Closet Spaceship Part 8

(Here's another installment of fiction.)

   On my next visit to the crew, I took Nick Bartucci completely by surprise. He’s the second-shift pilot and he’d just come off his shift when he almost ran into me in the corridor.

   He took a good look at me, as if comparing my face to a mental image, and said,
“Oh, s**t.”

   Then he fled.

   I didn’t expect that, so I let him get several meters away before I even realized what was happening. Then he got another several meters before it occurred to me what I should do.

   “Nick,” I called. “I know what you did!”

   He ducked into the dining room but then his footsteps stopped, so I knew I had his attention.

   “Do you really want me yelling it down the hallway?” I called.

   “Yelling what down the hallway?” asked a voice behind me.

   I turned to see Nick’s co-pilot and navigator, Randall and Elliott, standing a short distance away. Both were staring at me as if I had two heads.  I guess I’d do the same thing if my captain had told me some strange woman was going to appear out of nowhere every once in a while … and then she really did.

   “Nothing,” I said. “I’m just trying to talk to him.”

   Let me tell you a little about Nick: he’s a fine pilot and his heart is in the right place, but he gets irritated easily and can be about the most stubborn person you’ve ever met if he’s pushed.  I knew that telling his two crewmates anything that they could tease him about later was a sure way to keep him from ever speaking to me.

   Randall and Elliott looked at each other. I suspect they were thinking that if I was busy talking to Nick, I wouldn’t have time to bother them, so it was in their best interest to let me continue.

   “Okay,” Elliott said. “Good luck.”

   Then they hurried down the corridor in the direction of the crew’s quarters. When they passed the dining room, Nick whispered something to them, but both pretended not to hear him and ran up the stairs. Both were sure to hear about it the next time they were in the cockpit, but I guess they thought that was still better than dealing with me.

   Thanks a lot, guys.

   I’m sure Nick was thinking along the same lines, although he probably threw in a few choice words.

 

(To be continued ...)