“Grow damn you.” Toni gave the wilting plant a stern look, hoping she could somehow revive it with a little tough love. Paul had said something weeks ago, about talking and plants, but she hadn’t been paying attention.

Not that Paul ever held her attention; if it had been Joey, well… No, actually she wouldn’t have been paying attention then either. Hydroponics, no matter how enthusiastically presented, was just not thrilling.

She toyed with the idea of simply encasing the dammed thing in plastic, but was pretty sure that would get her an automatic Failure. If she ever did get assigned to a scoutship, she vowed to pack nothing that wasn’t already canned.