away from his nibbles to lovingly rub the top of his head against my chin, displaying his odd trust in me.
“You bizarre cat, why are you so different towards me from every other cat, or for that matter, from every other animal?”
I returned his affection with a long stroke down his back. He glanced up and gave me a high-pitched meow. I grinned and stood back up as he concentrated back on his food bowl. It sounds ridiculous for someone like me, but Shadow’s affection made me feel like I was a part of something, like I was real, almost whole again, kind of like the way I feel looking at Shade. Maybe it’s just my need to be desired by something living. Whatever the case, Shadow is the best friend I have, my only friend. No offense to Scruffy, I know I’m merely playing a role when it comes to my involvement with him.
Speaking of Scruffy, I decided to head to his house early to see if he made it back okay from the events of last night. I spruced myself up, bid Shadow goodbye, and took off, stopping at a nearby hot spring to wash the stink off my shell. The events of the day were soon to be set in motion, there would be no more waiting now . It was time to put up or shut up. The time had come to prove my worth.
I pulled up to Scruffy’s place and caught him just as he was taking the trash to the end of his driveway.
“Yo, what’s up, Leo?” Scruffy waved to me as I parked before hopping out. “What are you doing here so early, bro?”
“Bored as hell , man, just thought I’d get an early start on the day.”
He slammed the trash into the bin and approached my car. “Man, your ride isn’t banged up as bad as I thought it would be. It isn’t banged up at all. Darryl’s car was pretty messed up. How…” Scruffy paced around, inspecting it.
“Did I get it fixed so fast?”
“Uh…yeah .” Scruffy looked me over suspiciously.
“I didn’t have any damage…that’s how.” I smiled.
Silence fell between us.
“But…how …” He shook his head in confusion. “Forget it. Well, anyway, I’m glad you’re here. You hungry?” He extended his hand in greeting for another bro handshake, brushing off his suspicions for now.
Even though I wasn’t hungry, I gratefully accepted his offer and shook his hand.
“Yeah, I guess I could chow down on some grub.”
“Cool . My mom and dad whipped up a late breakfast, a little bacon, some eggs, and hashbrowns. They love when you come by and eat; gives my mom an outside opinion on her cooking. Personally, I think she’s a little liberal on the salt, but I would never tell her that, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t, either.” Scruffy laughed as he waved for me to follow him inside his parents’ home.
“You don’t have to worry about me saying anything. Her food is great. Anyway, how did you get home last night?”
Scruffy stopped at his front door and put his finger to his lips. “Dude, be quiet,” he whispered. “I’ll get grounded if they found out we were at Miller’s Hill. Especially if they find out I ran from the police.” His hand slowly turned the doorknob. “I jumped in with John Riley and his friends and we all went back to BNB’s. I waited for you to show up and you never did; I thought you may have gotten busted.”
“Nah . I just hid in the woods until everyone left.”
“Why didn’t you come to BNB’s? You knew we ’d go back there, right?”
“Yeah , man, but since my car was the other half of the main attraction, I thought I’d stay on the safe side and call it an early evening. I was concerned that maybe the cops would show there, looking for certain cars, if you know what I mean. Plus I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself.”
Scruff patted me in the chest encouragingly. “You have that part right, you certainly were the talk of the town last night, my friend. I guess it was a good thing you didn’t come by the hang out. Some cops pulled through, so good thinking.”
“Yeah, well,
“You bizarre cat, why are you so different towards me from every other cat, or for that matter, from every other animal?”
I returned his affection with a long stroke down his back. He glanced up and gave me a high-pitched meow. I grinned and stood back up as he concentrated back on his food bowl. It sounds ridiculous for someone like me, but Shadow’s affection made me feel like I was a part of something, like I was real, almost whole again, kind of like the way I feel looking at Shade. Maybe it’s just my need to be desired by something living. Whatever the case, Shadow is the best friend I have, my only friend. No offense to Scruffy, I know I’m merely playing a role when it comes to my involvement with him.
Speaking of Scruffy, I decided to head to his house early to see if he made it back okay from the events of last night. I spruced myself up, bid Shadow goodbye, and took off, stopping at a nearby hot spring to wash the stink off my shell. The events of the day were soon to be set in motion, there would be no more waiting now . It was time to put up or shut up. The time had come to prove my worth.
I pulled up to Scruffy’s place and caught him just as he was taking the trash to the end of his driveway.
“Yo, what’s up, Leo?” Scruffy waved to me as I parked before hopping out. “What are you doing here so early, bro?”
“Bored as hell , man, just thought I’d get an early start on the day.”
He slammed the trash into the bin and approached my car. “Man, your ride isn’t banged up as bad as I thought it would be. It isn’t banged up at all. Darryl’s car was pretty messed up. How…” Scruffy paced around, inspecting it.
“Did I get it fixed so fast?”
“Uh…yeah .” Scruffy looked me over suspiciously.
“I didn’t have any damage…that’s how.” I smiled.
Silence fell between us.
“But…how …” He shook his head in confusion. “Forget it. Well, anyway, I’m glad you’re here. You hungry?” He extended his hand in greeting for another bro handshake, brushing off his suspicions for now.
Even though I wasn’t hungry, I gratefully accepted his offer and shook his hand.
“Yeah, I guess I could chow down on some grub.”
“Cool . My mom and dad whipped up a late breakfast, a little bacon, some eggs, and hashbrowns. They love when you come by and eat; gives my mom an outside opinion on her cooking. Personally, I think she’s a little liberal on the salt, but I would never tell her that, and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t, either.” Scruffy laughed as he waved for me to follow him inside his parents’ home.
“You don’t have to worry about me saying anything. Her food is great. Anyway, how did you get home last night?”
Scruffy stopped at his front door and put his finger to his lips. “Dude, be quiet,” he whispered. “I’ll get grounded if they found out we were at Miller’s Hill. Especially if they find out I ran from the police.” His hand slowly turned the doorknob. “I jumped in with John Riley and his friends and we all went back to BNB’s. I waited for you to show up and you never did; I thought you may have gotten busted.”
“Nah . I just hid in the woods until everyone left.”
“Why didn’t you come to BNB’s? You knew we ’d go back there, right?”
“Yeah , man, but since my car was the other half of the main attraction, I thought I’d stay on the safe side and call it an early evening. I was concerned that maybe the cops would show there, looking for certain cars, if you know what I mean. Plus I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself.”
Scruff patted me in the chest encouragingly. “You have that part right, you certainly were the talk of the town last night, my friend. I guess it was a good thing you didn’t come by the hang out. Some cops pulled through, so good thinking.”
“Yeah, well,
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