Missing Scene from Chapter 2: 10 Ways To Have Fun With A Reseparator by MaxMacGyver

A/N: This takes place in the mess hall just before the beginning of the chapter...

AN Sita/T'eyla: We just received this wonderful missing scene - thank you MaxMacGyver - and hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did! Please review!

Missing Scene by MaxMacGyver

"Hey, look! Chocolate bars!" Trip smacked his lips.

"I found marshmallows!" Malcolm hollered, then he paused, "You don't suppose..."

Trip looked over at him, comprehension dawning as the implication set in. "I saw some graham crackers earlier, but I left 'em 'cause they're kinda blah by themselves..."

Malcolm's eyes lit up, and both boys yelled "S'MORES!!" as Trip scrambled for the cabinet where he saw the grahams. "But how'r we gonna marsh the marshmallows? I don't see a camp-far or any sticks to put 'em on anywheres about here, do you?"

Malcolm snorted, "You don't 'marsh' the marshmallows, dummy! The people who made them already marshed them at the factory. We just need to get them hot so they'll melt the chocolate."

"Well, okay, mebbe you're right, but I still don't see how...unless we use the stove..."

"Are you nuts? We'd get burnt or start a bloody fire and where would you run on a space ship if it was on fire!" Malcolm interrupted in a high-pitched voice.

"All right, all right, keep yer hair on. What about the microwave? If we just hafta get 'em hot, like you said, that should do it. And if they ain't hot enough, we'll just stick the chocolate in fer a bit, too," Trip said with a smug look on his face. It would work, he knew it would.

Skeptically, Malcolm eyed Trip, who was still clutching the bag of marshmallows to his chest in one hand while holding the box of graham crackers in the other. If he didn't agree, he wouldn't get any s'mores - Trip had more ingredients than he did, so that meant he had the majority. At least, that's what his dad had told him and it agreed with what happened in Monopoly. If you had only one of the red ones and somebody else had the other two, odds are you would lose yours in any trading that happened. 'I wonder if Trip knows how to play Monopoly?' Malcolm thought briefly. He dragged his thoughts back to the marshmallows, "All right then, get on with it."

Both boys trooped over to the microwave and Trip handed the grahams to Malcolm. "You start openin' these while I put some marshmallows in." Malcolm did as he was told, opening one of the graham cracker packages and lining up the squares on a nearby table. Afterwards, he placed squares of chocolate on top. Meanwhile, Trip had put a handful of marshmallows in the microwave and was studying the control pad. Finally he pushed a few buttons and when the light came on inside and the machine started humming, he nodded in satisfaction and went over to see how Malcolm was doing. He was just beginning to lay a second cracker next to each one ready to be used as a lid, and Trip took some from the package and helped him finish. Then they went back to check on the microwave.

"Bloody hell!" Malcolm yelped when he looked in, jumping back a few feet.

"What?" Trip asked in irritation, as he bent to take a peek for himself. "Crap!" he exclaimed, skipping back a few paces just as Malcolm had.

"They're... they're... oh my goodness," Malcolm was feeling a little scared.

"Lookit 'em. They're poofin'. They look like... like..." Trip swallowed nervously, "They're as big as baseballs. What should we do?"

"What are you asking me for? This was your bright idea!" Malcolm retorted.

"Maybe we should turn it off..." Trip trailed off nervously, eying the marshmallows, which were beginning to press against the glass.

"You turn it off. I'm not getting near it."

Trip looked around in panic, "I ain't touchin' it either!" He spied the long-handled serving spoon that he'd found and tried to use earlier to scoot the bowl pasta close enough to reach. It didn't work too well, considering the pasta was now on the floor, but maybe the spoon could be put to another use. He ran over and grabbed in and ran back to the microwave. The marshmallows now filled the entire chamber and were all smooshed together into one giant poofball of white. He reached out carefully, the spoon shaking in his trembling hand, aiming for the "stop" button. Just as he touched it...

B A N G ! !

Both boys flung themselves back in fear and surprise and slammed into a table. They found themselves sitting on their butts on the floor, arms and legs splayed, their eyes big as saucers, and their mouths hanging open in shock while multi-colored Jello cubes cascaded from the table above onto their heads, bounced into their laps and jiggled across the floor. For a few silent moments they both stared at the microwave with identical stunned expressions.

"It exploded," Malcolm said quietly.

"Yeah," Trip agreed, "it did."

Then they looked at each other and grinned.

"Ka-blooey!" Trip said.

"Ker-pow!" Malcolm replied.

"That was cool! Let's check it out," Trip had recovered from the blast and was trying to climb to his feet but was having a bit of trouble with the Jello cubes. He ended up on his posterior again.

Malcolm giggled, "Crawl over here first, then stand up." He had moved to the side before using the table as leverage to get up without being hampered by the Jello all over the floor in front of them. Trip followed instructions and joined him in an upright position. They carefully made their way through the Jello towards the microwave. Since Trip had successfully turned it off just as the explosion occurred, the light was out and it was dark inside. He used the spoon and gingerly pressed the button to open the door.

It swung open slowly, stretching gooey strands across the widening space between the glass and the interior, which was filled with a gradually settling white mass.

"Look. It's sinkin'," Trip whispered in awe. He reached in gently with the spoon and scooped up a bit of the white fluff. After examining it carefully, he tested it with his finger. "Ow! It's hot!"

Malcolm rolled his eyes, "Well, duh! You just cooked it until it exploded, what did you expect, frozen marshmallows?"

But having instinctively stuck his burnt finger in his mouth, Trip pulled it out with a pop and just grinned, "Nope. We got ourselves some marshmallow creme, Malcolm! Quick, while it's still hot, let's put it on the chocolate!"

Malcolm grabbed another spoon and both of them proceeded to scoop marshmallow out of the microwave and drop dollops of the gooey stuff onto the prepared s'more bases. They had more than one sticky blob on the floor where it plopped off of their spoons as they carried their burdens from the microwave to the table, but it didn't really matter much, since the floor was already covered in Jello. They topped their creations with the waiting cracker lids and then grinning at each other like idiots they took their first bites together.

"Mmmmmm!" they hummed simultaneously, rolling their eyes in rapture. After all, there's not much you can say with a mouth full of marshmallow.

When they'd eaten two s'mores apiece, Malcolm said, "I wonder if there's any cake?"

"Yeah," Trip replied, his eyes brightening, "and ice cream!"