I Think We're Alone Now

Ch. 15: Invested Interest

        Marilyn yawns on the floor. She's unsure how much longer she'll stay awake, but she must be present. Just a glimmer of consciousness is all it will take. Marilyn's head falls to the side, as she dozes off. Loki gently nudges her, disturbing her sleep.

Marilyn nods, "thanks."

She rests her head on the desk, to preserve energy. Sweet sleep creeps back up on her.

"Not falling asleep, are you?" Miss Minutes asks, with a sweet little smile, that surely hides the most evil intentions.

"Hmm?" Marilyn looks up.

The coffee pot is completely busted up. With no hope of recovery, they must wait for a new one. It's out for shipping, but the estimated time of arrival is no less than a fortnight away! Marilyn longs to slumber. She'd find her place of deep rest. When she woke, she and the coffee pot would be redeemed.

Marilyn's determined to focus on the task at hand. Watching the videos. It would be simple, if the characters didn't pop out of the screen and scold her.

"Aren't you paying attention?" Miss Minutes chides.

Marilyn flashes her a smile, "you bet I am!" and continues snooziling about.

Miss Minutes suggests, "you could sit up on a chair."

"I could." Marilyn agrees.

"Can I help you find one?"

Devilish. Little. Clock. "I think I'm actually good."

"Think about it! You could be upright and alert, if only you'd try out a chair..."

Marilyn's happy on the floor. She's taken all the pillows and made herself a nice, cushy spot. On her side, head resting in palm, she attempts to focus on the display. If only it were more interesting, then she might, well, take an interest. Duh.

"How are you doing, down there?" Loki peers over her.

Marilyn flashes a thumbs up.

"I think I found something," Loki shares.

"Cool."

"You might have invested interest."

"Will it require much energy?"

Loki squats down and snatches a pillow.

"Hey," Marilyn protests.

She doesn't budge.

"It's tea," Loki reveals, "I found tea, stashed away in the cupboard. It's gotta be pretty old by no, nut..."

"So, you found old tea?"

"Caffeine. There's caffeine in tea."

Marilyn's suddenly excited, "coming," she says. "I don't know why you left out that last detail."

"Me neither," Loki bonks her with the pillow and tosses it aside.

Miss Minutes is throwing around some potentially offensive words, but there isn't much she can do. Unless she wants to go full throttle...Miss Minutes lets it slide. Thank goodness, Marilyn's breath lightens up.

"Do you think this is microwavable?" Loki wonders.

"I don't know, flip it over," Marilyn shrugs.

"This print is so tiny...I can barely see."

"Let me take a look."

"Are the results in?"

"Yep. It's all clear."

Marilyn fills the cup to the brim and puts it in the microwave. The heating process begins.

"And now we wait."

Soon enough, they've got warmish cups of green tea. She's delighted.

Authors note

Short, fluffy chapter. Hope you liked it!