Welcome to Sealantis

chapter 13: time does... *fly*.

It was the third week on board, and we'd finally made it to the testing grounds for gems. A small group had gathered on Level 37 - a healthy mix of smart people, chaos-bringers, and security folks - to discuss and explore the capabilities of Harry's green gem. 

The Aetherions and I, of course, were the chaos-bringers, with onions in hand. I'd told 0111 Narwhalz to bring an onion as a snack, too, but for some reason they'd brought a rutabaga.

Ah, well. Close enough.

Being at the front of the crowd circling Harry and the smart people, I could hear snippets of random folks' conversations. I wrinkled my nose as I heard several judge my onion-eating habits.

After an uncomfortably long time waiting for Harry and the smart people to explain what they were about to do with the green gem, I started to get really bored. And if there was one thing I learned from being a 15 year old in a 63 year old's body, it was that bathroom breaks were the solution to boredom in meetings.

"Braxton," I whispered, figuring I'd take the youngest kid to get his zoomies out. "Take your Aunt Millie to the bathroom, will you?"

"But Willow-"

"I chose you, kiddo. Come on. Get to it."

And with that, we awkwardly made our way back through the crowd.

Green eyes caught mine as we wheeled around, and Harry winked at me. I smiled in return. He'll wait for me. No worries.

When we got into the hallway, Braxton started towards the bathrooms, but I stopped him.

"Right. What do you want to do, kiddo? We've got maybe five minutes."

"Wait, I thought you-"

"If there's ONE thing I teach you in this life, kiddo, it's gonna be that you can always escape boring meetings. So, what do you want to do?"

He thought for a minute, and I sighed impatiently. "Do you want to grab a sweet snack this time?"

A gasp of anticipation was my only warning before he starting sprinting with my wheelchair down the hallway to the vending machine. I grinned. Now this was more like it.

When we finally got to the vending machine, Braxton had slowed down considerably - something I was thankful for, considering if we'd stopped suddenly, I'd have been pitched forward in my wheelchair and potentially missed the whole presentation. I didn't want to be totally absent - I just wanted to avoid waiting for the smart people to begin talking to us.

"Aunt Millie, what do you want? I'm going to get the Firecracker candy." Braxton was already punching in numbers and bouncing excitedly on his toes.

"I think I'll take a chocolate bar. You can pick." Harry had been very careful to ensure all the chocolates provided were dairy free and ethically sourced so I could choose from the same variety as everyone else. Such a sweetheart.

"That's a good choice," a warm voice complimented, and I looked up to see bright blue eyes watching us in kind amusement.

"Blossom! It's so good to see you!" I exclaimed, and reached my arms out to initiate a hug that Blossom reciprocated enthusiastically. "Did you finish that chapter?"

"No! They were about to wrap everything up and explain everything when the dinner bell rang! I was so tempted to read it at dinner, but you know how well that would've ended up." 

I winced in sympathy before giggling at the reminder. "Yeah, that would not have been a good look for your books. Marinara sauce everywhere? No thank you!"