Sketching Chapter 1
1
And So It Started With a Dream
"So, what's your story?" How come such a simple question can get me so thoughtful? Every time somebody asks me that, I start to wonder things like, "What's my story?" or "How did it start?" People love to hear about my first boyfriend Gerald so much that I just please them by saying, "Why, it was Gerald, of course!" And then move on from that point on, but no, I don't think that's right; that of course was a very defining period of my life, but my story doesn't start there, just a little bit further; to the time where I had already parted ways with him, to be more specific, but not specific enough. . . I'm looking for something more personal, more of an experience that now defines me and only me, and who I am right now. . . Oh, so many years ago.
I think I got it.
*
I found myself in a neutral state, not being able to move any muscle in my entire body; yet I didn't try to move any of them either. It was like for the very first time in my young fourteen years, that I was in absolute peace; both with my mind and body, like a state of meditation where you're not awake nor asleep; just perfect . . . Well, neutral. But unfortunately, it didn't last long. After what felt like a very pleasant eternity of peace, my senses became aware once again. And there, things got stranger.
I started to really feel my body once again; from toes, to tail, to head. Everything was in the right place. I lightly grumbled as I twitched my nose, and gently rubbed my closed eyes with my knuckles. But it wasn't the only thing that brushed against my face, no; there was the wind filled with the intoxicating scent of newly bloomed pre-spring flowers, the same flowers that were surrounding all around me. There is where I realized I was lying down on the ground, with my arms spread to my sides as well as my legs stretching long as my tail curled in between them.
As soon as my sensitive vulpine nostrils detected the sweet scent. I started to slowly open my heavy eyelids, as my eyes began to adjust to the intense and warm sunlight that was hitting right against me. Sunlight? I thought as I became aware that I wasn't in my room anymore; I was quite slow to process it. Just when I connected myself with reality again, in a quick movement, I sat up as my eyes opened wide and a gasp of wonder escaped from my throat. _Where the hell am I! _I looked around as I supported myself with my arms on the ground behind me.
I couldn't help myself to stare in pure wonder what surrounded me; tulips. Yellow, blooming tulips, covering the whole plain, creating an ocean of bright yellow as far as my eyes could reach. But just behind a rather taller hill, there stood a series of mighty, stark and huge mountains, covered with a layer of white snow above them, but on top of all of the mountains and the flowers, there was the most precious sky I had seen in my life; a whole canvas of blue and nothing more but the flaming, warm sun. I stared in the direction of the mountains for a while, digesting all the beautiful images my eyes were perceiving in that very moment. I just smiled like a fool, at least, that's how I felt.
As soon as I realized that I was doing nothing but stare, I quickly looked down to see my body, to see if everything was in order; and fortunately, it was. "Snout? Check. Ears? Check. Arms? Legs? Paws? Check. Tail? Check." Everything was in order, except that I wasn't wearing the pajamas I had put on, instead, I wore a crimson sweater and a pair of blue jeans. I didn't mind that very much, I just stood up, lifted my head, and let the wind run throughout my fur, and let more of that sweet aroma into my nostrils. I took a deep, long breath as I got in as much as my lungs could hold, and the breeze brushed me gently. That feeling that the wind inflicts me is one of the best things I could ever feel; it is like being kissed by nature itself.
After I sunk it all in, I decided to walk towards the mountains that stood before me; I knew it would take me long, but I didn't mind at all, the only thing I cared about was to explore that unknown and seemingly uninhabited land.
There were hours of walking, or at least, it felt like it when I reached a point where I said to myself as I heavily panted with my tongue hanging out of my muzzle, "Enough..." I closed my eyes for a moment and knelt down to the ground. I was already too exhausted to keep going. I desperately wanted to keep moving on, but it felt like if the mountains had not come any closer to me.
In that moment, I felt the heat of the sun become weaker. I opened my eyes, and saw a huge shadow around me, but it was when I heard the rustling of leaves against the wind when I realized I was under a tree. A huge and magnificent oak tree, with its log sprouting from the ground behind me, and the branches, covered with thousands of green leaves spreading to the sides, protecting me from the intense sunlight. I grinned, and decided to take a brief break. The heat had already exhausted me quite enough, but I didn't sweat at all, it was too weird, I even touched my chest under my shirt, but the white fur wasn't damp or anything.
I laid my back against the sturdy and hard log, put my arms carelessly behind my head, and closed my eyes to let the wind do its magic once again. It was life; it was like the state of meditation I mentioned a little before: full peace. Nothing could bother or harm me, everything was as calm and quiet as a library. But even the best library in the world wasn't any better than that landscape was. Or at least, until I felt a presence standing before me. I didn't pay much attention to it, I was so deep in my thoughts to even open my eyes. Until I felt something running over my stomach, under my shirt; it was a paw. Now that made me open my eyes widely, and the next thing I saw was the face of a white cat; he quickly approached his muzzle to mine, and locked us in a deep, long and warm kiss. I was about to push him away, but it felt so good that doing so would have been something stupid; I gave up to him and just let him go on with it as I closed my eyes and my tongue played with his, making little and slow wet sounds. But as soon as he moved away, I opened my eyes, and instead of seeing those green, dazzling eyes, and that white fur in front of me, I saw the white ceiling of my own room. I quickly sat up again and looked around to see that I indeed was back in my room; everything was there. My bed right against the wall, facing the half-opened door. My desk just below the wooden framed window on the left wall, which let little rays of light from the outside lampposts. Then I looked down to see my body, to see if everything was in place, and said, "Head? Check. Arms? Legs? Paws? Check. Tail? Check." Then I held the navy blue covers of my bed and pulled them closer to my chest as I let out a long sigh and said to myself quietly, "Just a dream." Then I laid back down, closed my eyes and waited to fall asleep again. There was school the next day.
*
I was awoken the next morning by my mother's blender machine (That damned 800w blender), it meant that she was doing breakfast, but the blender had so much power that the sound of it could easily break through the walls! And it is even worse when you are a fox, a gray fox, to be accurate. Anyhow, as soon as the sharp sound of the machine struck against my sensitive ears, I half-opened my eyes with a long, loud and tired yawn; then, I stood up from my bed, picked out some clean underwear from my closet, and made my way towards the bathroom. Walking down the hallway, I could hear my mom yell at me from the kitchen downstairs, "Kryne! You awake yet?" I stopped walking and stood there for a couple of seconds, until I approached the stairs, and yelled, "Yes! I'm gonna take a shower!" To which she responded, "Don't take too long!"
I locked myself in the bathroom, turned the shower valve, and waited for the water to get warmer as I looked to the gray fox in the mirror, he looked back at me with his tired violet and blue eyes. I saw him frown slightly, probably at my very messy sand-gray and white fur, patched up with some brick red fur spreading from the back of my head. With a sigh, I started to strip down my navy blue pajamas and underwear, and tossed them into the laundry basket lying under the sink. I looked to the fox in the mirror once again, and stared at his body, the one I see every day. He had a nice body; flat chest,stomach, decently toned arms, and slightly broad shoulders. Resting my white paws on the cold sink, I looked straight into the other fox's eyes, and said, "You look pretty," Pathetic, Lame, Stupid, were just some of the words flying around in my head, fighting to escape through my muzzle; they didn't fight hard enough this time, so, I just left it at that, nodded my head with an almost invisible grin forming on my lips, and finally got into the shower.
As thousands and thousands drops of water fell strongly right against my face and shoulders, I closed my eyes and began to gently brush the fur of my chest with shampoo on my claws, and the memory of that cat began to flood my head. Thinking about him unsettled me a little, something felt wrong about it; not the fact that it was totally a guy, believe me, that was not unsettling at all for me. There was something else about it that wasn't quite right; that cat, he actually had a familiar face.
After finishing my shower, I got back to my room to get dressed with blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red sweater, after that, I walked down the stairs and turned left to the kitchen, where a plate of yoghurt with green grapes were waiting for me as well as a cup of orange juice over the small breakfast wooden table in the wide kitchen with beige walls; meanwhile, my mom was preparing some very good-smelling turkey bacon. She wore her sport clothes, since she usually went out to the local gym to work out a little bit before going to work. I always kind of envied how well she could match her fur colors to the clothes she wore, due that I find it particularly difficult due to the brick-red. "Good morning, Mom." I said to her as I sat on one of the wooden chairs. She turned to me, and greeted me with a sweet motherly smile. "Good morning! Did you sleep well?" She answered with a voice as sweet as her smile.
I took the silver spoon that was resting beside the plate with yoghurt, and said, "Yeah, I did, thanks. How about you?" I asked back, finding it very hard not to think about that cat.
"I slept great, thanks for asking, hon." She took a sip of the cup of green juice she had on the counter beside her, and then asked, "So, it's almost Valentine's Day, are you calling Gerald tomorrow?"
I chewed the juicy grapes inside my mouth, mixed them with the soft, white yoghurt, and slowly swallowed them. "Mom," I put my left paw over my forehead, and sighed, "You know we haven't talked at all with him since two months ago. I don't see reason to, right now." I said a little annoyed.
"That he moved to Canada doesn't mean you're not friends anymore." She turned back to the bacon over the stew, and swished her grey tail from side to side.
"Yeah, but we are not . . . a couple . . . anymore." I added, forcing the word "couple" out of my mouth.
She put the bacon on a plate covered with napkins, and left it on the table as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, "Maybe, but Valentine's Day is still a day to appreciate friends, too," she said tenderly, "and I don't want you guys to stop talking to each other at all."
Too bad I'm not that good keeping alive long-distance friendships.
"I don't want you to get hurt again," She kissed my head in between my ears, "I don't want to happen the same thing as with . . ." She backed away, patting my shoulder, knowing she shouldn't bring up that name in that moment. She sat on the chair in front of me. "Eat fast, Caitlin will be here in any moment." She took a piece of bacon, and led it into her mouth.
Caitlin is my mother's best friend, and mother of my friend and neighbor, Alex. Due to our proximity to each other, Alex's mom offered to take me to school and bring me back home the days my mother couldn't; so, pretty much every day but Monday and Friday, since those were her days off.
"Oh, and by the way," she added, "Mrs. Jefferson isn't coming today, you think you'll be fine on your own, or do you want me to tell Caitlin to let you stay over?"
After swallowing the bacon I had in my mouth, I said carelessly, "I'll live. Why isn't she coming?"
"Her sister will be in town for today, and she wanted to go and have dinner with her. And I'll leave you some pasta with sausages in the fridge to kill of the hunger when you come back from school, is that all right?"
I scratched the bridge of my muzzle, "Yeah, thanks."
Mrs. Jefferson was an old and yet energetic tiger lady that lived right next to us, and when my sister and I were little cubs, and our parents were busy, they recurred to her so she would look after us, make us food, and sometimes play with us. She was like our nanny, not that we would ever admit she was, of course, but she was also some sort of grandmother to us, too. And she had stuck around long enough that she was now the one offering to come over and 'look after' me, but really all she wanted was some company, and I could provide that, as well as she could provide some very delicious food.
Mom and I heard the doorbell just when I was back upstairs brushing my teeth. "I'll be down in a sec!" I yelled to my mother.
I quickly picked up my bag from the doorframe of my bedroom and rushed downstairs to find Mom waiting for me with my lunch bag ready in her paw (I swear, I kept using a lunch bag up to twelfth grade, and I don't regret it).
"Thanks, Mom." I kissed her forehead and opened the door to find a German shepherd standing in the porch, wearing a very loose navy blue sweatshirt and beige pants that so didn't match.
"Hey, man." Alex said to me. "Good morning, Alma." He added, nodding to my mom with a smile on his muzzle. He then moved on to shake my paw firmly. (Yeah, teenagers shaking paws instead of doing the clap and fist thing most of people do.)
"Hey, Alex." I greeted back and looked up to him, since he was and still is taller than I by a head, but nothing compared to our final part of the trinity, Trevor, whom we also take to school in our route; they're called Great Danes for a reason. "Good morning too, Alex." Mom smiled warmly to him, and then waved a paw to Alex's mom, she was waiting in her car as she waved back. "Okay, kids, go already, you still need to pick Trevor up and it's getting late."
"Yeah." I mumbled. "Bye, Mom." I kissed her cheek, and then got in the car with Alex. "Hello, Caitlin." I said to Alex's mother as soon as I got in. "Hello, Kryne. How's it going, honey?" She asked, turning back to us as we put on our seat belts.
"I'm fine, thanks. I just had little rest, that's all." I said calmly, suppressing a yawn.
"Why so?" Alex asked.
"I had a crazy dream," I explained, "That's pretty much it."
During the trip to Trevor's place, Alex and I were mostly talking about the recent movies, and that led us to talk about the award ceremonies, but then we sidetracked to talk about that Iron Man film that would come out later on that year. That consumed most of the time until we got to Trevor's. When Caitlin parked in front of his place, he was already waiting for us, sitting on the bench of his porch; his parents weren't with him, though. He waved his paw to us as he walked down the stairs of the porch, wearing a warm smile on his muzzle; also wearing a black jacket and grey pants, matching his grey fur. "Hey, guys." He got inside the car's backseat with us, squishing me more against the window. "Hey, Missus Farley." He added.
We all greeted back to him, and went on our way.
During the trip, heading to Cherry Creek High. Alex and Trevor began to talk about video games, but. . . Well, I wasn't a lot into that, so I just listened, not following most of what they said, but I let my mind doze off, and I began thinking about that cat again. I was thinking about those big, deep green eyes, and that clear white silky-looking fur. But later on, my brain began to struggle to remember where I had seen that face before, because I was sure I had, and the fact that I couldn't remember it was deeply frustrating. And I never forget a face. Ever.
*
About four hours later, after having two periods of physics, a period of English and another of literature, it was already time for the break. I already needed a little time away from my group. I liked my group that year, even though none of my friends were there (Look at me, talking like if I had that many friends in junior high!), I still talked to a guy or two there; not counting Emily, a very pretty Spaniel I usually talked to, also, I have to admit that I had a little crush on her before meeting Gerald. Now that I think about it, it was actually thanks to her that I met him. Thank you, and no thank you, Emily.
Anyway, I waited in the cafeteria (The cafeteria with the most uncomfortable seats ever) for Alex and Trevor to come over. I was just drinking quietly from my bottle of water as my sight was lost in the void and my mind struggled with that damned cat again. It was until Trevor snapped his fingers in front of my face that I woke up and lightly shook my head. "Hey, stud." I said to him, knuckling my eyes and making them tear a little. I saw him sitting on the opposite side of the metal table, looking directly at me with his really ghostly pale blue eyes.
"What were you looking at, Kryne?" He asked before turning around, then looked back at me, and pointed with his right thumb at some guys of the football team. "Them?"
"W- No! I... I was just thinking, you know? Nothing important." I waved a paw.
"Still upset about Gerald?" He asked, making his best sad-puppy eyes, and leaning on his elbows over the table. He had an apple and a sandwich right in between them.
"No. S'not that." I sighed. "It's been two months now."
"Then what is it about?" He insisted, arching a brow.
I rolled my eyes, giving me time to make something up. "Alfonso." I lied. Fuck. And there's the name that shan't be named
"What's with him now?" He dropped his ears as well as his voice.
"He still doesn't answer any of my e-mails." I didn't lie there.
"Y'know what?" He put on his usual determined face, before sighing and pointing a finger at me, "Don't care about that prick anymore. It's not cool what that damned otter did to you. Don't you ever blame yourself for that; it was his fault, not yours. He wasn't your real friend."
I scratched my cheek, and nodded in agreement. "You're right." I said calmly as I cupped my bottle in between my paws. "Thanks."
"But me, on the other side," He said with an amused grin, "I'm still here. And Alex is as well; so stop bothering about that bugger."
"Well," I raised my index finger and grinned with the same amusement as his, "Alex isn't technically here."
"He'll be here in any second now. Maybe he's just flirting with some girl to have someone to show off tomorrow." He rolled his eyes.
"Never had a chance to show off my Gerry." I shrugged carelessly and picked a chicken sandwich out of my lunch bag. "Got someone to show off tomorrow?" I asked.
"Nah," He shrugged carelessly, "some girls already gave me some cards today. Heck, even a fun-size chocolate with some cheesy message on it."
"If you don't want it, I can eat it for you." I playfully licked my lips.
He shook his head, "Already ate it. I did not even care about that message."
"It's okay. I just don't want you to be rude with any of those girls." I winked an eye.
"You kidding?" He immediately raised his right little finger, and said with the worst British accent, "Do I have to prove you, sire, that I'm the only gentleman worthy to actually be called gentleman in this mad house?"
That made me smirk and chuckle briefly. "So, tell me, which girls asked you out, huh?" I wiggled my brows and put a big smirk on my muzzle.
"Well, there was Bryn, you know her, right? The rabbit in my group."
"Ugh, yeah." I rolled back my eyes. I'm not a fan of rabbits, let's leave it at that. "And?"
"Also... Uh... Who is that girl from your class...?" He put a paw over his forehead, trying to remember the name, "This ferret that was Glenn Fletcher's girlfriend for a week or so?"
"Jane?" My fur puffed out a little when I heard Glenn's name. Glenn, the most pretentious person I've ever had the displeasure to come across with? That wolf that does nothing but show off his portraits and think he's the best shit that happened to the world of art? Even though everything he does looks lifeless and stupid?
"Her! And... Oh! There was also this really hot collie of ninth grade! Shawnee, the cheerleader that winked an eye to me in last week's practice." He said, with some evident pride.
"Oh, her? You lucky dog!" I clapped my paw against his.
"Not interested, though." He tilted his head and narrowed his left eye.
"Why not?" I arched a brow and bit a piece out of my sandwich.
"Because what she wants is a shiny toy to show off to her friends tomorrow. Not actually being my girlfriend or something like that." He crossed his arms.
"I guess you're right." I dropped my ears for a second.
"Maybe I'll ask her out on Friday. Now that all this Valentine's Day madness is over." He said not really committed to do so.
"Ask out whom?" Alex finally showed up, and sat by my side.
"And where have you been, sir?" I asked to Alex.
"I just had to give Mister Jones a paper." He chewed a bit of the cereal bar he had in his paw.
"Sure, a paper." Trevor and I exchanged grins. He was obviously hitting on someone before arriving, we could tell by the smirk on his snout.
"So, what are you guys up to?" Alex asked.
"Not much," I said, "you know, the usual crap that goes on around these days. All girls screaming for a chance to make out with Trevor." I laughed.
"A cheerleader asked me out." Trevor said lifting his head.
"Oh, you are one lucky man, my friend!" Alex said, resting his elbows on the table as well. "And what about you, Kryne?"
"Me? Heh, nothing. Plus, I'm not planning on asking out anybody for the moment." I bit my sandwich again.
"You tried last year with a dude," Alex shrugged, "why not a girl now?"
"And he means Emily." Trevor added with a very suggestive grin.
"Emily? Guys, I don't really know. Heck, I not even know if I'm still into girls anymore." I took a sip out of my bottle.
"Why not? Give it a shot, the worst thing that can happen is that she says no." Trevor said.
No, the other worse thing that can happen is that she says yes.
"Yeah, come on, man. It will be fun!" Alex added.
I sighed loudly. "Alright," I mumbled, "On one condition! You guys need to ask out somebody as well. Okay?"
"Sure. I already have Shawnee. But if Emily says no, then I won't ask the collie." Trevor said firmly.
"Well, Trevor's not the only one with a line full of girls. A deal it is." Alex grinned.
"Great. It's a deal then. I'll ask Emily as soon as I can, okay? I'll tell you guys what happened in this afternoon's practice." I said, very determined, for a moment.
"Sounds fine to me." Alex said.
"I wish you luck, Kryne." Trevor finished.
*
I got back to my classroom later on, and thought about a way to ask out Emily, not making much progress. Hey, Emily, would you like to grab dinner sometime with me? Hey, Emily, would you like to go out for coffee with me tomorrow? Hey, Emily, would you like to catch a movie together sometime? Hey, Emily, how about a date with me? Oh, come on, Kryne, you can do better than talking like Alex.
As you can see, I couldn't come up with something that would really make her say, "Wow, I really want to date this guy." I'm not like Alex and Trevor at all in that aspect; they both were and are masters at flirting. I mean, they have that certain charm that some girls just can't resist (Sometimes... And I mean Alex, of course.) Besides, they're both really talented; Alex sings, and, in the time, he had an okay skill with the guitar (He got WAY better over time). Meanwhile, Trevor's a natural writer, and that sort of gives him the skills to make up something flattering, also, he grew up with three older brothers, who taught him a lot as well. And to all that, add their (Not very evident) wit! Being smart is hot, boys and girls, don't play stupid.
Unlike me, that I couldn't even come up with something clever enough. And my sister, Isabelle wasn't much help either, since we never actually talked about relationships of that sort, and her being in college in that time didn't give us much time to talk either; but I really enjoyed whenever I had the chance to do so. Like many siblings, we had a very good relationship while growing up, as she is that kind of girl that loves all sorts of geeky stuff and likes to teach that kind of stuff to her baby brother, and never actually talking about love or relationships.
I should give her a compliment... But what? That's the best thing I thought I could do. Gee, even for a fourteen year old, I was a little bit stupid, don't you think?
Luckily enough, the next period was psychology, and that meant only listening to the mad teacher blabber for an hour about our feelings, our 'true selves', and respecting others. That mostly meant an hour to sleep, draw or whatever but to listen to her.
And as it was February thirteenth, what a better time to listen to that hideous weasel talk about loving ourselves!? Don't get me wrong, loving yourself is something vitally important; you can't love anybody else if you don't love yourself. But it was her way of talking that could make every single class boring and tedious as watching somebody eating cereal for ten straight hours. I just amused myself making some Spider-Man doodles in my notebook as the teacher (Whose name I can't quite recall now) started her cheesy talk about love, and what love is. There's not a specific answer, of course; if you ask one hundred people the same question: 'What is love?' You're pretty much gonna get one hundred different answers. Love is pretty much like art, everyone has a different interpretation of it... For me, love wasn't and still isn't something clear; I guess it's just something you feel, you know? Something special that can only be expressed with that certain person you really care about; something expressed with more than empty words anybody can rehearse, like: "You're the love of my life." "I only have eyes for you." "You're the only person left in this universe for me." Or even a simple, "I love you." For me, love is more than words. Love is investing your life into someone else's, and cherishing it like your own. Sharing the valuable moments of your life and not being afraid of who you are; being yourself, and hope for the best to come out from both sides of the relationship, and making each other better persons. To sum it up. . . Grow up.
Well. . . As you can see, as I've already told you, love isn't something clear yet. I guess that's the magic of it; something that can't be expressed that easily, don't you think?
The tables were arranged in pairs and in rows; I sat two rows behind the teacher's desk, and guess who my partner was? Well, if you thought Emily, then you are very wrong! It was Glenn! Glenn freaking Fletcher! While the teacher moved on with her talk, and I focused on my notebook, I could feel his cold stare fixed in my notebook as well, it was quite uncomfortable, but yet pleasant; as he glared at my drawings, I knew he was doing his best not to rip apart the paper and tossing it to the trash can. I only kept smiling inside my head and not giving him the attention he desired.
That was pretty much the issue with Glenn, as I said before, he believed he was like the greatest artist in Cherry Creek and all Colorado (if not the whole country), but whenever the slightest menace appeared, all he could do was enter in internal panic and remarkable jealousy.
"Kryne?" He said after a while. Still tapping his claws against the table.
"Yeah?" I turned to him with a careless and cocky fox grin, and added, "What is it?"
"You're Trevor Thompson's friend, aren't you?" The wolf asked, getting out of the script I had planned out in my head.
"Yeah, why?" I placed my elbows over the table and rested my head over my paws.
"Here's the thing," he whispered as he slowly approached his head to me, "I wanted to ask out Emily tomorrow, but I really have no idea of how to do it." He turned to her, sitting at the corner of the classroom, looking bored, but her cute and warm expression remained intact.
Well, I thought as I felt how my eyelid had a little tic, fuck you, Glenn. "So?"
"Come on, Thompson has all the girls screaming for him, and I bet he'd told you what to say or do to make a girl want to go out with you." He nudged me as his mouth curved into a devious smile. I was revolted by it. He had not. And makes you think I'd give you advice? Even if I had some to give.
"Well, Glenn..." I did a brief pause as I nodded my head and made a thoughtful expression. "I can't quite recall any."
"Oh, come on." He insisted, nudging me with some violence, "I need help, I really want to ask her out." And there is where the bell rang. I quickly packed my notebook and pencil case in my bag, stood up, and said with a determined glare, "Guess what?" I started to walk away from him, "You're not the only one."
I approached Emily as she was still packing her stuff; as I did, I started to think about what in the world I could say. But I was there, standing right in front of her, she wasn't looking at me, so I tapped her shoulder to make her notice me. "Oh, hey, Kryne." She looked up to me before standing up and giving me one of her sweet smiles I enjoyed watching so much.
"Hey, Emily," Flattery, Kryne! Say some flattery, you faggot! "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself from noticing your fur looks lovely today. Is it a new conditioner? Hmmm, do I smell coconut?" That might just 'looked' good (I'm pretty sure it didn't), but if you've heard how it really sounded, all shaky and rushed, then you can just guess what happened right after.
"Yeah, it is." She said, sounding flattered and doubtful. "Thanks for noticing, most of boys don't."
Say something, say something! "Well, uh, I was just wondering if. . . You know, you'd like to go out with me someday? Maybe grab some food at the mall or watch a movie?"
She opened wide her eyes and linked her paws together, "Oh," she looked away briefly. Shit.
"Thank you, Kryne, really, it just. . ." She made a brief pause, "I was actually waiting for Glenn to ask me out." She flickered her ears backwards and looked at me with that 'I'm so sorry' look us canines know how to do so well. Is that so? I immediately turned to the classroom's door to see Glenn glaring at me; I glared back, and clenched my fists as in my head played some cheesy dramatic sound from some old cheesy, dramatic movie_. Fuck you,_ Glenn. I turned back to Emily, relaxing my eyes as well as my paws, "Oh." Was all I could say, with disappointment on my face, and certain relief in my head.
"Please, don't be mad, it's just that, well, he has that charm, don't you see? How not to like such cute and talented guy?" Am I not a cute and talented guy!? Is he!?
I just sighed, and tried to relax my voice, "It's cool," I said, "really."
"Thank you for understanding, Kryne." She put her paw over my shoulder, and fired her last bullet left, "That's why you're my friend."
Yeah.
Anyhow, as the rest of the day went on, I had to avoid Glenn if I wanted to keep my face attached to my head, damn, he really was mad, he never stopped glaring at me in every chance he had; but when the day was over, it was time for me to go to the food court to wait for Alex and Trevor so we could go to the basketball practice in the gym. They got there in no time, looking just a bit exhausted, they had physics and math straight forward. They waved their paws and approached me to the same table we sat in recess. "Hey, studs." I greeted them as they both sat in front of me.
"Hey, Kryne." They both said at the same time.
"Tired?" I asked sarcastically as I made my fox grin.
"What do you think, man?" Alex said before a loud yawn.
"Guess not tired enough to be grumpy." I gently slapped his cheek twice.
"So," Trevor let his paw fall loudly over the metal table, "got lucky with Emily?" He grinned and wiggled his brows.
"Well, you have to know that now there's a new reason why I hate Glenn." I said calmly as I carelessly scratched the back of my ear.
"Fuck, no." Alex snapped. "Him?"
"Please, don't tell me Glenn asked first." Trevor said a bit frustrated.
"He didn't," I said, "but she wants him to do so." I flattened my ears.
"Dammit." Trevor said as he reached for something inside his backpack.
"I'm sorry." Alex said, tenderly enough.
"Here." Trevor put a small bar of dark chocolate over the table and slid it to me. I picked it up and said, "Thanks, I think I'll eat this after practice."
"Oh right, we gotta go, it's getting late." Alex stood up and picked up his backpack.
After going to the lockers room, and changing into our orange and navy blue uniforms, we moved on to go to the basketball roofed court, where most of the team (The middle school team... In which we belonged at the time) and the coach were waiting already, just stretching out and warming up.
The three of us quickly greeted coach Jameson (A mature, fit and muscular dingo with a very cool and nice attitude) shaking firmly his paw, before telling us to put our asses in motion and start warming up, that day we were doing a mock match.
After nearly twenty minutes of jogging, crunching and pushing-up with Trevor, the whole team had finally arrived, coach blew his whistle and gathered us all around him. "Okay, gentlemen." He said loudly enough, "As you heard last week, today we are making a mock match, and I'm gonna need two captains. Thompson, Danvers, you're on! Four periods of ten minutes!" Trevor and Samuel (The second best player, being a leopard) took a step forward and started choosing members. The first one to choose was Trevor, and he immediately picked Alex, of course, his long shots were outstandingly precise; on the other side, when it was Sam's turn, he picked me first, since had kind of a soft spot for me, trying to instruct me into a better player, besides, he always told me he was impressed by my quick thinking under pressure; quite useful for him. And when the teams were ready, we got in motion right away. Coach flipped a coin to see which team started, and it was Trevor's the first one to get the ball, and for the next ten minutes, it remained in their control for the most time, until I eventually took it away from Alex, but an opposing kangaroo took it away from me, made a three-point shot and scored.
The rest of the match was in our team's control for the most part, fooling a little with the opposing team with Sam's superior speed, but in the end, they won the game thanks to their higher point shots, we ended in 17-23. Mostly thanks to Alex.
Right after the match ended, coach said to all of us, "Good game boys. If you can play like that split in two, just imagine you all as a team. Thompson, congrats for your victory! You are all dismissed, now hit the showers and go home, I'll see you all next week."
After the game, we were all exhausted and panting with our tongues hanging out of our muzzles, and just before following Alex and Trevor to the lockers, Sam approached me, put a paw on my shoulder, and said with a very pleased grin, "Good game, Rose." As 'Rose' is shorter than Rosenthal, I just returned the grin, but before I could even say, 'Thank you.' He lowered his paw to slap my rear, and say, "Keep it up." Before jogging towards the showers. Would you invite me a drink first? I straightened my back, and opened wide my eyes.
I always thought Sam was gay and had something going for me, since he always spoke nicely to me, always chose me for his teams, and slapped me quite often back there, but it was never the case, he was just a very playful, and totally straight leopard that only showed his approval as a fellow athlete.
I just let it go, and went straight to the lockers, avoiding the showers. "Hey, man." Alex was the first to greet me when I showed up, he was topless, spraying some deodorant over all of his humid furry body, and so was Trevor, none of us really liked to use the showers at school, since they were very smelly and insanitary. "Hey, guys." I greeted back, "Good game." I added.
"Same to you." Trevor said warmly.
"Yeah, I'm still impressed that you were able to take the ball away from me." Alex put his paws on his hips and grinned.
"I don't suck that much." I took a small towel out of my locker, and dried off some sweat from my head.
"Yes, we all do." Trevor took off his shirt and tossed it into his bag. "Whew, I need a shower."
"Yeah, but you know what happened last time we showered here." Alex started to laugh just a bit too loud. "Kryne, your rocket was all ready to launch!"
"Fuck." I groaned as I felt shame growing inside of me, making my face burn. "Stop it! It was just once, and put yourself in my position and try not to get a boner while you're looking at Trevor naked and wet!" I pointed at Trevor as I glared to Alex; flinching after realizing I might have said that a bit too loud, but there was nobody else around.
"Hey," Trevor interrupted, "It's not my fault to be such a hunk." He grinned as he flexed his right arm as his left one was behind his head. That made me chuckle a little. "True that." I agreed. "I mean, there is a reason why all the girls want to lock him up in their basement."
*
Already at home, once Caitlin dropped me home from school, I decided to go straight into the shower, and with it, wash away all the stress and dirt from the day; then, I did my Spanish homework as I ate the pasta and sausages my mom left me. After I was done with it, about an hour and a half later since I dozed off a bit, my mom called me to go downstairs to grab dinner, I didn't even notice when she arrived; a piece of salmon, along with salad, of course. She began the talk by asking me how the match was, "Good." I replied flatly, to what she winced, and insisted, "Just good?"
"Well, not that good. . ." I flattened my ears, and fixed my eyes on my half-eaten salmon. "My team lost. . . We weren't very aware. I even dropped the ball once." I said, rather quietly and ashamed. But it made her smile. "Don't you worry, hon." She said warmly from the other side of the kitchen table. "It is your first year in basketball, you'll get better over time."
"Thank you." I smiled back to her, relaxing my shoulders.
"But I'll tell you this," she took a sip of lemonade from her glass, and grinned in the cockiest way possible, "You are now a zillion times better than your uncle Robb."
I snorted and shook my head, "Everyone is better than uncle Robb when it comes to sports!"
"That's true." She giggled lowly, "You're actually close to be a better artist than what he is."
"I wish that was true," I followed her laugh, "but it's really Mama and Papa the ones I look up to."
"And with good reason, Kryne! Your grandparents are just magnificent." Her eyes enlightened every time she talked about her parents, no matter the topic. And I don't blame her, they both were the ones who took the biggest part to make me the person I am today, for both good and bad, and I could never be more grateful to them for all they did for my family when we were in despair. Man, they were simply the wisest persons I've known, and I'm sure that the best artists, too.
"It's a family thing, you always say it." I told Mom.
"Too bad it skipped me." She said, mock-offended.
"And Isabelle. . . She turned out to be Dad's clone." I snorted again.
"I know, taking the path of law. . ." She lowered her eyes to her dinner, surely making her very usual nostalgic eyes. It was hard for her to let her little girl go, and that's also a family thing; we don't usually let go off things easily. That's our biggest weakness.
"You didn't see that coming?" I lowered my head again, but this time to take a forkful of salmon. Isabelle has always been a girl who loved almost everything related to superheroes, something that really made her stand out from the 'norms' that society had established for someone like her; joyful, funny, warm, smart, and downright pretty. And due to her affinity, she had always looked up to real life heroes, the people who implement justice into our lives (whose most of the time aren't lawyers, but screw that). And as our father was a lawyer, what a better role model for her?
"Can't be helped, right?" She sighed. "I guess that was the most likely choice since she couldn't stop being so jealous at you all the time for not knowing how to draw any of her characters."
I just snorted, remembering how Glenn was staring at me earlier that day. "Reminds me of a classmate."
"Son, I've told you not to tease other students by showing off."
"S'not me, Mom! That's the funny part." I moved on with my salad, starting with a sweet carrot.
"Sure. . . Oh! I remember what I wanted to ask you! You got a special someone you'd like to ask out tomorrow?" She teased me. But I only dropped my ears.
"Speaking of the devil. . . You remember this girl, Emily? The spaniel I've talked to you about?"
"Oh, you plan to ask her out?" Her face enlightened once more, and her lips curved into a smile.
"I did. . . And failed. . ." I tilted my head, grinning shamefully.
"Aww, baby, don't you worry. There are plenty of fish in the sea."
"I know. . ." I dropped my ears once more, "But it was a little humiliating, actually."
"I understand, hon, but you're still young, really young. In fact, you weren't even supposed to have a relationship this young." She stated flatly as she took a cucumber from her own salad and ate it, avoiding eye contact. Please, not right now."I was rash, Mom." I shrugged and forced a melancholic smile at her, which she fell for, as she smiled back at me, and said tenderly, "Don't you worry, besides, why put a label on it?"
After being done with dinner, I helped Mom to clean the dishes before I went upstairs to my room to watch some T.V. but I only ended up switching channels for a good while until I left it on a documentary of old cars.
And after I was done with it, I was finally tired enough to turn off the lights and wrap myself up in my covers and fall asleep. And just when I finally felt peaceful enough to let my mind rest, I opened my eyes to see that I was sitting all by myself in a very big and chilling theater room. A theater with velvet seats and walls, and the screen showing nothing but a frozen picture of one of the old cars I just saw. "What is this place?" I told to myself as I looked around in the very cold room, only to find more seats and no sign of life. "Gee. . ." I whispered. "This is so weird. . ." I closed my eyes, and started to think in something else. Anything. Really, anything but that dull theater. But as I felt that my paws were still touching the velvet of the seats, I knew it didn't work at all. I opened my eyes, and sighed in frustration. "What's the matter?" A voice suddenly said beside me; I jumped from my seat, and yipped in awe and astonishment. "You." I said as soon as I saw the cat just sitting there with a careless expression on his face, which disappeared when he saw the terror in my eyes. He twitched his whiskers, and said with a very sweet and soothing voice, "How can I help you?"
I didn't know what to say or do, I was paralyzed, but at the same time, speechless at the sight of such a handsome cat. Short, white, shiny and silky fur, swampy green eyes, slim yet slightly toned body, and a perfect, short feline muzzle, only waiting to be kissed.
"Who are you?" I finally asked as I slowly narrowed my eyes. He just gave me a smile and stood up right in front of me, showing that he was not taller than me, just a less than two inches shorter. He placed both of his paws on my cheeks, cupping gently my face as he said, "Oh honey, don't you remember me at all?" The next thing I knew was that our muzzles locked again in another really passionate kiss, making all of my body feel warmer and numb and my soul in peace. It was like as soon as our lips touched, and our bodies pressed against each other, all of my problems and worries just faded away, and that included the frustration of not being able to remember who in the world that cat was. I only cared about never letting go of such delightful kiss. Yeah, I peacefully thought, I could get used to this just fine.