Summary – Tommy has a very interesting idea.
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'Some Day'
Tommy
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(Next Morning)
Prying my eyes open with a groan I wonder if anyone ever died from an emotional hangover before. If not I might be the first one. Swallowing and cursing my dry throat, I'm about to simply fall back onto the bed and try to get a bit more rest when the distinct smell of eggs and bacon hit my nose. Okay, hunger beats sleep, getting up now. Padding into the main room of the suite I guess Mercer is an early riser.
"Well good morning there, how are you feeling?" Looking up from the table where he is currently reading the morning paper and drinking a cup of coffee, my host is already dressed in his suit and tie.
Muttering incoherently and moving to the table, I take a seat across from the man. "What time is it?"
"Around seven thirty." In the morning? You've got to be kidding. "Did you sleep well?" Surprisingly yes.
"Yeah. Thanks for letting me crash here." Yeah go ahead and make a dismissive gesture like it was nothing, but I'm sure when you decided to take this little trip you didn't plan on taking in a nineteen year old for the night. Or did you?
"Still think I'm such a bad guy?" Picking up his coffee and paper again he is pushing his luck. Even if he is starting to amuse me and okay so he isn't such a jerk or snob after all, he is still pressing it.
"I don't know, you haven't offered me any of your waffles yet." Looking at the platter of food in the middle of the table, I wonder how much money he's spent on room service alone.
Grinning and pushing the large plate of waffles, eggs, and bacon towards me as room service seems to have only brought one plate for him, he seems a bit taken back at how quickly I tear into the meal. Hey all I had was some McDonalds last night, I'm starving here. "Hungry?" When I simply nod, he carefully pushes the glass container of orange juice towards me. "Perhaps you should slow down just a bit there, Tommy. You're libel to chock."
Waving his concerns off, I quickly polished off the food and orange juice before looking for any scraps I might have missed.
Raising an eyebrow at the carnage and seeming to be guarding his coffee cup, he finally clears his throat. "Should I order more?" More huh…well, no I guess not.
Shaking my head and settling back in the comfy chair, I sit in bored silence as he goes back to reading his stocks or the latest news. I never did get into reading the paper. I catch the news now and then, but I just don't see how people can spend all morning reading each little article in the paper. Not to mention it results in silence, which is really annoying when I tend to like talking. Guess I'll just have to make my own fun than. Leaning forward and flicking my fingers against the paper, I quickly slid back into place, looking at my empty plate.
Glancing up, Mercer gives me a questioning look, to which I return with an innocent one. What? Problem? I didn't do anything.
"What?"
"You tell me, you're the one that just hit the paper." Starting to see why Rocky enjoys doing this to Adam now. When I simply give a negative head shake in response, he sighs but lets it drop before putting the paper up in front of his face again and going back to reading.
Paper once more in front of the man's face, I flick it again quickly, holding back a snicker as it gets the desired reaction. When he looks at me again, I give a shrug. "Maybe you're going senile?"
"I am not going senile. I'm only twenty eight, Thomas. You however seem to have the patients and mind set of a six year old at times." Hey! Seeming satisfied, he once more raises the paper. This time I'm going to smack it hard enough to hit his nose for that little comment. Reaching forward again and just about to flick it, the paper is suddenly moved aside, revealing my companion, eyebrow raised. "Senile indeed."
"Busted."
"Very much so." Putting the news aside, he picks up his coffee cup again, finishing the sludge off. "Do you want Mark to drop you back off at your apartment or at school?" Am I being kicked out now? Well that sort of stinks.
"I can take the bus. That's normally what I do when I don't feel like driving." Okay so I normally just don't drive after getting no sleep, because it's not safe, but it's too nice a morning to dive into all that with him.
"No." Excuse me? "Mark is going to take you, Tommy. Public transportation is crowded, and unsafe. Mark has nothing to do all day but drive me around so it will be no trouble for him." Paranoid much? He really needs to get out in the world. Still though, I have a feeling that if I don't agree it's just going to be a big unnecessary argument so fine.
"Fine, but can he at least drop me off a block away or something."
"You know most people would enjoy riding in a limo, being chaffered somewhere. You are a very strange boy." You already said that last night. Or was it bizarre? Either way close enough.
"Yeah, we already covered that." Glancing at my watch and seeing it's only now hitting eight, I don't know what I'm going to do for four hours. There was a reason I didn't take morning classes. "What if I don't have to go anywhere? Maybe I'd prefer to just bother you all day."
"Then I'd say you should make other plans. I have work to do and I'm sure you have obligations as well." Are you sure you're only twenty eight and not eighty two?
"What sort of work? Planning another hostel take over on some innocent company?" Okay so I don't really care or want to know, but I also don't want to go back to the apartment and watch TV by myself for four hours.
"No companies are innocent Tommy, everyone has a basement full of secrets and closets full of skeletons, but to answer your question no, I just have some paper work to go over and some reports to type up." That's a depressing view of people and businesses, but probably pretty right on.
"So I'll help you." Okay don't give me that shocked look. "What? Just because I don't sleep much and don't particularly care about economics class doesn't mean I can't use a computer and help with boring forms and stuff." Did I mention I don't like to be alone? Because I don't.
"Are you having a disagreement with your friends?" Not that I'm aware of. Though I'm sure I'm going to hear something from them about forgetting my key and not being there when they got in, or back this morning. I probably should give them a call.
"No."
Shaking his head and standing up, he straightens his suit jacket and moves towards the desk. "I don't understand teenagers." Okay. So does this mean I don't have to leave? Well he's opening up his laptop so maybe.
"What's there to understand?" Picking up the plates and putting them back on the silver cart beside the table, I'm a bit surprised he didn't do this. He seems so organized and even a bit obsessive compulsive, I'm a bit surprised he's leave a mess, even if it's a small one.
"One minute you seem pleased with the belief I'm old, boring, and a jerk as you put it. The next I can't get you to leave." Pausing and seeing what I'm doing he clears his throat. "You can leave those, Tommy. Room service will come and get them, don't worry about it." Okay than. Stopping in my work and moving to sit down on the leather chair by his desk, I really don't like waiting on others to clean up after me.
"I'm complex like that."
"I see." I don't think you do. Looking at me again though, he suddenly smiles and shakes his head. Okay, what's up? Finally unable to take it anymore, I cave. Asking him 'what' he once more shakes his head. "Nothing, just remembering why my father always told me to never feed strays." Oh ha ha.
"I'm not a stray." Even if I'm wearing the same clothes I slept in last night. Maybe I should take a shower.
"Sure you're not." Is that a smile? Is he actually playing with me? Oh my god, hell must have frozen over. Starting to think Mr. Perfect Business God does have a bit of a personality after all.
"At least being a stray is better then being old." Man I'm probably going to pay for that when I hit twenty eight, but right now I think it's justified.
Pausing in his typing, he looks up at me in that 'I'm exasperated and it's your fault' way he seems to have. "I'm not old." You're only as old as you feel and with how you act you must feel close to sixty.
"Whatever you say grandpa. Don't break a hip now." Snickering as this makes him sigh and probably count to ten in his head, I have to admit he is a little fun to have around once you learn how to work his nerves.
Pushing his computer away from him he folds his hands calmly, before looking directly at me. What's this now? "Thomas, I refuse to become a willing participant in a juvenile name calling competition. Especially with an insolent child." Oh he did not just say that.
"Is that right. Pompous jerk."
"At least I'm not fascinated with movies like 'Jurassic Park'." It is one of the greatest movies in existence. How dare he bring my favorite movie into this. I have half a mind to bring up my Dragonzord and send it after him.
Gripping the arms of the chair a bit tightly, I clench my teeth and hold off on attacking him for his stupidity. "It's a good movie! Besides it's totally possible." When he gives me a 'yeah right' look, I continue. "It is."
"Tommy even if you could extract prehistoric DNA from a fossilized bug, do you know how rare it would be for one of those bugs to be blood sucking, and have extracted blood from a dinosaur? Even if with all the funding I have it'd drain my bank account to even try."
"Well what about crossing DNA?" At his curious look I go on. "Yeah, like what if you could find just a little bit of dinosaur DNA and cross it with another lizard or bird? They're always saying on the discovery channel how this species evolved from this one, so why isn't it possible?" Man he's right I do like to argue.
Opening his mouth to swat down this notion, he suddenly pauses before seeming to rethink his approach. Interesting. "Well…I don't know, but like I said it's just not logical. Plus what would you do with a pack of dinosaurs? And for the love of god don't say open a theme park." Damn.
"I wasn't going to." Now what can I say I wanted them for? "I was going to say for…um, the further advancement of science?"
"Of course you were." Oh shut up. See if I let you into my dinosaur theme park. Suddenly stopping as a thought seems to enter his blonde head, he gives me a rather odd look. "You really like dinosaurs don't you." Um, well I guess.
"Yeah. I guess you could say I got into them when I was about sixteen." Dinosaurs, Dinozords, no need to split hairs over the little details.
"Any particular reason?" When I shake my head, figuring that's the safest bet, he makes a thoughtful noise before going back to his work. "Have you ever thought about getting into Paleontology?" Why would I want to dig up old bones?
"Seems kind of boring. Just sitting around in a sandpit dusting off bones and such really doesn't strike me as that much fun. Besides it requires too much patience and I'm sure you'll agree that's not exactly my strong suit. Only thing I can think of that I'd be less likely to do is…probably teach." Yeah me a teacher, I can see it now, 'okay class let's all put our books away and get the cards out. Who's dealing?' I think not.
"And I suppose resurrecting ferocious animals such as raptors is more up you alley." As a matter of fact it is. "Never mind that it's completely illogical and verging on impossible."
"It is not and one day I'll prove it and when I do you'll be sorry you ever doubted my genius."
Seeming to think this over for a moment, he finally smiles before pulling is laptop back to him and returning to whatever work it is he has to do. "Oddly enough, I think I will."
The End