MCYT RANDOMNESS 2

Natural/artificial

3rd Convex week oneshot! 

Someone knocks on the window.

I frown, looking over from my laptop to where a rather cheerful guy is beaming at me through the glass. He adjusts his battered hat, waving with one dirt-caked hand. For a moment, I consider just continuing with the astrophysics essay I've been working tirelessly on, but the uniqueness of this situation, paired with just how happy this guy looks, means I can't. Instead, I cross to the window and open it.

'Hello? Do you need help with something?'

'Oh! Hello there! Sorry, I'm not used to people actually responding to me knocking at their windows.'

'Do you need help?' I repeat.

'Oh, no, no. I'm just curious. And I could actually reach your window from my wheelchair... the floor in there's lower down than out here. I think. Or you've got really short legs.' I have to laugh at the gardener's rambling. He gives a little giggle back. 'So... What's this big building you've got here? What are you doing?'

'This is the university. I'm a professor of astrophysics'

'Oh, sweet! What's your name?'

'Cubfan Vex. Cub.'

'Cub. I like that! I'm Scar, a gardener, sent to help on this big garden out here. What astrophysics do you do? What are you working on now?'

'Star formation, mostly.' I explain. 'Right now, I'm working on an essay explaining my findings for this big space journal.'

'Oooh! I love space! Have you ever seen any of the Star Wars films?'

'I've seen the one with the little green guy. Yoda?'

'Empire Strikes Back?'

'Maybe? I dunno, I don't really watch much sci fi. But I did like that one.'

'Well you have to watch Star Wars. The original trilogy, a lot of the other stuff, some of the modern series, you don't want to watch those. Terrible things have been done to them, Cub. But the original series?'

'Oh for goodness- you're talking about Star Wars?!' another gardener questions. Soon they come into sight, wiping their sandy hands off on their red sweater. 'I'm so sorry about Scar, he's obsessed... come on, buddy, we need to finish planting cacti.'

'I'm on break, though!'

'They're not! And your break ended 5 minutes ago.'

'Cub's happy to talk!'

'Come on.'

'Fine... bye, Cub. Sorry for disturbing you.'

'I don't mind, man. Lovely to meet you... bye!'

'Bye!'

Scar disappears and I close the window.

'Dude, do you ever rest?!' questions Doc, one of my fellow professors, as we discuss my completed paper, a few days after meeting Scar. 'You mad lad really wrote 15,000 words in 3 days?!'

'I just really liked the project.'

'How many breaks did you take? None of us have seen you much in a while. You've been on your own a lot since-'

'I took breaks.' I interrupt.

'Really?' Doc sounds sceptical. 'How long were your breaks? What did you do on your breaks?'

'Dude, Doc, I'm fine. I just really got into a rhythm with writing. It's a fascinating topic I was discussing, so I managed to write a lot about it in a short time.'