sanguine
[ sang-gwin ]
adjective
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Craig
burst out of bed, with an annoyingly energetic smile on his face.
“Good
morning!” He called. “Isn’t it a lovely
day?”
He
headed to the viewing screen, taking a long, satisfied breath at the sight of
the sunrise. In the face of Craig’s
overwhelming optimism and energy, Leo was unjustly forced to open his
eyes. He let out a long groan and forced
himself into a mostly upright position.
Craig immediately
started his morning routine, whistling an upbeat tune the entire time. Leo forced himself to move, slumping out of
bed and trudging through the metal room the two of them occupied. He looked at the sunrise and sighed.
“What’s
so great about it? It’s just like every
other day since we got here.”
“Well,
just look at it. The sun is shining, the
birds are singing. Everything’s just so
beautiful.”
Leo
should have known better than to ask.
“Craig,
we’re a mile underground. That’s a video
of a sunrise. We haven’t seen the real
sun or heard a real bird in almost a year.”
“Well, yes,
but somewhere the sun is shining, and birds are singing. That’s good enough for me.”
Leo felt
a headache coming on that had nothing to do with the stale, recycled air they
were constantly breathing. How could
anyone be so infuriatingly happy all the time?
Craig was practically skipping as he got ready for the day. And that whistling. How could anyone stand it? How could anyone stand to make a sound like
that?
“Oh don’t
be such a downer.” Craig said. “We’re
alive, we’re healthy, we have a good thing going for us.”
“I’ll
give you the first two, but the third is up for debate. We’re stuck in a tiny underground room for another
four years, with only each other for company.
We get up, check the equipment, and that’s it. Seriously, what about our situation is good?”
“Lot’s
of things. We’re helping people. Advancing the cause of science. Working to make life better for everyone. How is that not a great thing? How can you be so glum knowing we’re doing something
so amazing?”
Leo
shuffled around the room to his workstation and slumped into his chair. The thing had started very comfortable, but
after a year of near constant use, it was starting to wear out. He cursed the government for using such cheap
seating.
“Sure
doesn’t feel important.” He muttered.
Craig
sat at his workstation with a smile constantly plastered to his face. “Just remember that it is, and you’ll be
fine. Just think about how many lives we’ll
be saving with this data. Think about
all the people that will know our names.
Think about it. We’re pretty much
heroes at this point.”
“Craig,
nobody remembers the grunts that do the work.
They remember the people who were in charge.”
“Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin beg to differ.”
“Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin beg to differ.”
“We’re
not astronauts. Also, do you remember
any of the other people on those missions?” Leo asked. Craig was silent. For a moment, Leo thought his partner’s
cheerful face cracked. “That’s what I
thought.”
“Look,
just do your job, think about the good things, and keep your chin up. That’s what I do, and it’s been doing wonders
for both of us.”
“Yeah,
right. You keep telling yourself that.”
As the
two men got to work, silence reigned.
That was broken only by a quiet muttering from Leo.
“They
could’ve at least given us an internet connection.”
**********************************************
An internet connection or more than two people would be great in that situation, don't you think? Even someone like me, who generally doesn't hang out with people too often needs at least some social interaction, you know?
An internet connection or more than two people would be great in that situation, don't you think? Even someone like me, who generally doesn't hang out with people too often needs at least some social interaction, you know?
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