Page 9 of Ruining His Smirk
With that he was gone. The workshop fell quiet as August’s footsteps faded down the boardwalk that connected all structures of our station.
“Please. Say yes.”
I looked down at Dexter.
“No.”
He sprung up and started bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Please say yes and take me with you. They’re working in the Weddell Sea. Do you know what that means for my research? I’m just a grad student. I can’t go on my own. Nobody at Waypoint gets regular access to those icefish populations. Please. Say yes.”
I rubbed my jaw like I was giving it serious consideration. “Hmm.”
His bouncing intensified.
“So…” I said. “What’s in it for me?”
He blinked. “What?”
“If I’m taking you, what do I get?”
Dexter frowned in concentration. “Uhh… you can have my Star Wars lightsaber.”
“I fight with real swords. What am I supposed to do with an imaginary one?”
He thought for another moment. “Oh…Oh…I know!”
I waited.
“My Christmas sweater. Remember how much you like it?”
I snorted. “It makesyoulook adorable. I’d look like a deranged moose.”
His shoulders drooped. “Do you even want anything from me?” he asked mournfully. “Do I serve any purpose in your life?”
I couldn’t hold it together anymore. I laughed. “Actually… yeah.”
Hope immediately returned to his face.
“When we’re on that ship and I meet my arch-nemesis…”
Dexter’s smile faltered.
“…you are not allowed to say a word while I complain about him. I reserve the right to rant morning, noon and night.”
He stared at me. His expression slowly collapsed into one of profound suffering.
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes.”
He looked toward the open workshop doors as though hoping divine intervention might arrive on the sea breeze. “Listening to people being irrationally emotional…” he muttered to himself.
He folded his arms and frowned at the floor, visibly calculating.
“But…” A long sigh.
“…Weddell Sea icefish.”
Another sigh.
