Through the Wormhole

Chapter XVII: Senior Mop and Junior Bucket (Part Jurassic)

PPMC caught him. "You good, dude? Don't need you dropping dead on me."

What was Dan supposed to say—thank you? Gosh, please say he wasn't starting to like PPMC. Too shy to respond to her save, he released himself and hobbled to the windshield. His voice squeaked. "Wow."

PPMC crossed her arms. "Impressive, isn't it? Would you like to go to your room and change? Artificial gravity is on, so you don't have to worry about floating down the hallway."

"Um... sure." Dan's eyes landed on the compartment where she put his dad's gift.

Again, PPMC giggled. She opened the compartment and handed him the gift. "Here you go. Now, let's go."

They left the cockpit and found themselves in PPMC's main hallway. A line of windows was on their left, doors on their right. Each was labeled pool, lobby, kitchen, emergency compartment, etc. Dan had yet to see the inside of PPMC's emergency compartment. If something went wrong, they could travel to the emergency time period. Chenoa didn't say what it was, but Dan's curiosity bested him.

He stopped at one of the hallway's windows. Dan stared at the endless space and opened Ben's gift. Peering down, he saw he held a book. The 3000s was its title, and an image of a futuristic city adorned its cover.

"Aw, isn't that nice?" PPMC put her hands together. "Your dad knows you love books."

Dan didn't speak. He opened the book and watched the holographic pages appear before his face—the futuristic cities, robots, and utopian he called home. He wasn't supposed to feel regret. He was a man, for Pete's Sake!

Dan let his mind wander to his hook up and followed PPMC the rest of the way to his room.

She lowered his bed, TV, and dresser to the floor and went to grab his hoverboard and computer.

Meanwhile, after changing, Dan flipped through the book. He found a chapter about Greenville, South Carolina and read it carefully. It maintained its name over time because of the Valley of Green.

The Valley of Green—the last good memory of his mom. Dan dug his fossil out of his pocket and clutched it for comfort. He shut the book and looked out his window.

PPMC soon returned and questioned, "You okay, Dan?" She tossed his hoverscooter and computer onto his bed.

"I'm fine," Dan lied. He tried to think of the best time to sweet-talk PPMC into putting him in hypersleep and waved his hand. "You can go now."

"Go? I don't think so, Idiot." PPMC poked his chest. "We have four days of travel ahead of us, and you're not going to lay up and play Portals and Aliens."

Dan groaned. "What about my book?"

"You can write at night."

"But...!"

"No buts!" PPMC punched her left palm. "Welcome to Operation: Black Hole Boot Camp." She released a mop and bucket from Dan's closet and chucked them at him. "Senior Mop and Junior Bucket will be your best friends on this trip. Now, let's get started!"

Day One with PPMC could've gone better. Dan attempted to throw the mop and bucket aside, but she brought them back and made him wipe down her entire main hallway as punishment. Her hands watched him like a headless hawk the whole time he worked. What a stubborn starship, but Dan was just as difficult. He puffed out his chest to intimidate PPMC, but she didn't flinch and tossed Senior Mop into his arms again.

"I'm not the one researching geologic time," she cooed. "Chop, chop, Dan." She spent the rest of the day watching re-runs of 3001: A Space Odyssey.