Life in Red... • RED DWARF • Arnold Rimmer x OC story

13. Cats in the cradle - pt 1

I couldn't find my shoes.

It had been about a week since I'd seen them last. They weren't in my room, in the hall, or in the sink where I'd normally stow them.

If I'd known any better, I'd make the claim that they'd disappeared entirely.

Many of my things, actually, had gone missing since stasis.

I used to have a wrist watch — of which, had disappeared.
One of my jackets, the one with red cuffs had gone missing.
Some of my books, my CD's, even my favourite pen... I couldn't find any of it.

It was ghosts. The whole ship was haunted.

Lister and Rimmer were sharing their old sleeping quarters for some reason. My room was a few doors down.
Frankly, I was feeling left out.

Lister stopped talking to me once he figured out and I confessed to everything that had happened.
I apologized for taking Kotchanski away from him. But, he wouldn't listen to me.

Between Me, Rimmer and Lister, our dynamics were all entirely out of sync.

Me and Rimmer had worked together for a long time before I went into Stasis. His bunkmate at the time (Lister), another technician, took my position in Z-shift once I was 'relieved of duty'.

Holly said he chose Rimmer to be hologram because Rimmer was the only person Lister and I had a joint connection to.
It was remarkable how things like that seemed to work out for the worst...

The days since Rimmer's arrival had passed by slowly and cathartically. Everything, simply, had been ground to a near-halt.

I thought I saw Rimmer pass by the door of my sleep quarters again from the corner of my eye.
"Hey, Bonehead," I called out to him.

Sadly, one of the highlights of my days had become whenever Rimmer would pass by my door when he'd walk through the hall.
If the door was open, he'd make some snide remark about my laying in bed all day. Otherwise, he'd ignore me, and I'd be the one to throw some off-handed insult his way first.
That happened a few times every day.

"Hammond? You've taken my cigs again." Lister walked backwards, leaning his head through my door.

My cheeks flushed. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were Rimmer."

I was especially caught off guard to see him.

"Give me my cigs." Lister said.

"I didn't take them." I sat back, wondering what would truly possess Lister to engage with me for something so stupid.

"So Rimmer did? Is that what you're saying?"

"Maybe he got one of the skutters to steal them, Lister. Why does it have to be me?"

"No, it was you. I know it was you. So go on, give 'em up."

I shrugged my shoulders and motioned to my room.
"I'm telling you, it wasn't me. Do you want to take a look?"
I knew damn well that I had nothing to do with Lister's damned cigarettes. "Do you want me to stand up so you can tear the sheets apart?" I said, rudely sarcastic.

"...Just tell me where you put 'em."

I was growing slightly annoyed.

"I didn't touch the damn things. I didn't move them. They're not even a concept I'm entangled with. I've stopped smoking!"

Lister scoffed and leaned his hand against my door frame. His eyes darted back and forth, between me and a few other parts of my quarters.
There truly wasn't much to see.