Interning on the Aronnax

Red's Your Color

"This should fit," Fontaine said.

Finn caught the shirt Fontaine tossed his way. It was a plain red T-shirt, with black trim across the bottom.

"Why do you have a box of clothes on the Aronnax?" Finn had to ask.

Fontaine had vanished for half an hour "for supplies," and come back with a box of boy's clothes and cookies for breakfast.

"We pick up a lot of people who are stranded," Fontaine explained as she dug through the box. "They usually need dry clothes until we get to land, so we keep a big store of clothing for those times. We've got six more boxes in the store room."

The two teens found three full sets of clothes for Finn, then Fontaine left to return the other clothes while Finn changed out of his wetsuit.

Finn stared down at the T-shirt, jeans, and thick black socks he now wore. He tried to remember the last time he wore any of those, and drew a blank.

A tapping drew Finn from his thoughts. He peered through the peephole in the blocked, second vent leading to a side hall. He lifted the vent, letting Fontaine inside.

Fontaine looked Finn up and down. Eventually, she said, "Red's a good color on you."

"Was that a compliment?" Finn asked with a grin.

Fontaine threw something red-and-white at him. "It might get cold in here."

"You didn't answer my question," Finn said, shaking out the cloth.

The clothing turned out to be a jacket. It was red with white on the collar and shoulders that ran down to white cuffs. There was a band of yellow across the middle.

"I've got to go," Fontaine said, continuing to avoid the question. "If you need the bathroom, just take the first left in the duct and go until you reach a dead end. There's a vent there that leads to a guest room we never use. I'll be back in a few hours."