R74: Pancakes
Title: Pancakes
Characters: Giovanni, Pearl (sort of), unnamed Grunt
POV: Giovanni
Notes: I have to say, this was a rather random prompt word! Not that it wasn't a lot of fun of course! The last line is a reference to Video. Well, I thought this was funny! But then again, I'm the kind of person that starts snorting at every orchestra joke. Especially the one with the bull and all. If you don't get it, draw out (where no one can see you) the shapes as she describes them.
“…She… Made me breakfast?”
“Yes Sir, and she told me to bring it up to you, Sir, and if I ‘damn nicked off just one goddamn crumb off the noogie’ she’d ‘very well tan my tangas off’ and ‘cross parts of my anatomy to other parts of my anatomy.’”
“…That’s the Executive all right. Participating in the finest Rocket tradition of nurturing the young new generation. Stand a moment. I might just need you to return it.” Perhaps today would be better than its four predecessors. Ever since he had gotten out of surgery, his confinement to his bed and Pearl being banned by well-meaning doctors had left him with a new and much less exciting perspective on beds. He had never been this bored (or motionless) on one, for one thing.
With a certain morbid curiosity, Giovanni lifted the lid. Pearl was famous for managing to add totally unintentional side effects to the standard dining experience, what with the oysters and vardenafil and sildenafil citrate and all. And he didn’t want to make the doctors more uncomfortable than they already were. Maybe he should just not eat the breakfast. Studies showed that male doctors reacted poorly when the patient had a great big raging-
Curiosity got the better of him and Giovanni lifted the plastic Tupperware lid off.
He stared. And he stared. His jaw dropped half-open. He looked to the girl then back to the plate. “…Explain…”
“Sir, it’s just shapes, Sir, she just poured the batter on the pan into different shapes, Sir, and if I can say, Sir, she did it all smooth so that it's all an even color, Sir, and that’s pretty good, Sir-“
“Please explain the shapes.”
“Well, Sir, it looks like there’s a great big long one in the middle, Sir, with two round ones on the top of either side, Sir-“
“How old are you?”
“Fourteen, Sir, but I’m an old fourteen-“ she began defiantly.
And have obviously never wandered into a stall in the boys’ bathroom, Giovanni thought. And thank God for her sake that she’s also obviously never wandered into one of the Executive’s Life Ed lectures…
“Dismissed. Report back to your section leader,” he commanded.
“Yes Sir!” She saluted with the wrong hand and ran into the side of the door on her way out.
When the girl was gone, Giovanni stared for a while at the Executive’s creation, then ate it.
He gave the coffee to the guard on duty.