It's been a few days since the new kid came aboard, and I'm pleased that my initial take on him was accurate. He's enthusiastic, almost cutely so, but at the same time he's not the naive greenhorn I first took him for. He's earned his stripes one way or another, and learned more than a bit of subterfuge in the process. Several times he's caught me in a false assumption, correcting my presumption with that crooked little smirk and goodnatured challenge in his eyes. It's a balance to the frequent necessity, as he gets used to life on the Galleon, that I show him the ropes and rules.
Not like I'm going to give him any ideas about the pecking order - I outrank him, and that's that - but he's not dead weight, far from it, and he's done nothing to upset the relationship between AkaRed and myself. Far from it - with Marvey-chan to tease, I've got a safe target for my 'authority issues' and have found myself treading delicate ground with AkaRed much less frequently. I can appreciate that.
He's developed a habit of hovering just outside the galley doors while I cook meals. I'm not an extraordinary cook, but I'm willing to try (unlike AkaRed) and unlikely to kill us with culinary disasters (unlike the kid). And I have thumbs - which Navi lacks - so really, it's me or we starve.
Regardless of the quality of my cooking, I am the cook - and I've learned this gives me an additional bit of leverage over the kid. I'm just waiting for the day AkaRed gives me a really unsavory task, so I can start calibrating Marvey-chan's food-to-bribes exchange rate. I'm going to bet it's skewed in my favor.
I'm facing the range, grilling some vegetables to toss in with tonight's noodles, when I hear the click of his boot passing the doorway. Leaning backward, I grin over my shoulder at him. "Hey, Marvey, hand me that spice, willya?" I gesture at the spice rack with my chin, both hands busy tossing the skillet's contents so it doesn't burn. "That light yellow-brown one."
[A few days later.]
Not like I'm going to give him any ideas about the pecking order - I outrank him, and that's that - but he's not dead weight, far from it, and he's done nothing to upset the relationship between AkaRed and myself. Far from it - with Marvey-chan to tease, I've got a safe target for my 'authority issues' and have found myself treading delicate ground with AkaRed much less frequently. I can appreciate that.
He's developed a habit of hovering just outside the galley doors while I cook meals. I'm not an extraordinary cook, but I'm willing to try (unlike AkaRed) and unlikely to kill us with culinary disasters (unlike the kid). And I have thumbs - which Navi lacks - so really, it's me or we starve.
Regardless of the quality of my cooking, I am the cook - and I've learned this gives me an additional bit of leverage over the kid. I'm just waiting for the day AkaRed gives me a really unsavory task, so I can start calibrating Marvey-chan's food-to-bribes exchange rate. I'm going to bet it's skewed in my favor.
I'm facing the range, grilling some vegetables to toss in with tonight's noodles, when I hear the click of his boot passing the doorway. Leaning backward, I grin over my shoulder at him. "Hey, Marvey, hand me that spice, willya?" I gesture at the spice rack with my chin, both hands busy tossing the skillet's contents so it doesn't burn. "That light yellow-brown one."