hook, modern, camping
“Wait! Thandi. Please reconsider!”
Thandi shakes her head, laughing. “I know that he has a reputation for nastiness, but I promise I can handle it. It’ll be good for my career to go out on this expedition!”
The college has arranged for one Dr. Vanderbee to go on a trip to the fringes, right where the planes seem to intersect. However, and this was put to her with the strictest confidence: he can’t be trusted to do it alone. The man’s primary reputation was a dour one, and those above him had observed further quirks.
His studies border on obsessive. He struggles to communicate with people verbally. He is known to simply disappear for long stretches of time, emerging from the wilds as if nothing has happened. They saw an opportunity to invite Thandi, as an interplanar specialist, to do her research alongside him, and by extension, play babysitter.
These intersections are very unique, and to get the clearance to go forth and research to her heart’s content is worth a few curmudgeonly barbs from some stuffy old guy. The preparations are made and the opportunity to see a shred of her homeworld soon keeps her giddy until the date.
At the hotel, she is to meet him to acquaint herself before they charter a plane and get lost in the wilds together for the next month. However, when she arrives in the lobby to meet him, it’s empty. There’s the receptionist, of course, and a grumpy man about her age looking at his watch. He looks like he’s waiting on a business associate to show up, wearing a nicely tailored vest and slacks with a silken green tie. It’s a shame that she’s waiting for someone else. He is. Very easy on the eyes.
She sits in one of the overstuffed chairs in the lobby to wait. People pass back and forth, but no one lingers. It’s getting to be frustrating. Is he really going to blow her off? Ugh! And it looks like the man is in the same boat. His face only grows stormier with every passing quarter hour.
Eventually, Thandi pulls out her phone and dials the number she was given. Really, from what she’s heard, she should have expected the codger to stand her up.
The other man’s phone rings. He pulls it out, and she hears his voice double over. “Is this Dr. Kahsu?”
She stares up at him.
He turns to look at her.
They gape at one another.
Thandi begins to laugh, but it dies in her throat when she sees the anger building. The call is ended and his fists clench.
“You! Really now? Out to make me a fool?”
“No! No, I just! I didn’t realize that you are Dr. Vanderbee…”
“Well, who else could I be!” He pushes his phone into his pocket, crossing his arms, gritting his teeth. “I’ve been standing her for an hour and a half!”
“Well, you could have spoken up as well. I’m not the only one at fault here.”
“I don’t talk to people. You volunteered yourself for this. That’s the entire point of your coming with me.”
“Excuse me? I’m here for my own research!” She finally stands and approaches him, jabbing a finger into his chest. “And if you think that this is going to be how things are going to be for the next month, you’ve got another thing coming!”
There’s the faintest tug at one side of his mouth, like he’s amused. “Just don’t get in my way.”
“You’re already in mine, Vanderbee.”