An unofficial check in

Posted on Sun Jul 19th, 2020 @ 6:55pm by Cole Gunnison & Ensign Elaine Goff

Cole found things to be a bit quiet at home with his dad gone on the away mission. Cole went to school, did his homework, got in some running on the holodeck (in a forested area that was one of the programs he was allowed to use on his own), returned to his quarters, showered and put on clean clothes, and had dinner (and yes, making sure to eat his vegetables, since he knew his dad was in a good position to check the food replicator logs to make sure of that, although Cole sometimes wondered why - from what admittedly little he understood about food replicator technology, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility to program it to produce something that looked, felt, smelled, and tasted just like a big piece of chocolate cake but that had all the nutritional benefits of a large salad with a side of fresh fruit).

He decided to head to the Raging Deity. Entering, he took a spot in one corner at an empty table and pulled out a padd containing the latest book he was reading, an Andorian tale from the tail end of its pre-First Contact era.

He got milkshake from one of the waiter and had just started reading when someone said, "Hey, there, Cole."

He looked up to see Counselor Goff sliding into the chair across from him. "Hello, Counselor."

"Just got off duty, and I imagine your dad told me that he wanted me to check up on you now and then while he's gone,."

"Yeah," Cole said, rolling his eyes a bit.

Goff gave a short chuckle, in such a way that let Cole know that she was laughing with him and not at him. "I know - you feel you're too old for a babysitter, right?"

"A little bit," Cole admitted. "I mean, on one hand I can kind of understand where my dad's coming from, but on the other hand, I'm almost 12! I think I can take care of myself for a little while. After all, it's not like any of the adults around here are going to let me get into any real mischief."

"Well, I don't know about that," Goff replied with a twinkle in her eye. "I might be persuaded to turn a blind eye now and again...but only if I get to come along!"

Cole smiled at that. "I'll have to think about that," he said.

"I can understand your frustration, though," she said. "While it's true you're not a grown-up yet, you're not really a little kid any more, either. You're kind of stuck in an in-between place. It's kind of annoying, because no one really knows what to do with you, sometimes not even you."

"Exactly," Cole agreed. "You know, you're a pretty good counselor."

"Why, thank you, kind sir," she replied. "Though you do have to keep in mind that I was a kid once, too. Some of this is coming from personal experience." She glanced around in a conspiratorial way. "Just keep in mind, though, no matter what some of my family members might try to tell you, I was an absolute model child who never, ever got into any trouble." She put on an innocent 'Who, me?' face.

Cole couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh, of course not," he said. "I can't imagine why anyone would ever think otherwise."

"Right," she said, getting up. "Now, don't let me interrupt your reading there, at least not any more than I already have. On a bit of a serious note just before I go, don't forget about your appointment with me tomorrow."

"I won't," Cole said.