Why not? - English

11-04 Monster Mania

What a day!

The rescue of Norman from Joe's submarine was one of the most upsetting events we had ever had. How could the boy still outdo himself with his daring and stupid actions?

Then there was the argument between Ellie and Elvis thanks to the morning news, which had shown footage of yesterday's mission and caused Ellie to rebel in frustration because they were interviewing Elvis with his floppy shovel instead of Penny, who had been at the front and put out the main fire.

I got her out of the situation perfectly and I had never wanted to wash Jupiter as much as I did today. She had been so uncomfortable with how Ellie had argued with Elvis. I immediately felt the need to protect her.

I still didn't understand what had happened to Ellie. In our profession it wasn't about who was at the forefront of the news or who was allowed to give the interview. The only thing that mattered was that we completed the mission successfully and that everyone was safe and sound. Just like Penny said.

But it was worth submitting Norman's video to the news station. The team had all been thrilled that Penny was finally getting the credit she deserved and seeing her so embarrassed had not only made my heart swell, no, I would now also have something to tease her with.

If only there hadn't been a shot of that huge tail fin on the video. Knowing that there was something in the lake that could have been a danger to Penny made my hair stand on end with sheer fear.

"Are you okay, Sam?" a voice interrupted me from my thoughts and I looked up in shock at Penny, who had put a hand on my shoulder but, to my chagrin, was now pulling it away, frightened by my reaction. "Sorry, I Didn't want to scare you."

"You didn't. I was just thinking. Norman's intention to go back to the lake scares me more than the monster itself," I objected and watched as she went back to the kitchen.

"Then it's a good thing that Steele gave us a double shift," she replied with a smile as she came back with two cups and handed one to me. Instead of the expected tea, to my surprise there was cocoa in it.

"Cocoa? How come? It's not winter yet," I said in surprise as she sat down next to me and took a sip of hers.

"Cocoa is a good drink to relax even in summer."

"And we need to relax because...?" I left the sentence unfinished. Something was going on inside her, but I didn't want to poke too hard lest I push her away. She sighed quietly, staring into her cup while I just waited.

"As a child, whenever I fell or something else bothered me, my mother would wrap me in my blanket and make me some cocoa. It's stupid, but it brings back that cozy feeling from before whenever I'm in that mood."

"And...what mood would that be?"

"I just had a long conversation with Ellie before she left, and I think you should know about it too," she began hesitantly, taking another deep breath before continuing. "She had a difficult time at the academy. Because she's...well...a woman. That's why she freaked out today when they showed Elvis and not me."

"I thought she had a problem with Elvis himself," I admitted, a little relieved. If there were arguments among colleagues, it always had a negative impact on the entire team.

"That's what I thought at first. She confessed to me that she was very skeptical at the beginning when you put Elvis in charge in the storm, but that he clearly showed that he was up to it. She likes Elvis, though She can't always take him seriously either."

"Who can do that when he has his scatterbrained moments again," I replied with a smile and we both laughed briefly. "But his heart is in the right place and he always does his job perfectly when he's deployed."