SENECA MOUNTAIN
Chapter Six
“I mean, to me, those are obvious grounds for expulsion. If what you’re keeping in your room could destroy the whole dorm?” Emma Quinn asked.
Brandon Simmons hated DC meetings with a passion. It never brought him joy to see a student expelled, but besides that, the Committee attracted two types of student panelists: (1) the overzealous legalists and (2) the apologists who would justify any infraction. Fortunately, here they had a student on whom everyone agreed.
“Yeah, I think we’re all in agreement that bottle rockets in the dorm is a big no-no. One spark and you could at least blow up your room. In the matter of Mark Norman: all in favor of expulsion, say ‘aye’.”
Jesus, three expulsions and a suspension today. I think I’m gonna need to grab another bottle of Wild Turkey on the way home. “Ok, next we’ve got—” Oh, fuck me… “David Owings, possession of fluffy ponies and endangering both students and school property.”
This was the case he had dreaded the most. On one hand, David was a good student—certainly much better than he gave himself credit for—and he and Maddie Cohen were brilliant together in the lab. The fact that they were an item amused Brandon as much as two awkward, innocent teenagers with raging hormones and undeveloped logic could. For all of those reasons, he had recommended them both for the Cornell Summer Program for Talented High School Students.
On the other hand, David knew the dangers of fluffy ponies. And Brandon wasn’t stupid—he remembered the boy asking for information both about fluffy ponies and about microfluffies. That alone should have made what he was doing obvious. As conflicted as he was, young Owings had not only committed a terrible wrong, but also covered it up for months.
“Does anybody have anything to say pertaining specifically to whether Mr. Owings is guilty or not guilty?”
“I do, sir,” DeShawn Craig, the freshman class representative on the committee said. “It seems like David did something that the rules would say is wrong, but that he did it with good intentions.”
“Good intentions or not,” Emma interrupted, “you heard what Mr. Simmons said about how fast microfluffies can multiply. Your dorm could have become unlivable within a year! And he knew that, but kept feeding them anyway!”
“Yeah, but he spent his own money to neuter them. All I’m saying is that he took every precaution to make sure no one would get hurt. If no one was in danger, then you can’t punish him for ‘endangering’ anyone!”
The blonde sophomore stood up and slammed her hands down on the conference table. “And all I’m saying is that there’s no way he could know for sure whether or not the situation would get out of hand! What if Mark Norman had kept his fireworks in a metal box instead of a brown paper bag in his sock drawer? Would that have been enough precaution to not—”
“That’s enough, Ms. Quinn,” Brandon gritted through his teeth. “We are not discussing Mark Norman’s case anymore. And Mr. Craig, the ‘precautions’ that Mr. Owings took have no bearing on his guilt or innocence. That is the question on the table. Did David Owings possess fluffy ponies, against the guidelines of the Student Handbook? Did David Owings, through his possession of and attempt to conceal fluffy ponies, potentially endanger either students or school property? Yes, Mrs. LeFevre?”
“Brandon, you’re the biology expert here—what about David’s contention that microfluffies should be considered distinct from regular fluffies?”
“No. They might not be capable of taking out a whole city, but we can’t have people keeping pets that could escape, breed, and end up getting school buildings condemned.”
“Wait, hang on now Brandon,” Ms. Wilkinson interrupted, “we’ve got at least three students in Carlisle alone who keep pet mice, and a dozen others with some other kind of rodent. You want to talk about keeping animals that can endanger students in large enough numbers? How about kicking out potential carriers of the Bubonic Plague?!?”
“Hold up…you can’t possibly compare the Black Death—which couldn’t happen today, thanks to modern antibiotics—to the genetic freaks that destroyed Cleveland!”
“Uh, yeah I can! Let’s drop a box full of rats in your house and see how quickly you want rid of them!”
By this point both the Biology teacher and the History teacher were standing and facing each other. Both were red-faced, and Mr. Simmons had a vein bulging in his neck. The four students in the room looked on with mouths agape—they hadn’t seen one of their teachers this angry since Mr. Simmons had fessed up to hanging the frilly brassiere on Mr. Pollack’s bust of Cicero. They prepared to silently make their way to the exit when soft-spoken Mrs. Filali’s voice rang out above the din.
“Brandon! Patricia! What has gotten into the two of you?!?” turning to the four teenagers, she softened her facial expressions and said in her usual gentle tone, “I’m sorry you had to see that. Sometimes, when the stakes are high and emotions are higher, we let the latter get the best of us. Now, it appears we aren’t getting anywhere. We’re all tired, and the day’s work has been unusually unpleasant. Perhaps if we adjourn for the evening, we can come back Monday morning before classes—we only have the one case to decide. What do you all say?”
Brandon, who had retaken his seat and taken several deep breaths, knew that all it took was a word from him and they could table the matter. But he was not in a mood to let someone else have the last word.
“I vote guilty. Miss LeFevre?”
The old French teacher sighed. “Guilty.”
“Miss Wilkinson?”
Meeting his gaze in the way that only a woman scorned can, Patricia Wilkinson flatly said, “Not guilty.”
“Miss Filali?”
“I refuse to decide until we can be sure that cooler heads will prevail.”
“Ok, an abstention, then. Mr. Dalton?”
“Guilty.”
“Mr. Craig?”
“Not guilty.”
“Miss Quinn?”
“Guilty.”
“Miss Wright?”
“Guilty.”
Well, there you have it. A simple majority. According to the student handbook, that was all that was needed. Now, if he could get the senior class representative to go his way, it would be much easier to get the six votes he needed for expulsion.
“Mr. Chen?”
“Not guilty.”
Shit. And I wrote him a letter to Stanford. “That settles that: five to three, with one abstention,” he said, nodding to the math teacher. “Now, should we take up Mrs. Filali’s recommendation of reconvening…say, Monday at 7am in this room?”
Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Patricia said, “For the love of God, yes. I’m getting a headache.”
“Ok, motion by Filali, second by Wilkinson, all in favor say ‘aye’.”
The students and Coach Dalton were already halfway to the door.
Brandon rolled his eyes when he opened the supply room door and heard the sobs. He usually relished the tears of fluffy ponies, but today he was flat out tired of their shit.
The only reason he had come back to his office after the committee deliberations was to feed the little shitrats. He hoped he got to kill them himself once they rendered their decision. The only question was whether he should slowly fill their tank with water and watch them drown or if he should watch them suffocate in a jar of ether. Either way would be a satisfying end.
“Huuuuu…Sugaw nu kno wai nice mistah nu sabe famiwy! Nice mistah jus’ sit dewe an nu hewp fwuffies!”
“Nu make saddies-wawa, mummah! Snickews gif 'oo huggies!”
Ugh. “Huggies an wuv”. Why can’t you fuckers all just die?. He tossed a cup of dry kibble into the terrarium, where it bounced around on the floor.
“Pwease, meanie munstah wet fwuffies gu? Fwuffies nu du nuffin tu da munstah hoomin! Onwy wan huggies an wuv!”
“Shut up, shitrats. And what do you mean, ‘nu du nuffin’? You’re a fucking plague. None of you should even exist! I shou—”
“So it is just about Cleveland, then.”
Brandon turned slowly to find a petite woman, who stood only about 5’3” and had her long, blonde hair cinched up standing behind him with her arms crossed. That is, her arms were crossed until their eyes met.
SLAP
It was the kind of slap of which his late Grandpa Rader would have said, “That woulda’ slapped the black outta Samuel L. Jackson!” Grandpa Rader had been a little bit racist.
“I can’t fucking believe you. It’s one thing that you let something that happened a decade ago bring your life to a standstill. It’s another entirely for you to take your frustrations out on a good-hearted kid! And he’s not the only one who’s going to suffer because you’re a selfish son of a bitch: Maddie Cohen has been crying her eyes out every night this week! She feels like her life is about to end. So there you have it: your two favorite students. Wrecked. And all because you can’t fucking learn to cope with your past.”
“It’s not that simple, Tri—”
SLAP
“Jesus Christ, Trish!”
The younger, smaller teacher pointed her finger straight at Brandon’s face and said, “I can’t believe I ever had feelings for you!” Then, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the supply room and the Biology lab, leaving him without words.
“Pwease, munstah hoomin! Fwuffies nee’ nice mistah! Nice mistah awways hewped da fwuffies!”
The Biology teacher grabbed a spray bottle filled with water off of the shelf and opened the terrarium lid.
tsssh tsssh tsssh
“SCREEEEEE! Nuuuuuuu! Wawa am bad fo fwuffies! SCREEEEEEEEEE!”
He huffed as he set the bottle down, and then shut the door as he left the supply room, leaving the fluffies in the dark again.
David lay back with his head in Maddie’s lap and stared up at the big, white clouds in the sky. Saturday had brought a break in the weather, and with it the end of coat season. Since their time together seemed likely to be limited to these last three days, his girlfriend had gotten picnic lunches and set out a blanket in the meadow behind the dorms. If Friday had been the day when the boy experienced his violent death, then he was certainly in heaven this afternoon.
“Thanks for doing this.”
“You’re welcome. Anything for you, sweetie.”
He closed his eyes as the girl ran her long fingers through his hair. She had a magical touch that almost made all of his worries go away. Almost.
“Maddie…do you think I’m a—a good person?”
David opened his eyes and looked up when she stopped stroking his hair. He could barely see her eyes looking down at him past her chest, but her eyes radiated kindness.
“Of course! You’re such a sweet guy, David. You always put others ahead of yourself, you risked getting expelled to save some helpless creatures, and you…you don’t back down from what you believe is right. If that doesn’t make you a good person, then there’s no such thing.”
“I’m glad you think so. I wasn’t always that way.”
“Hmmm…not sure I believe that.”
“No, really. Do you know how I ended up here?”
“I figured it had something to do with your uncle, but I haven’t really thought about it much beyond that.”
“Well, I’m not a brilliant student, I’m not athletic, and my parents don’t have money, Maddie. That narrows it down pretty well.”
He sat up and cast his eyes over the hillside. Am I really going to tell her about that? Holy shit, she’s going to hate me.. The gentle touch of his girlfriend’s hand on his shoulder made him turn to face her.
“David, whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise I won’t get mad.”
The freshman took a deep breath. “A little over a year ago, when I still lived with my parents in North Carolina…”
“In the trailer?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “In the trailer. My dad brought a fluffy pony home from work. He said it needed a new home—see, my dad, he hauls away junk for a living. Not a glamorous job, but he works hard for us. Sometimes, he would bring home something cool. Since I was an ungrateful asshole, the fluffy pony didn’t meet my standards for ‘cool’.”
“My sister and I pretty much ignored it, except when it begged to be fed or let out. Mom would have thrown a fit if we’d let it have an accident in the house. One day, I was in my room watching…well, watching porn on my computer.”
He looked at Maddie, who blushed. “It’s ok, David. You’re a guy. I’d be a little surprised if you weren’t a little curious about…such things…”
David exhaled and then continued. “Well, it got worse. Valentine—that was her name—walked in on me while I was…doing what I was doing. I freaked out. Completely. You know, I couldn’t have a fluffy going around and telling everyone in the family she had caught me like that, so I picked her up by her tail. I thought about killing her, but then…my curiosity got the best of me. One thing led to another, and then my mom and sister walked in.”
“Oh, David…”
The boy raised his eyes—he really didn’t want to see Maddie’s expression right now, but somewhere in the back of his mind he felt that seeing judgment on her face would make the break easier for both of them. But while he expected a look of utter revulsion, he instead saw what could only be described as confusion. As if she were merely trying to find the right words.
“Maddie, I—”
“You know, my rabbi once told me that if you really seek forgiveness for something, you’ll seek to make up for what you did wrong. That’s what you’ve been doing, isn’t it? That’s why you took in Butter, and then Sugar and the foals?”
“Yeah. That’s pretty much it. When I first came to grips with what I’d done, I saw that I could have prevented the whole shitty situation by just showing a little bit of kindness. I tried to live that out with the micros.”
The girl just nodded. Oh, god, is this it, then? Is this the end? “I understand if me telling you about that makes you not want anything to do with me anymore.”
Maddie bit her lip. “You know, it’s really gross. And I’ll probably never completely get the pictures out of my head. But do you want to know something else the rabbi told me? He said that if someone asks for forgiveness, and then shows that they mean it, you can’t not forgive them. I forgive you, David. And I’m sure Valentine does, too.”
With that, she leaned over and kissed him. Then they both lay down on the blanket and stared up at the bright blue sky. David regarded the long, thin fingers of her left hand as they intertwined with those of his right.
“Hey, David?”
“Hmmm?”
“D’you think anyone would notice if we stayed out here and watched the stars tonight?”
He smiled, and then looked at her dark brown eyes. “You know, I don’t think I care whether they do or not.”
Brandon walked briskly down High Holborn. Harry, his flatmate for the summer, and his friend Roger had invited him down to the pub to watch England’s test cricket match, and he didn’t want to be late. He had never had occasion to watch the sport before (and what little he knew he attributed to reading Life, the Universe, and Everything), and his new friends promised to explain how it worked.
As he waited for the green man, his phone rang in his pocket. He struggled to reach it past his keys and a half-dozen scribbled notes, but then finally found what he was seeking. The number began with “1-216” which meant one of two people was calling him: his mother, or Cara.
Cara Watkins was a sweet, kind girl with a bit of a Bohemian streak. They had grown up together and fallen in love near the shore of Lake Erie. Despite the fact that they now maintained a long-distance relationship, they were committed to each other—a commitment Brandon signified with the ring he’d spent everything in his savings account on yesterday. The moment he saw her at Cleveland Hopkins when he returned home, he was going to ask her to marry him.
“Cara! Hi!”
“Hey there, sexy! I miss you.”
“I miss you, too. London’s been fun, but I’m counting down the minutes to the Fifth.”
“Awww…so, what are your plans today?”
“Meeting Harry and Roger over at the pub. Today, they’re going to explain to me the joys of Cricket.”
“Fun! I’m going to the protest today.”
Brandon went silent. He had been following the news reports about the…unusual situation in their hometown. That was the last place he wanted her to be.
“Cara…baby, please don’t go up there.”
sigh “Brandon, they’re sending the military in. To Cleveland. That’s our home—they can’t just make it a war zone because of a bunch of loose children’s toys!”
“My parents left a week ago. Yours did, too. Hell, I think they’ve evacuated most of the city now!”
“A bunch of my friends from Kent State are going to be there. Dee told me the army has really strict rules of engagement—we won’t be in any real danger.”
“Your hugboxer friends, right? Cara, some of those people aren’t entirely stable. You know that, don’t you? I mean, fluffies are cute and all…”
His girlfriend giggled over the phone. “Yeah, so they’re a little off-kilter. Who isn’t? Besides, it’s the most vulnerable creatures who need the most protection.” A car horn beeped in the background. “Oops, there’s my ride. I love you, Brandon, and I promise I’ll stay out of trouble.”
“I love you, too. And you’d better stay out of trouble—I’ll never forgive you if you die for some living stuffed animals!”
“Good. Then I’ll haunt your ass. Love you!”
“Love you, too. Bye!”
“Bye.”
He looked up at the light as he placed his phone back in his pocket. “Shit, I missed my signal.” With that, a loud crack like the sound of knuckles hitting a cheek startled him from sleep.
It was almost noon on Sunday. Brandon had spent most of Saturday hammered on the two bottles of Wild Turkey he’d picked up at the store. Somehow, he’d managed to not fall and break his neck when going down to check on his experiments.
Ah, shit. I forgot to go back down in the evening, he thought. His head pounded from having had no sustenance since Friday evening but large amounts of bourbon, but he rolled out of bed anyway, forgetting to take off his boxer shorts before getting in the shower.
He was nauseous, but knew it wasn’t so much the liquor as the dream. He had dreamed of the images of water washing through the city many times over, but this was the first time he’d ever conjured up the events that transpired earlier in the day. He had all but forgotten that last conversation—perhaps blocking out the painful memories of having talked to Cara for the last time.
…it’s the most vulnerable creatures who need the most protection…
“So, we should be willing to sacrifice our lives for shitrats? Creatures that barely have rational thoughts? What the fuck is a human life worth, then?”
He knew what he thought about the matter. Now, he was going to put those thoughts into action.
The door to the basement opened with a creak. He took the stairs carefully, as he still felt unstable after yesterday’s bender. The “huu huus” started when he was about halfway down. All six adult fluffy ponies sobbed in their pen, uncertain of their fates.
As usual, it was the gray unicorn who approached the front. Brandon wasn’t sure why he had kept the stallion alive, when he had killed his herd a dozen times over. Perhaps it was because the fluffy didn’t meet the stereotype of the “asshole smarty”.
“Munstah hoomin? Hewd aww have tummie-huwties an’ wowsest owwies. Can hewd haf nummies nao? Fwuffy nu cawe if nu haf nummies, bu’ nu wan fwuffy fwiends tu haf saddies.”
“Be patient, shithead,” he replied sharply. “We’re behind on our work, and I can’t let these experiments go to waste.”
“Huu huu…speshuw-fwend nu am 'spewiment! Wai munstah hoomin stiww huwt speshuw-fwend? Am mummah-nu-mowe, an speshuw-fwend teww munstah hoomin fo su many bwite-times dat speshuw-fwend wan foweva sweepies!”
Brandon had heard enough. He walked over to the nearest table, passing the dam with the exposed chest cavity (who was, in fact, still saying “wan die”) and grabbing a clamp stand. He then walked back over and faced the gray stallion, whose stance indicated respect—his cheeks weren’t puffed, and he sat on his haunches rather than standing on all fours in a defensive stance. Lifting the clamp stand over his head, he brought it down with all the force he could muster…
…on the yellow pegasus mare cowering next to him.
“SCREEEEEEEEEE!” she screamed as her body hit the floor. Her cracked skull seeped blood and fluids all over the painted concrete floor.
“Nuuuuuuu! Wun 'way, weggies!
“SCREEEEE! Munstaaaaah!
All of the fluffies scurried around in circles, save for the unicorn smarty-friend, who merely crouched as close as he could to the cold ground. The rest of the herd found out all too late that they could not escape, and Brandon dispatched them one by one, screaming with a primal rage, until only the gray stallion remained.
Once the deed was done, the man slumped against the back wall. His fury turned to sadness as the release he had sought for so long was finally granted. He had never allowed himself to properly mourn what he had lost—and more than a decade of bitterness is enough to turn even the best man into a monster.
Oh my god, Cara never would have wanted this. The pretty, freckle-faced blonde had always had a soft spot for the weak. He couldn’t imagine what she would think of him now as he sat, stained by the blood of a fluffy pony herd and crying his eyes out like a five year old child.
“I’m sorry, Cara. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Meanie mistah haf saddies? Wan huggies fo make heawt-huwties gu 'way?”
He might be vulnerable, but he had no desire to accept sympathy from a fluffy. Instead, he got up and walked past the stallion, leaving the basement behind.
“I just had the best weekend I can remember. Now, it’s time to pay the piper.”
“Good luck, Dave,” Ben said, patting David’s shoulder.
“We’ll be right here with you,” Maddie added as she sat down with Ben, Josh, Eli, and several of her girl friends who came to support her.
As David’s was the last case on the docket, he had a lot of time to think. His increasing unease as the expulsions were handed out like last week’s Latin grades was only softened by his remembrance of Maddie’s promise that she would always love him, and that he had atoned for his mistakes. She even said she would talk to her parents about flying down to visit for a week.
“David Owings, please step forward to the podium.”
Oh god, I think I’m gonna throw up. Nevertheless, he held down his lunch and stood up, awaiting his fate. He looked Mr. Simmons in the face, but his teacher refused to meet his eyes.
“Mr. Owings, your negligence in feeding the microfluffy called ‘Butter’ attracted more microfluffies, which could have easily caused an infestation. Microfluffies have, in times past, been known to cause damage to building infrastructure and to cause respiratory issues in individuals with allergies or compromised immune systems. You knew this, and therefore you chose to conceal their presence rather than to inform the appropriate school authorities. For this reason, we find you guilty of endangering your fellow students and school property.”
David’s heart sank. He nearly fainted when he heard Maddie start to cry in the seats behind him.
“However, you constructed a…strong argument…when you contended that microfluffies are distinct from fluffy ponies. As this committee has decided to consider microfluffies as not entirely unlike rodents, which are in fact permitted as pets by the Student Handbook, we find you not guilty on the charge of ‘Possession of Fluffy Ponies’.”
Well, that’s something at least. Maybe they’ll not kill them.
“This brings us to the punishment for your infraction. This committee is well within its rights to expel you from Seneca for your misbehavior. However, it has been decided that you did what you did for good reason, and your siding with the weak and defenseless is, perhaps, a quality to be admired. Additionally, you attempted to prevent damage to person or property in your failed attempt at chemically sterilizing the micros. Know that your concern for others above yourself has not gone unnoticed.”
“However, we cannot allow your example to be one of reckless laissez-faire triumphing over common sense. For this reason, you are sentenced to 150 hours of on-campus community service, to be supervised by Mr. Harvey McClain. You are also considered to be on social probation until the end of your sophomore year. Finally, you must adhere to the Student Handbook’s standards for the keeping of rodents—namely, that you may not keep more than two of them in your room, and those two must be of the same gender. Any others, for which you do not find a home between the end of this hearing and the beginning of classes tomorrow, will be destroyed. Is that clear?”
David was dumbstruck. He had resigned himself to expulsion—the fact that he could stay at Seneca brought joy beyond his wildest expectations.
“Mr. Owings, I said, ‘is that clear’.”
“Uh, yes sir! Thank you, sir. Thank all of you.”
Mr. Simmons just grunted. “That concludes today’s sentencing hearing. We are adjourned.”
Before David knew it, he had a dozen students piled on top of him. He hoped in the middle of the commotion that he wouldn’t re-break his leg.
“What the hell do you think changed his mind?” Josh asked. “The way he lit into you at the hearing, I thought you were done.”
“Beats me,” David replied. “My dad always taught me, ‘never look a gift horse in the mouth’. In the end, I guess I’m just glad he did.”
“So, how are you going to divide up the fluffies? I’d be glad to take one myself, but my parents are constantly back and forth between DC and Charleston. Summer vacation would be hell for it.”
“Well, I was planning on asking you guys first,” David said. “What about you, Maddie? I think you and Spruce would get along really well.”
“That’s the little green stallion, right?”
“Yep. He’s the only stallion, so finding a home for him makes things a lot easier.”
“Sure! I’m sure my parents won’t mind. They’ve always been kind to my cousin’s. The only problem is, I’ll need a cage…”
“Yeah, about that,” David replied, “Ms. Wilkinson came up to me after the hearing and offered to ‘liberate’ some of the unused terrariums from the Biology lab. It wouldn’t be a permanent solution, but it’d work until I can order some good cages.”
“You don’t have to do that, sweetie! I can buy my own.”
“No, no. I want to. Consider it part of my thanks for keeping me positive over the past week.”
“Oooh, only part?” the girl asked as she scooted her chair closer to David’s.
“Well, I thought I’d let you name your price,” he said, leaning in for a kiss. Josh and Eli sat in awkward silence, averting their eyes to avoid the spectacle.
“Jesus Christ, would you two just bang already?” Ben exclaimed as he sat down with his double-portion of fluffy steak. “But do it somewhere else—some of us have to eat here.”
“Sorry, Ben,” Maddie said, half-giggling as she pulled away from her boyfriend.
“But not sorry,” David added.
“No, not really sorry.”
“Ugh, whatever. Hey, David, have you found homes for your fluffies yet?”
“Maddie’s gonna take the stallion. Did you want one?”
“I was thinking about asking for the brown pegasus. I’ve been feeling kinda bad about hurting her by accident—taking her in seems like the least I could do.”
“Done!” David said, clapping his hands. “That leaves Sugar and Rosie, but I can keep both of them since they’re both mares. Thanks, guys, that really means a lot.”
“You did it, David,” Maddie said as she squeezed David’s arm. “You promised to save Butter’s family. Now, they’ve got a real chance to live safe and happy lives.”
“Yeah.”
Mr. Simmons’ presence had gone unnoticed by the group of teenage friends. He had sat down two tables away, but could hear every word the students said.
All’s well that ends well, I guess. Now that I’ve done my good deed for the day, I guess it’s time to head home. He picked up his tray, having barely touched his spaghetti, and made his way to the dish room. Maybe it was a good night to grab carryout at China Palace.
The twenty minute drive back to his rental house was the longest he’d ever made in his life. Perhaps it was because many deep philosophical thoughts on the way home. Perhaps it was also because he realized as he was pulling in the driveway that he had meant to stop for Chinese. An hour later, he returned with a box of Chicken Chow Mein.
Better check on the last experiment, he thought. He headed down the narrow staircase to the dark basement, where he had a single fluffy pony locked in a pen on one side of the room and all of his lab equipment on the other. He ignored the gray unicorn stallion from the moment he set foot on the concrete, heading over to the hanging cabinet. He opened the door, revealing the brown dam whose chest he had opened up back in December.
“wan die…wan die…wan die…”
Brandon fumbled around for the lab notebook he had designated solely for this experiment. He wrote down some notes:
03/12 @ 19:45—Test subject #37 has performed beyond all expectations. She has been in the “wan die” loop for nearly four months now, and has only been sustained by intubation feedings and, of course, the artificial heart I designed. I dare say the prototype is successful, and that we’re prepared to seek a patent. Research shows that the design is unique, and the process should be fairly straightforward. Terminating experiment at 19:49.
“wan die…wan die…wan die…”
The mare’s vital signs were all stable, and the heart kept on doing its job. The tiny green light in its chest shone brightly—it had outlived the dam’s original heart, which he had been forced to discard several weeks prior.
“wan die…wan die…wan die…”
“Sure. I’d say you’ve earned it.” Brandon reached over the tank in which most of the fluffy was submerged and grabbed her throat. He squeezed gently, then hard once he realized he’d hit his target. The mare didn’t resist.
gyack hack kccck
The man sighed. “Now what?” he asked himself. He looked across the room at the single fluffy pony who remained in the pen. The stallion lay flat on his stomach and covered his eyes with his front legs.
Brandon slowly walked over to the pen and unlatched the gate. “Come on,” he said to the prostrate creature as he turned back towards the stairwell. But the pitiful fluffy didn’t move.
“Did you not hear me? I said, come on.”
“Whewe meanie hoomin am takin’ fwuffy? Mistah gif huwties nao?”
“Just…hurry up before I change my mind.”
The gray unicorn shuffled up the wooden stairs behind Brandon, not asking any further questions as they walked.
The man pulled a beer out of the fridge, walked to the living room and turned on the TV. There was a historical documentary on about the mound builders, which was good enough for him. Then, he opened the box of chow mein, scooped some out onto his plate, and set the box on the floor.
“Nummies? Fo fwuffy?”
“Sure. Why not.”
The unicorn stepped forward and took a bite. He chewed it for a moment, as if regarding the taste. “Dis nu am sketties…”
“Is that a problem?”
“Nu, mistah. Fankoo fow nummies! Am mistah be nyu daddeh?”
“Just eat your damn noodles.”
“Otay, mistah.”
“Noooo, three weeks is too long. I want to go to Ithaca with you now.”
David laughed. He knew, of course, that his girlfriend was half-joking in her tone. But it would be hard not seeing her until their summer program started after spending every day together for the past five months.
“I’m going to miss you, too. But at least we’ll have five weeks together at Cornell—remind me to thank Mr. Simmons for not taking back his recommendation.”
“No question. But first,” Maddie said, rolling over on the picnic blanket so that she was on top of him, “promise me you’ll call, or video chat, or something every day until I see you again.”
“That depends. If I refuse, will you stay right where you are?”
Maddie squealed and playfully punched his shoulder. “You are so dirty!”
“For fuck’s sake, you guys! Get a room! You aren’t the only ones still on campus!”
The embarrassed girl quickly jumped up and straightened out her skirt. “Ben, stop acting like such a child!”
“We just came over because Ben’s mom is here, so we’re about to leave,” Josh said. “I guess the bus to the airport is gonna leave in about a half hour, too. Right, Maddie?”
Maddie looked longingly at David. “Yeah. I guess we should at least walk that way.”
The four of them walked among the ancient oak trees between the dorms, and then out into the open quad. A few students were still milling around—mostly locals whose parents were picking them up.
“Babbehs be gud fo’ hoomin mummahs an daddehs!”
“Nu wowwy, mummah!” exclaimed Spruce, the earthie stallion. “Spwuce pwotect hoomin mummah fwom aww meanie munstahs!” He puffed out his cheeks and assumed a defensive stance.
“He thinks he’s soooo tough! Maddie whispered to David. “Of course, who am I to tell him any different?”
David looked over at Ben, who seemed rather pleased as he watched his own microfluffy interact with her mother. “So, Josh’s parents agreed to let him stay with you this summer?”
“Just until the August recess when they come back to Charleston,” Josh replied.
“Yeah, he’s going to help with the big project,” Ben added.
“Big project?” Maddie asked.
“My uncle’s all gung ho about starting up his new side gig,” Ben said. “He’s calling it ‘Boggess’ Quality Meats’. He wants me to help him get cages built on his acreage this summer since I kinda turned him on to the idea—we’ve got it all planned out.”
“Nice! Well, good luck guys. Keep in touch.”
“Of course!” Ben said, before the two of them walked over to where his mom had parked her car. In his periphery, David could see two people—a man and a woman (who were too old to be students)—walking together at the far end of the administrative building.
“Hey, Maddie, is that—”
“Ms. Wilkinson and Mr. Simmons? Yeah. They’ve been hanging out together a lot over the past couple of weeks. By the way, what do you think of him getting announced as the Dean of Men next year?”
“I’m a little surprised, actually,” David replied. “He always said he turned it down a few years ago because he wanted to be able to tune things at school out at the end of the day. I guess more than anything I was disappointed to hear that Mr. Welsh was gonna retire. He was the one who encouraged me to stick with Eli as a roommate. Now, I’m glad I did.”
“And I’m glad to see you getting along so well with him now. Didn’t he request to room with you again next year?”
“Yeah, he did. Hey, I think that’s him over there now,” David said. He waved his arm in the air, and the tall junior raised his hand to acknowledge. A woman with short black hair got out of the car that pulled up in front of him and wrapped her arms around her son.
“I think it’s funny that he asked for Rosie,” Maddie said, “he doesn’t seem the type to be interested in a fluffy pony.”
“I don’t know about that,” the boy said as he watched Eli securing the pink earthie’s travel cage in the backseat of his mother’s car. “He and I got to talk a lot over the last couple of months, but it was nice for me to have Butter to share my thoughts with.”
“Mmhmm…nice to know you have a fluffy to whom you can spill your guts…”
“Oh, come on, you know that’s not how I meant—”
“I’m kidding, David! Seriously, I’m glad you met Butter. I think he helped you to become the great guy you are now.”
The couple continued to talk as they walked over to where the airport bus was parked. Most of the students had their trunks loaded into the outside compartment already, so David was able to walk right up to the driver and hand him Maddie’s bags. Then he stepped back up on the sidewalk and set Sugar’s cage down next to Spruce’s. The girl wrapped her arms around him tightly.
“I love you, David.”
“I love you, too. Thanks for always being there for me.”
They kissed and said their goodbyes. Then David watched as his girlfriend walked up the steps onto the bus. To his surprise, she ran back down and off of the bus just to kiss him again.
“Don’t ever forget that you’re a good person. And I love you, so that’s got to count for something, right?”
“I won’t forget. And—”
“Honey, you’re gonna have to get back on or we’re pullin’ away without you,” the driver said, leaning out the door.”
Just three more weeks, he thought as he watched the bus door close behind her. He stood there as the bus started to roll forward, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a familiar voice behind him say,
“Well damn, Pam. At least now we know why he never calls or writes!”
“Jeez! Mom, Dad, Uncle Will…how long have you been standing back there?”
“We just walked up, sweetie,” his mother said, “don’t you think if we’d been here we’d at least have wanted to meet your girlfriend?”
“That makes sense. Oh, by the way…Sugar, say hi to my Mom and Dad.”
“Hewwo daddeh-mummah an’ daddeh-daddeh! Sugaw am happies tu meet yu!”
“So, you finally started letting Sugar call you ‘daddy’, then?” his uncle asked.
David shrugged his shoulders. “I figured it couldn’t hurt. So, are you guys ready to go?”
The boy walked back to the parking lot with his parents and uncle. His dad pummeled him with questions about his classes, while his mom only wanted to know more about Maddie. David didn’t mind any of the questions, though, since both things were going well.
In fact, life in general was really good.
THE END