CONVEX

4: The Bartender

For the first time in years, Dr. Jeremy Miles regrets getting a biochemistry degree. If anything, needs more of a background in geophysics to understand the seismic shifts underneath Redwood.

Jeremy barely notices the tremors at first. When the street lights across the street start to rattle, the former professor tries to cross a lowercase "t" on a thin sheet of notebook paper. He tries to go over his sentence one more time until he realizes-

Jeremy's eyes go wide.

Before Dr. Miles finds the time to turn around and shout at Hector to get out of the camper, the ground starts to shift. Instead, in a desperate act to protect his lab equipment, the Jeremy throws himself over the picnic table to hold his microscope firmly in place. The ground rattles the whole table, causing one of the legs to collapse and sending the biochemist tumbling to the ground.

The earthquake ends as quickly as it starts, leaving Jeremy hyperventilating on the ground with a heavy microscope on his chest in the middle of the day.

When Hector emerges from the camper, he comes out with a distinct lump on his head and a couple of scratches on his face. He promptly spits in his hand and smears it on the cuts.

Jeremy to wrinkle his nose in disgust at the sight and pulls himself off the ground.

"Get over here," Jeremy says. He brushes off his lab coat with both his hands after setting the microscope down. "I've got a first aid kit."

Jeremy stands up to pull the first aid kit out of a duffle bag strategically placed next to the table.  When he placed the first aid kit on the hood of the camper, Dr. Miles almost snarls when it refuses to open. Jeremy's hands continue to tremble, preventing him from opening the latch right away. Eventually, after fumbling with the latch for half a minute, the biochemist manages to break the plastic latch open to pull out some antibiotic ointment and bandages.

"Come on, Sunshine," Hector replies, "It's nothing a little spit won't fi-"

"Don't you dare!" Jeremy snaps, "Just get over here!"

Hector, clearly taken aback by Jeremy's outburst, decides to approach the biochemist after a bit of hesitation. When Jeremy reaches over to treat Hector's wounds, Hector instinctively winces at every "no sting" alcohol swab on his chin until he actually reads the label in Jeremy's hand. When Hector studies Jeremy's fingers, he finally notices the shake in the biochemist's hands.

"You're shaking," Hector points out.

Jeremy doesn't reply. Instead, he presses a little too hard when he puts a couple of small band-aids on Hector's chin.

Hector doesn't need to look in the mirror to know he looks ridiculous. He reaches up to peel the bandages away until Jeremy grabs his hand. The biochemist holds it firmly in place, and Hector winces a bit from the pressure.

"Don't," Jeremy warns, "You scratch your chin all the time. Don't touch it." The biochemist pulls his hand away to finish cleaning up the cuts on his face.

In times like these, Hector doesn't know how to react to Jeremy's stern behavior. He stares at Jeremy's hands again and thinks, 'The guy's a trembling mess, and here he's busy worrying about-'

Hector reaches the edge of a profound realization. He promptly opens his mouth and says, "You're worried about me."

Jeremy goes still.

"I'm not worried," Jeremy says after a couple seconds of silence. He tosses his supplies haphazardly in the first aid kit and sticks his hands in his pockets. For the most part, his hands start to stabilize. He refuses to look at Hector when he replies to him, though. Instead, Jeremy blinks five or six times before he focuses on the glassware on the ground.