After having what Tori described as 'amazingly creamy carrot soup, made fresh from the Pikpik Carrots you had introduced to me with a wondrous mix of assorted vegetables that perfectly ties all of the rich flavors together', it was time to check the mail.

However, before I could go up to the com room, I could hear Tori mumbling under her breath as she searched through the kitchen. "Looks like I'm running out of ingredients..."

Now that I recalled, the ship apparently didn't have a diverse amount of provisions when it came to cooking food. It seems as though that's starting to come into play now... Poor Tori. But knowing her, she'll find a way to cook her meals... Well, I had a vague idea of what she might do, but I really hope it didn't come to that.

Approaching the monitor, I booted it up only to see that Tori had mail addressed to her. "Hey, Tori! You got mail!" I called to her, curious as to what it said. In response, Tori poked her head out of the entryway to the room, then went to the computer. "Alrighty, let's see what it says!" she replied happily, eager to see who it was from.

Clicking on the email, we could see that it was from the President.

'Louie: It's been three months since you joined our company and I'm sure you love it—' ("I'm sure I speak for both me AND Louie when I say that I really hope he's joking," Tori stated flatly.) '—I expect big things from you, Louie. Far bigger things than I expect from Olimar!'

After that letter, Tori just looked to me with a smug look on her face. She didn't have to say anything for me to know what she was going to say. "Shut up, you still don't know what to even do."

"Not yet."

"Let's just read my letter," I sighed, then pulled up the unread email. Well, it wasn't from the President. Instead, it was from someone who made Tori's shit-eating grin fade and be replaced with a blank stare towards me.

'Papa! No fair! No fair! You snuck off and went on an expedition without me! You have to promise to absolutely, positively take me next time! Say it! Say you PROOOOOMISE!'

It was from my 'son'. "... Oh. Well. Okay then... Uh..." Tori trailed off, unsure of what to even say about this. It seemed as if she had wanted to tease me about it, but after seeing a letter from one of my 'kids', she was now taking into context just how awkward it was for me. Even she knew that some things shouldn't be teased about. I just slowly turned to her, uneasiness plastered all over my face.

"Wh... What should I say?" I stammered, which made Tori shrug, "I don't know, man! Do I look like a dad?!"

Looking back to the monitor, I took a few deep breaths before typing.

'Don't you worry, kiddo! Papa's definitely going to take you on an adventure. I promise! I'll be sure to bring you back a souvenir to show off to everyone for a science project!'

"What do you think?" I asked Tori as she read through my response. As soon as she finished, she gave me a thumbs up, "That's good. But, how do you know that there's a science fair or something?"

"I remember something about a treasure being a souvenir for his son as a science project," I explained as I sent the letter.

Okay. That was more stressful than it should have been. Without another word, Tori and I both left to our respective bunks for bed.

Once I got myself as comfortable as I could, I thought back on today's events. Tori really was a natural at this, despite her not knowing a thing. As proud of her as I was, I was also disappointed in myself. I sat there like a wuss while I had Tori search for me.

I was a grade-A coward. And I don't think that would be changing anytime soon. Hugging my pillow, I slowly drifted off after a mental beat down for today's actions.