Survival Of The Fittest

“Ah, excellent, I can’t afford to replace it!” Marshall said, beaming.

The dizziness was quickly fading. Marshall had taken his fair share of falls in the past, few of which had left him seriously injured, and this one seemed much in the same realm. A little achey. A little dizzy. But his head wasn’t what hurt, so the dizziness must have just been from the disorientation of leaving the tree.

“If you think that is correct, I will continue to lie down! But the dizziness is fading! I believe the worst has passed! Thank you for your diligence in taking care of me!” Marshall said brightly. “If only you took such care of yourself!”

He did obediently continue to lie on the floor, despite the urge to get up and start moving. He felt that movement would make the ache go away.

“This is not my finest moment,” he admitted cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Constance said, appreciated Marshall's gratitude while still being annoyed at his idiocy. He almost gave her a damn heart attack flopping out of that tree onto his head. She truly gawked at him after his next exclamation, however.

"Not your finest moment? You fall out of a tree and almost give yourself a serious injury and that's your reaction?" She aimed a dumbfounded glare at him. How he could be so damn chipper after knocking his brain around was beyond incomprehensible. She shook her head.

"Alright. If you aren't dizzy anymore then it's probably okay for you to walk around again." Constance leaned over and reached to grab his hand. "Still, just in case you feel dizzy when you stand, I'm gonna help pull you up, alright?"

If one really perked their ears, they may have been able to hear her mutter the word imbécile under her breath.

“What’s strange about my reaction?” Marshall asked. “I acknowledge that I could have hurt myself, but I’ve learned my lesson about waving my hands about in trees with minimal sacrifice! It’s a best-case scenario!” He sat up with what might have seemed like a jolt to others. “Embarrassing, but otherwise harmless!”

This mistake, after all, hadn’t resulted in anyone bursting into tears, or scarred his academic history and ruined his chances at a good college, or any such possibilities.

He raised his hand for Constance to grasp. “Of course, it’s best to be prudent! Be careful if I fumble! I’m quite heavy!”

He didn’t manage to hear Constance’s muttering over the sound of his own voice.

“Hup!” And he was on his feet again, doing experimental squats to ensure that he was in working order. After a moment, he started working one of his arms and stretching his shoulder, which had (thankfully, given that the alternative was his head) taken a brunt of the blow. “All good!”