#233 - Surprise! Your mother is at the door -- and at a most inopportune moment! Now what?
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget.
The President was on Galactica for her treatment. I was preparing a press release over some mundane topic and tasked two aides to prepare the President’s notes for the next Quorum meeting. The two of them burst into laughter.
I looked up. “I didn’t know that water rations were that funny.”
Ben grinned at me. “No, Miss Foster.”
“Care to let me in on the joke?”
Elizabeth blushed. “No, Miss Foster.”
“I think you should, Elizabeth,” Ben said with a snicker. “I think she’d love to hear about your drunken university exploits.”
“Ben!”
I grinned.
“Actually, Miss Foster,” Ben grinned, “I’d rather hear about your drinking stories.”
One of the many things President Roslin has taught me was that I needed to not constantly push the staff. She has that innate ability all good teachers possess to know when to push and when to take a break. I’m still learning that. I’d rather push than take a break, but it seemed like a good point to stop.
“Well, Ben,” I started as the two exchanged a look. They couldn’t quite believe that I was going to do this. “My eighteenth birthday occurred during my first year at university, my roommates decided that I was going to have to get drunk for the first time in my life. My birthday fell on the last day of classes for the week and that night they threw a party for me.
“Let’s just say, I don’t remember much about that night. They kept giving me something that was pink but tasted delicious in a bright yellow cup. I think there was music and I have the vaguest memory of water - perhaps a sprinkler - and I think a late night run for Leonese food. But that’s about all I remember.
“I woke up in the morning, somehow miraculously in my own dorm room, face down on the floor, wearing nothing but a bra and a pair of shorts. My head was pounding and the room was still spinning. After awhile, I figured out that the pounding in my head was also knocking at the door. I pulled myself up and stumbled to the door. And there stood my mom and dad who came to surprise me for my birthday.”
“What did you do?” Elizabeth asked.
“I ran to the bathroom and threw up.”
“No offense, Miss Foster,” Ben said, “but that’s a really lame drunken exploit.”
“We all can’t be adventurous as the two of you. Besides, I have a reputation to maintain.” I looked at my watch. “Can you two spare a few minutes to finish those notes before you go to the mess?”
They nodded and I returned to writing. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget it was all a lie.
Tory Foster
Battlestar Galactica
465 words