(Odd Squad Otis and Olympia Fanfic) The Perfect Partner

Conflicts and Confusion

Today was turning out to be extremely frustrating.

Olympia was desperately trying to convince Ms. O that we didn't mind working in the Odd Squad warehouse or even outside while O'Beth solved the Gretchen infestation problem. Anything would be better then having to relive what I had just gone through. The consequences were pretty incredible considering that Ms. O had only been down here roughly a half hour. Owen was extremely frustrated, Olhm couldn't walk, and the lab was a disaster due to the fact that Oona couldn't stop dropping things.

I glanced over at the lab to see if things were going any better for her. There were still miniature explosions and puffs of smoke coming from unidentified sources every few minutes or so. I hoped she was alright.

The voice of Olympia shook me from my thoughts, "Hey Otis, is it alright if I help O'Beth get rid of the Gretchens while you move our desks outside? Actually maybe it's better if you don't move our desks outside. They might be kind of heavy. Unless you're really strong or have a bulldozer or something."

"I'll move our paperwork outside. Not the desks." Moving the desks would take way too long considering the fact that the Gretchens would probably only take ten to fifteen minutes to get rid of.

"Great! See you in a bit partner." Olympia smiled at me and half-walked half-skipped her way over to O'Beth who had some strange sort of machine out that was somehow going to help get rid of the Gretchens.

I turned to our desks and (being careful not to step on any tiny people) began gathering up our unfinished paperwork, purposefully avoiding the handmade purple sheets. Suddenly a sharp crash followed by a large puff of green smoke came from the lab. Oona was desperately in need of help. I dropped what I was doing and hurried toward the smoke.

Whatever had happened I just hoped Oona hadn't hurt herself. "Oona, are you alright? Where are you?" It was almost impossible to see through the smoke.

"Otis? At least I think you're Otis. It's way too hard to see in this. Person who I think is Otis, I'm totally fine. Just go back to work. I've got everything completely under total control."

From the way her voice trembled I could tell everything was not completely under control (the billowing smoke might have had something to do with it too). After running into the side of a table and tripping on some gadgets which were strewn about the floor, I reached the backroom of the lab. For some reason the smoke wasn't as thick back here. I spotted Oona sitting in the corner with her head in her hands.

Slowly I walked over to her and waited. When she continued to do nothing but sit with her hands over her face, I cleared my throat. "Um, Oona, is something wrong?"

Slowly she lifted her face out of her hands and her eyes locked with mine. I could tell immediately that she had been crying.

"I'm a complete failure. Ms. O should have never promoted me. Sure I thought I had things under control for awhile but then, in one day, I go and blow up half the lab. Ms. O's probably thinking about kicking me off the Squad right now." Her voice trembled, "I knew I should have kept that one way air ticket to New Zealand." She took a deep breath and lapsed into silence.

I felt something inside me soften at the sight of Oona's desperateness. I had never been good at comforting people but I was willing to try. Hesitantly I sat down next to her and took a deep breath, "First off, you're staying right here. New Zealand can wait. Second, Ms. O would never fire you. Third, you are not a complete failure. Think of all the amazing gadgets you've made. No one else I know could do what you do. And about today, it was rough for everyone. Nobody blames you for messing up a little."

"If my boss was still in charge he wouldn't have become a nervous wreck. He was so great when it came to not making mistakes." Oona stared blankly at the wall and sighed.

"Believe me, I'm sure Oscar made plenty mistakes when he worked here. Nobody's perfect." I lowered my voice. "Not even Ms. O, but don't tell her I said that."

"But won't she want someone more reliable now that she's seen what happens when I'm nervous?"

I was getting frustrated. Oona needed to see that she was important no matter how many mistakes she made. And then a great idea hit me. "Oona do you have your tape recorder with you?"

"Sure. I always carry it around. Why?"

"Can I see it?"

Slightly confused Oona reached behind her back and pulled out her black tape recorder. It took me a minute before I found the right recording. "Do you remember this?" I pushed the playback button and the voice of Ms. O spoke through slight static.

"I think Oona has proved herself to be smart, fearless, and ready for any challenge."

I turned it off. "You literally saved the world. Believe me, it doesn't matter how many mistakes you make. Mistakes are a part of life. You are the best scientist anyone could ask for, Ok?"

Oona turned and gave me a weak smile, "Ok. Maybe I'm being a bit too hard on myself. Thanks so much for convincing me not to leave the country."

And then something I never expected to happen, happened. Oona threw her arms around me in a hug. Not being used to physical affection, especially hugs, I patted her gingerly on the back a few times before she let go. Just as she let go, however, Olympia chose that moment to rush into the room.

"Oona are you back h—" She stopped mid-sentence and her eyes widened.

I felt my face flush its unbearable shade of red and I hastily stood up. My mind was in complete turmoil. Everything in me was screaming that I should just explain to Olympia what had been going on and clear up things before too much misunderstanding happened. But for some strange reason my mouth remained closed and the power of speech flew from my grasp.

Oona was the one to finally break the horrible silence, "Hey Olympia. What can I do you for?"

For a moment Olympia seemed strangely incapable of speech until she at last forced out a jumble of words, "Nothing. I have work to do...work...you know, lot's of work to do." And with a horribly pained expression on her face she fled from the lab.

The most terrible guilty feeling rose in the pit of my stomach. Why hadn't I said anything? Why had I just stood there with my mouth closed? Now Olympia probably thought I liked Oona or something.

I stopped myself. But did I?

I had never been good at determining my feelings and at the moment they were so jumbled up I had absolutely no idea what to make of them. Olympia's pain-filled eyes and Oona's gratitude-filled ones seemed to meld together in my mind until I saw nothing but a confusing blur of color. I had no idea what to do.