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Suzie sat down on the couch, tapping her pencil against her notebook. She had written a piece of code, and even finishing it off this morning, something about it didn’t seem right. She wanted to nail it before trying it out officially. The cabin was quiet and still, as all of her cabin mates had left early to do some experiment on the front lawn.
She had just erased her last section, attempting it again, when there was a knock on the door.
Odd. Her cabin mates always just walked in; they wouldn’t take the time to knock.
Who was at the door before lunch?
She walked carefully to the door and opened it to reveal her Dustin. Her face broke out in a bright smile. “Dusty-Bun? It’s hardly eight. We said we’d meet for lunch.” She was sure it was still morning and hadn’t gotten caught up in coding for hours.
It was what they agreed on the day before as they finished out their late night science lecture. It had been on the history of Planck's Constant, which both of them knew plenty about, so they passed the time working more on Cerebro in the workshop.
“I know,” he sighed, frowning.
Suzie caught his face as he frowned, looking sadder than just his light teasing.
He bit his lip. “Do you mind if I just hang here for a bit?”
Suzie studied Dustin, noticing how tired he looked. “Okay, sure.” She opened the door for him, and even his walk looked heavier. “Did you not get any sleep? Is it Cerebro?”
“I thought the dials could use some adjusting, but I thought I’d run the idea by you today before really giving it thought,” she went on. She had caught it last night and forgot to ask about it before leaving.
Dustin nodded wordlessly and sat heavily on the couch, mumbling a half-committed, “Yeah, that sounds good.” He rubbed his eyes.
“Dusty-Bun?” Suzie sat next to him, worried. “What’s going on?’
For what felt like endless minutes, Dustin said nothing. Suzie carefully sat next to him, sharing in his silence, only adjusting her sitting so she had one leg crossed under her. Then, she placed a hand on Dustin’s knee.
A few minutes later, Dustin’s hand slid over hers.
“I just didn’t think I’d miss them, ya know?” he started, still staring at the ceiling. “But it’s been more than a week and we hang out everyday.” He shook his head, blinking to hide his suddenly wet eyes. He looked down at his hand on hers instead of meeting her eyes.
It took a minute for Suzie to understand but once she did, she curled her hand around Dustin’s and held it tight. “You’re talking about Mike, Lucas, and Will,” she said slowly.
Dustin nodded.
“You talked about them when you first got here,” she continued. “It sounds like you all do some pretty amazing stuff. And how far do your walkies reach?”
“Over a hundred feet,” Dustin answered quickly. “And sometimes, if we’re going to be on the bikes all day, you can tie them on the front and radio as you ride.” He smiled. “It’s pretty cool.”
“I’ll bet. What will they think of Cerebro?”
Dustin sat up and met her eyes. Under the slight sadness, she could see his eyes begin to dance with excitement. “Well, Mike will probably want to try and call the furthest place he can think of, like Saturn, and Lucas would definitely say we should. Will…” He paused to think. “Will would probably be able to make the radio call Saturn. He’s pretty good with knowing how things work.”
Suzie smiled. “If you can call Saturn, you better call me first,” she said seriously.
Dustin nodded vigorously. “Of course. I’ll call you every day,” he assured.
Suzie smiled at that and then dropped her voice to a whisper. “You know the first night I was here, I didn’t sleep at all?”
Dustin looked at her quizzically. “Really?”
She nodded. “The bed felt new and different, and it’s pretty loud at home.” She glanced around the empty cabin, the silence slightly lighter than before. “It’s different here, and it’s normal to feel homesick.”
Dustin nodded slowly. “It’s different to do things without them, ya know?”
“Exactly. They’re your friends. Of course you miss them.” Suzie pulled Dustin in for a hug, glad that he returned it and leaned against her shoulder.
“It feels silly sometimes,” he said, his voice muffled against her shirt. “Like I’m a baby.”
“Well, homesickness is very common. So really, a lot of us would be babies if you thought like that.”
“That’s true.” He sat up slowly and wiped his eyes. “Thanks Suzie-Poo.”
“You’re welcome, Dustin-Bun.”