Chapter 11 #2
But even if she retreated into the far corner and didn’t touch a thing, she would still be close enough to affect the circuitry. Plus how would she explain to Scottie why she couldn’t be the one to do something so simple?
Finally, she brushed her fingers along the metal handrail before pressing the emergency button.
A crackle of static burst from the speakers. “T my shoes and the elevator floor aren’t friends either.”
Scottie abstained from jokes about the sparks between them, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. “That’s okay. Small price to pay for getting half of the granola bar. The ones with chunks of dark chocolate are my favorite.”
“Mine too,” Willow said, sounding less guilty or embarrassed now.
They both dug in as if they hadn’t eaten all day, which was true in Scottie’s case.
When the last crumb of the granola bar was gone, Willow opened the Oreos. But instead of handing Scottie one, she set the pack on their impromptu picnic blanket. “Help yourself.”
Scottie didn’t have to be told twice. She immediately reached for a cookie.
Willow followed suit and lifted an Oreo to her lips, about to take a bite.
“Whoa, wait!” Scottie lifted a hand to stop her.
Willow froze, the treat half an inch from her mouth. “What is it? Something wrong with the cookie?”
“No, just with your way of eating it.”
Frowning, Willow lowered the Oreo. “Uh…open mouth, insert cookie, chew, swallow, repeat?”
“That’s what the uninitiated think. But there’s only one right way to eat an Oreo—a technique perfected to maximize enjoyment, and handed down through generations.” Scottie put on her most dignified expression.
“Everyone knows the superior way to eat Oreos is dunking them in milk,” Willow said.
Scottie eyed Willow’s now considerably less bulging purse. “Don’t tell me you packed some.”
“What?” Willow huffed. “No, I’m not walking around with a pint of milk in my bag!”
“Shame,” Scottie said. “But even if we had milk, my method would still elevate the Oreo to its full potential.”
Willow waved her hand with the cookie. “Please enlighten me, oh Yoda of Oreo Wisdom.”
“First, you split it in halves. But you don’t pull.
The trick is to twist them apart. Like this.
” As if unveiling the steps of a sacred ritual, Scottie separated the sandwich cookie into two perfect halves, one plain, one with a smooth layer of cream.
“Then you eat the plain side.” She popped it into her mouth and chewed happily.
“I’ve seen people do that,” Willow said. “And then you eat the other side, right?”
“Not yet. Patience. What’s so special about this Oreo-eating technique is that you get to enjoy the cream by itself.” Scottie scraped it off with her teeth, letting the sweet vanilla aroma spread over her tongue before eating the other half of the cookie. “See? Try it.”
Willow gripped the two halves of her cookie and twisted them apart, her fingers nimble and her expression as focused as it had been when they had worked on the printer. When she scraped the cream off with her teeth, a tiny bit clung to her top lip, and she licked it off.
Scottie averted her gaze. “So, what’s the verdict?”
“Not bad,” Willow said. “But I think I need a second cookie to confirm the superiority of your method.”
Scottie took a second one for herself too. “Can’t argue with a scientific approach.”
They made their way through most of the package that way, their movements mirroring each other.
Around the third cookie, Scottie realized her heart had settled into a steady beat.
She was leaning back against the elevator wall, legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankles, as if they were having a picnic on a sunny meadow.
“Something wrong?” Willow asked. “You have a weird look on your face.”
“No, everything’s fine. That’s what put that look on my face. I feel fine. The walls of the elevator have stopped closing in, and I haven’t even glanced at my watch or felt the urge to check in with the maintenance team in at least ten minutes.”
“That’s great. I concede to the superiority of your sacred Oreo-eating technique. It worked like a charm.”
Scottie nodded and smiled, but she knew the cookies were only a small part of what had gotten her to relax.