figure it out," Arno replied, grinning.
"Ah! Food!" Thaal cried, leaping to the table. Yanking out a chair, he gestured for Cselia to sit in it.
"Thank you," Cselia smirked, "It seems that somewhere beneath all that testosterone, there's an actual gentleman."
"He only gets out on special occasions," Thaal retorted.
"Very special occasions," I said. "When you aren't busy with other things, like tripping over shrubbery."
"Would you let it go already?" Thaal moaned. "it was an accident!"
"No, I don't think I'll 'let it go' yet," I replied. "I need some sort of ammunition to combat your--"
"Witty repartee?"
"The colloquialism that comes to my mind is not 'witty repartee', it's 'big mouth'," I retorted. "Now can we eat, please?"
"Yess!" Thaal exclaimed, piling food onto his plate.
I quickly followed suit. After a satisfying and sizeable meal, the four of us sat around the table for a while, engaging in 'small talk'. Before long, Arno and Cselia left, but Thaal remained for a moment, saying that he wishes to speak with me soon, alone.
I wonder what he intends to say…
A/N: Just for the record, I am not writing. Once I run out of chapters, this fic may die for a few months while I work on homework. I hope I can get things done, but... sigh. Someday, someday I will finish this fic and work on the sequel... until then, stay tuned!
