The Life of Another - Chapter 34

Story by Jake Atkinson on SoFurry

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#38 of The Life of Another

Hi!

The spotlight finally finds its way back to Roger and Nick! Yay! ^^

And thanks again to all those who five star rate and fav. Your enthusiasm is what keeps the story going! ^^


The Life of Another - Chapter 34

© Jake Atkinson

P.O.V. - Roger - Right after Mrs. Patterson leaves him alone in the apartment

I closed my eyes and started to take a deep, calming breath. Unfortunately a rancid odor ruined the moment. "Ugh, no offense Cluck Norris but you're waiting outside till you learn to use the bathroom like a civilized rooster."

Cluck's pride seemed untarnished by my declaration but it didn't stop him from giving my fingers a quick peck as I reached for the cage.

"Hey!" I said as I withdrew my hand. "Keep it up and I'll take you down to the Buk n' Cluk restaurant!"

The rooster puffed out his chest and fixed me with a beady eye.

Rising to the challenge, I decided to play along. "Think you're faster than me huh? We'll see about that."

I gestured with my right hand to catch his attention and took a quick grab at the handle with my left. The trick worked, barely. He struck valiantly but I managed to get the folding handle upright and away from the cage's wire top unscathed.

Laughing manically, I moved my mouth out of sync with my words, pantomiming a poorly dubbed action movie. "Your chicken-fu is no match for my aikido!"

As if in response, he crapped.

"Ewww, I stand corrected! Damn, what have they been feeding you?!"

Waving my free hand in front of my muzzle, I wrinkled my nose in disgust and hastily escorted Cluck Norris to the hallway.

"There!" I said triumphantly as I dropped the cage near my door. "You can wait out here until the testing starts."

I shut the door with a flourish and crossed the living room to open the window, basking momentarily in the brisk yet pristine air as it rushed in.

Ahh, much better! The fumes from the new carpet and paint are bad enough without rooster poo adding to the mix! And since the heater isn't running I guess I can leave the window open until the festivities start. Now, back to Bach!

I returned to the chair and picked up the cello and bow, continuing my earlier preparations by adjusting the bow's tension and applying rosin.

I hope she doesn't mind my changes but who could play with all that slack?!

Starting again, I closed my eyes and took a slow breath, letting go of all my thoughts to imagine myself alone in a forest. My soul ached to feel the unfettered, all encompassing freedom one can only experience without the physical limitations of the body but without my old talent I was left with only memories. The grief at what I had lost jumped forth from where I had so carefully buried it and an unexpected sob caught in my throat as I fought to suppress it once again.

Woah, where'd that come from?! I thought as I strained against the emotion. It's going to take awhile to unwind a knot this tight, I'd better pick a longer piece. I'm not sure how much time I have though, better just jump right in and warm up as I play.

P.O.V. - Jack Ward

Sarah's ears laid back sympathetically. "I don't blame him, chickens do have a rather potent stench about them. And you did tell him that the rooster wouldn't be needed until later. I wouldn't want that thing stinking up my house either."

"I know." replied Kathryn. "But we really need a test animal in the room for comparison purposes. Well I guess it can't be helped. If we tell him to bring the bird back he's liable to get suspicious." She glanced to the monitor again. "Now what's he doing? Oh dear, don't tell me he's going to leave the window open?!"

I chuckled quietly to myself as our carefully laid plans slowly unraveled. "Relax," I said. "Just keep an eye on the meters and if things start to get out of control I'll dream up some excuse to bust in there."

"Don't be so sure of yourself Jack." Sarah chided. "I know you're usually resistant to such things but..."

I exhaled forcefully. "Will you mother hens lighten up? Laura will be along any minute. She can pull out the paddles and get my old heart going again if the need arises. Not that I'd enjoy the experience but it's not like I haven't been dead before."

Sarah scowled. "You're never going to let me live that down are you?!"

"That isn't what I was getting at Sarah. What I meant was..."

*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

My attention shot first to the meters and then to the screen. "Holy crap! The EMF gauge maxed out and he's just sitting there."

"Quiet," said Kathryn in hushed tones. "Whatever it was, it seems to have passed. Let's just dial back the sensitivity on the meter and sit tight. I think he's about to play."

After seeing some of the things Roger had pulled off lately I was reasonably confident he'd be able to play with a certain level of skill. But at the same time it was hard to shake the image I still had in my mind from when he and I met only a couple weeks ago.

Roger was kicking around his beat up skateboard in the parking lot of the trucking company his father worked for. His fur dirty and scent strong, he had made no effort to look his best for the interview. In fact, it seemed as if he could hardly care less. He barely acknowledged my arrival with an off-hand "Hey" and didn't even stop tooling around on his board until his father hollered at him to stop. Mumbling and looking away most of the time, he made our conversation a strain until I brought up the band I saw proudly displayed on his skateboard, Agoraphobic Nosebleed. Then a devious gleam lit his eyes and he glanced around the cracked, faded asphalt as if spies were everywhere. Satisfied that we were alone, his father having been called back to the main office, he produced a cheap mp3 player and passed one earbud to me. He placed the other in his ear and hit play. The volume was cranked way too high and the flimsy earpiece blared tinnily, but the rapid grindcore beat was unmistakable. Seconds later the neon electric blue that had previously been confined to his tail expanded until all of his grey fur glowed visibly under the noon sun. But as quickly as the show started, it was over. He flicked off the music and grinned at me, saying "First one's free."

Not being aware of my inherent resistance, Roger obviously thought he had given me a substantial jolt. And while I had noticed a slight jump in my heart rate, it was so subtle that I dismissed it at the time. However for it to have even affected me at all I realized it must have been a significant shock.

As we talked further, Roger couldn't resist showing off and finally admitted that he had recently started using his talents like a drug dealer, jacking people up for twenty bucks a pop. My mind was made up right then and there, Roger was a prime candidate for Burwell Academy's Intervention Program.

And now look at him. I thought to myself as my mind came back to the present. Two weeks ago this kid practically worshiped at the alter of grindcore bands like Pig Destroyer and was so shy he was almost mute. Now we come to find out that he speaks everything from German to Japanese and can play the cello like a grandmaster!

I turned down the volume on the speaker and addressed Kathryn. "I don't know classical that well but this sure doesn't sound like Chopsticks to me. Where the hell did Roger pick all this up? You should have seen that dust bowl, tumbleweed town he lived in. There probably wasn't a cello within a hundred miles of that place!"

Kathryn turned her attention from the monitor. "Though Chopsticks is generally a piano piece, you're right, he's definitely not playing anything like that! This is the prelude for Johann Sebastian Bach's cello suite number three. And while he's playing a little tight and fast, he hasn't missed a note. Considering the fact that he hasn't even warmed up, I'm stunned. If he manages to slow down and feel the music more I think we'll really be in for quite a performance."

The Panther looked expectantly back to the screen, seemingly oblivious to the now twitching gauges that lined the borders of the monitor.

Roger paused. "Here comes the allermande." said Kathryn in an excited whisper.

Sure enough, Roger's hovering bow started swaying and, more noticeably, his aura started strobing in time with the music. And that wasn't all that was swaying, the needles on the gauges went from mere twitching to actively waving back and forth in sync with his glowing fur.

I felt Sarah's hand on my shoulder as she spoke. "Jack, I think you better get in there. We're not showing any readings behind our secure wall but the window is still open and he's beginning to throw off some gamma radiation."

Kathryn and I both glanced at the gamma counter. "It's alright for now." said Kathryn. "That's no worse than what a person might get while flying in a commercial jet. He's starting to loosen up and I think that's what's causing the higher readings. Just listen to him! We can't stop him now."

Sarah and I exchanged worried glances but stayed in our seats, our growing trepidation an even match for Kathryn's enthusiasm.

A few minutes later the door clicked softly behind us and I turned to see Laura and Rick as they quietly took up the last of the empty chairs.

"Shhhh!" Kathryn scolded as she waved her hand for silence. "Here comes the courante!"

Roger paused with his eyes closed and his face serene as the world fell silent, then came the storm.

Within a few notes alarms started sounding and Kathryn sat bolt upright. "This isn't the courante, he's jumping straight to the gigue!"

Sarah shot me a concerned look. "Jack... the window..."

Though we were on the second floor I knew the room's shielding was heavily compromised as long as the window was open and I jumped to my paws. "I'm on it."

Sarah started to come with me but I sat her down, my hand firmly on her shoulder, just as a loud pop sounded from the speaker.

"He's blown the mic! Get in there Jack!" shouted Laura over the din of the alarms.

Within a few steps I was in the hall and threw open Roger's door. The force that rolled over me was like nothing I had ever experienced. Every fiber of my world reverberated with Roger's cello and I felt an absolute, detached calm that stopped me dead in my tracks. It wasn't until Laura pushed past me that my mind cleared enough to realize that the music had ceased and Roger lay collapsed on the floor.

P.O.V. - Jim - On the sidewalk with Nick

"Where's that music coming from?" Nick asked as he swiveled his ears.

"I don't know." I replied as I looked around. "But it sure is getting loud."

The intensity of the classical solo piece grew exponentially until it felt as if my skull itself was resonating. At the same time, I felt awash in a calm warmth that slowed the static of my thoughts to a singular emotion that ebbed and flowed in perfect harmony with the music.

Everywhere I focused my attention it was as if I was fully alive for the first time, my thoughts filled with the discovery of life without words. The colors in Nick's fur carried fathomless richness and texture. The frigid cement of the sidewalk underneath my shoes was beyond my direct touch yet was still somehow tangible down to every course grain. And the aroma of thawing earth and decaying leaves carried a profound depth of experience that made me want to slide off my shoes and dig my toes into the damp, cold soil nearby. If it weren't for the ruffling of my fur by a chill, late-afternoon breeze I may well have stayed motionless on the path, lost in the experience indefinitely. But it carried the scent of Nick's familiar Canine undertones and so disturbed the peace in my slowly beating heart that my earlier agitation came to the fore, reawakening my analytical brain. It was only then that I realized the music was gone.

I called Nick's name but he stared blankly through me until I called it again while tugging at his shoulder. "Nick."

His features lethargically reanimated until his eyes focused dully on my nose. "That..."

"...was Roger." I said, ending his sentence.

He nodded, still in a daze. "I feel..."

"...like you're at peace with the universe? Me too, and I don't even like classical music." My mind continued warming up and questions began to form. "How come it didn't feel like this the last time Roger broadcasted the music he was listening too?"

The aftereffects of the strange event seemed to weigh more heavily on Nick. "Let's... go see Roger."

"My sense of time doesn't feel right." I commented. "Did you notice when the music stopped? I think we've been standing here awhile."

Nick shook his head. "No, I heard the music and then sort of got lost in it. It's not so bad though. I feel slow, but in a good way. Maybe we shouldn't go to Roger's room. I'm sure they're still doing tests and I don't want to get him in trouble."

"Yeah I feel that way too but I'm pretty sure we aren't the only ones that got affected." I replied. "And I think it's safe to assume that they're going to find out, if they haven't already. Come on."

Nick nodded and we changed course towards Roger's building.

"Hey Nick," I said as we strolled lethargically. "I'm sorry for snapping at you lately. Everything's just been so crazy since Roger arrived."

Nick, who had been falling behind, caught up while I paused to enjoy the wind buffeting the fur on my face. The effect from the music was far from gone and it's afterglow made it easier to enjoy the simpler pleasures. "Did you guys get into a fight?" he asked. "Is that why he left?"

"No." I said calmly. "We've haven't really talked since yesterday, when he blew up my phone and... stuff."

"He knows you've been avoiding him." Nick said while turning to face into the wind alongside me. "Maybe he took that as your way of saying that you didn't want him around."

"Maybe." I responded, feeling suddenly laconic.

Without saying more, I put my hands in my jacket pockets and continued towards the William Lachlan building.

P.O.V. - Roger

Consciousness came after the fact. Reminiscent of moments in my past life when I would finally awaken from a prolonged psychotic break, I found myself seated upright on the floor and apparently mid-conversation. Dr. Laura Tamner, Jack Ward, Sarah Thurlington, Kathryn Patterson and a Fisher that I didn't recognize were all nearby.

To make matters worse the doctor was talking too fast, leaving me struggling to piece together what she was saying.

"RogerI'vegivenyouastimulant. Didyoufeeltheshot?"

I rubbed the fur on my face, took a deep breath and started my well-worn routine of checking my orientation. I'm sitting on the floor. Nothing hurts except where I just got that shotbut I feel really... sedate. There's carpet... mmmm, nice berber carpet. I brushed my flattened palm across the tightly sculpted fibers, admiring the diamond pattern woven throughout the beige material.

"Roger!"

The deep, unfamiliar voice snapped me out of my reverie and I looked up. "Huh? Oh yeah. Sorry I'm kinda spacey. Were we talking just now?"

"IbelieveyouweretellingDr.Tamnersomethingabout going out of body." said the Fisher. At least, I thought he was a Fisher. He had so many Lupine characteristics it was hard to decipher his origins.

I massaged absentmindedly at the injection site on my arm and tried to process the Fisher-Wolf's words. Something about going out of body... That's right! I was trying a different meditation technique while I was playing the cello! F#ck, the cello! My chest tightened apprehensively. "Oh no! It isn't damaged is it?" The sight of the instrument lying haphazardly on the floor got my heart pounding, or maybe it was the stimulant.

Mrs. Patterson pushed past the doctor and gently picked up the cello to examine it. And, unlike the others, she made an effort to talk slower. "Not a scratch on it. Roger, we're much more worried about you and Jack. If you could tell us what happened it would really help."

"I toldyouearlier, I'm fine!" called Jack from the back of the group. "The effecthasalready worn off."

The fog in my mind was clearing quickly now. "I was just playing the cello and trying to unwind a little before we started testing the apartment."

The Fisher's golden Lupine eyes narrowed. "You were mumbling something to Dr. Tamner about wanting to be out of your body. So when you say that you were trying to unwind, what do you mean?"

Whatever it was that the doctor shot me up with it was definitely kicking in, replacing my serenity with paranoid anxiety. Nonetheless, I was better able to concentrate. F#ck, I actually told them what I was doing?! Not that it matters I suppose, I obviously failed miserably!Guess I'll go with a diluted version of the truth.

I got carefully to my paws and righted the chair I had fallen from earlier before settling into it. "I was just trying something old in a new way. It uh, didn't work. Heh. Anyway I'm ok now, just a little jittery from whatever was in that shot. Sorry if I worried anyone."

They were clearly unsatisfied with my response but luckily Mr. Yorke arrived on the scene. "I'm sorry for interrupting but there's a growing crowd of students outside that could use your attention Dr. Tamner."

"Thank you Mr. Yorke." she replied. "Would you be able to lend me some assistance in rounding everyone up? I don't have enough supplies with me to treat more than a few people so we'll need to have all the affected parties report to the medical ward. In fact, since we don't really know the scope of things, it might be best to put out a school-wide notice. Mrs. Patterson could you handle that?"

"Of course, should I make it a level 1?" she said as she produced her phone.

The doctor finished checking my pulse and rose to head for the door. "Yes, I suppose we should. Mr. Forester, perhaps you could stay behind with Roger? I'll be needing everyone else's help to make sure all the students are accounted for. Plus I'd like to get statements from all those affected so we can check for patterns related to location, species... anything."

"That's fine." replied the Fisher. "After reading Roger's file I've been most anxious to get to know him better."

"Alright, you're looking much better Roger." she said as she held the door for everyone to exit. "But you may continue to feel anxious for awhile, just remember it's nothing to worry about. The feeling should pass soon." She turned her attention to Jack. "As for you, are you sure you don't need a..."

Their voices trailed off as the door closed and I was left, rather awkwardly, with Mr. Forester. I looked his way, my ears lowered apologetically. "I'm really sorry about all this. I wasn't trying to project anything, just hoping to relax a little."

He nodded and took a seat on the sofa. "Yes well, I don't think there's cause for alarm. Those of us that were behind the secure wall at the time seem unaffected so I suspect we'll discover your influence was directional in nature, being limited to what escaped out your open window."

I glanced across the room at the now closed window. "Looking back, that probably wasn't the best idea I've had lately but it seemed harmless enough at the time. I mean, I planned to close it before we started testing the room. And it really stunk in here!"

Mr. Forester fixed me with a stare. "From what I've gathered from your file, you know perfectly well that you have trouble controlling your talent when you're exposed to music. And yet you're saying that you thought playing the cello didn't warrant keeping the window shut?"

Reacting defensively, I stammered out "I never even connected! I was trying to relax but it just wasn't working. My playing was off and and I was all wound up and..." I took a breath. "And so I tried to come at it from a different angle. Normally there's this meditation routine that I go through that really helps me feel better. It's the kind where, if I carry it through the whole way, I can pop out of my body. But I wasn't planning on going that far. I only wanted to get to the part right where I get a rush through either my heart or my head chakra and there's a roaring, white noise sound in my ears. It's the only way I know to really blow off all the pent up pressure I'm always carrying around."

He scratched idly at the fur on the side of his neck. "I see. And naturally you assumed that, despite all this energy rushing about through your chakras, nothing untoward would happen?"

His irksome tone started to try my patience. "Not if I didn't connect, which I didn't. Err, well I guess I did if other people got affected. But that must have happened after the fact. I simply went too far. I've always done the technique motionless and lying down before so I kinda missed my mark when I got to the white noise part. Instead of hovering there like I had planned, I sped right through it and got to the flippy part."

Mr. Forester cocked an ear. "The flippy part?"

"I don't know the formal term for it." I said "It's like uh... you ever fall asleep in your bed backwards? Where your paws are up by the headboard?"

He tipped his head in thought. "I suppose I did as a cub, on rare occasion. Why?"

"Remember that momentary sense of disorientation you felt when you first woke up? Maybe sort of a spinning, flipping sensation because everything around you was backwards?"

His eyes twinkled with recognition but his voice played at naivety. "Vaguely. So what you're saying is that you were trying to get close to going out of your body, because that somehow relaxes you, but you accidentally went too far. And when you flipped you didn't go out of body, as would normally happen, you just lost consciousness. Is that about right?"

That's about all you're getting! I thought to myself. And I'm not quite sure how he filled in those last parts. Hmm, I wonder if he's ever done any transcendental meditation? I'd better tread lightly."More or less, yeah. I mean, I was doing some serious chakra work during the allermande but I kept hitting resistance. And I felt pressed for time so I uh, decided to try something novel."

"And you didn't see any danger in doing _something novel_with the window open?"

I huffed angrily. "As I mentioned earlier, I never connected. Yeah I was compressing and spinning some emotional energy around, but it was all internal. I never projected anything. This is all stuff I've done countless times before without incident. And I've done that last novel part countless times too, only lying down and motionless... never a problem."

He steepled his fingers, eyeing me over them. "Never a problem... except for that day at the church, or at your old school or at that concert you snuck off too?"

Damn, I don't know about any of those incidents! Fine, I'm done playing defense! "Those situations were totally different and the way you're framing the issue isn't fair! Thing is, I'm used to unfair! I've dealt with truckloads of unfair my whole f#cking life! Go ahead, expel me! I know how to take care of myself. A year from now I'll be riding my new Ducati sportbike down the boulevard with hundred dollar bills fluttering in my wake!"

Somewhere in my rant Mr. Forester flinched, but upon seeing his reaction I felt more like a bully than a victor.Damn these emotions! I can only imagine what my aura has been up to. Way to cozy up to the new counselor! "I'm sorry." I said after a tight breath. "I don't mean to scare you or anyone else. It's just that I'm at my limit and no one seems to care."

Mr. Forester made a visible effort to bring his ears forward. "I admit you did have me worried for a moment there. Perhaps you aren't aware of it but you can be rather intimidating when you're angry. Something you picked up from your father I'd wager."

A growl escaped my throat, catching me off-guard almost as much as the counselor.

He held up his palms defensively but maintained eye contact. "I'm sorry. It was unprofessional of me to say that. And I want to apologize if I gave you the impression that I was setting you up for expulsion from the school. I was simply trying to show you that your personal judgment about your abilities isn't a reliable guide. Time and again, while you've never meant to hurt anyone with your talents, you have. You need to learn to stop yourself _before_these things happen instead of apologizing after they do. And I can help you with that."

P.O.V. - Nick - Roger's front door - About two hours later

Looking tired and down, Roger opened the door shortly after I rang the bell. But after he realized it was me he changed instantly. His ears perked, his tail wagged and his heart sang. And before I could say a word he hugged me to his chest so tightly that my paws lifted off the floor.

"It's so good to see you Nick!" he said, still holding me aloft.

His enthusiastic hug bound my arms firmly to my sides but left me breathlessly happy. And whatever concerns I had about his feelings for me evaporated away in a single, shared heartbeat. "Roger..." I squeaked from within his grasp. "I can barely breathe."

He set me down and looked at me with a shy smile. "Sorry, it just feels like I haven't seen you in ages. Come in and check out my new place! Oh and watch your step. They're adding a tiny hallway and a second door to create a sort of airlock."

"What's that about?" I said as I stepped around tools, boards, metal sheeting and bundles of wire.

Roger grinned sheepishly and looked away. "I uh, had a bit of an incident earlier and Mr. Ward came in while it was happening. It seems the open door created an avenue for the effect to escape so they decided to add a second door. That way if I go nuclear they can send someone in and still maintain a safe seal."

At first I worried about telling Roger I had been affected but I realized it would come out sooner or later. "That must have been what Jim and I heard. Were you doing that strobing light trick like the other night?"

Roger tensed and lowered his ears. "No I was playing the cello and uh, did something stupid. I've got to say though, it wasn't Jack's fault. I left the window open on account of Cluck Norris' chicken-fu."

I kicked off my shoes inside what I guessed would be his new foyer and we sat down side by side on the sofa.

"Cluck Norris' chicken-fu?" I asked with one ear down. "What are you talking about?"

He shifted to face me and draped an ankle over mine. Such a simple gesture, yet it set my empathic senses alight. He was just as excited about the contact as me. Oh my god, this is so amazing! I've sensed other people feeling this way about, well... other people. But never about me!

Roger tipped his head. "Before I get into that I need to ask, you and Jim are ok right? They've been kinda hiding the extent of the incident from me."

"Huh?" I said as I snapped my attention back to the discussion. "Oh yeah, we're fine. We came here after it happened but they herded us over to the medical ward along with everyone else."

"Everyone else?" He said with concern in his voice.

Not wanting to upset him, I tried to downplay it. "It was pretty orderly. They just lined us all up and checked everyone's pulse. Then they separated us into two main groups and one group got shots and the rest just answered a few questions."

Roger narrowed his gaze and tilted his muzzle down. "And how many ended up in the line for shots?"

I squirmed. "Uhm, a couple dozen or so. But it wasn't a big deal! They just gave them each a shot in the back of the arm and asked a couple questions. And Jim would be with me now but he stopped to talk with someone."

Roger's frisky mood had now given way to a melancholy concern. "So you guys weren't among those that got shots?"

I shook my head and sidled across the sofa to lean against him. "No, they said we were borderline and just asked us where we were, how we felt, what we heard... that kind of stuff. Honestly Roger, it's ok. In fact, it was an amazing feeling. It was really different from that time we kissed and I got all energized. The whole world slowed down and it was like I was experiencing everything in a whole new way."

Roger draped an arm over my shoulders and pulled me close, resting his muzzle on top of my head. "I keep thinking I'm finally starting to get my deviant crap under control, then something like this happens."

He swallowed hard and fell silent, radiating a profound sorrow. Then, in an instant, it was gone.

"Roger!" I said as I sat up to face him. "You've got to stop doing that!"

Genuinely startled by my reaction, his ears folded. "What?"

"Every time you feel an emotion you don't like, you shut it down. That's not healthy for anyone let alone an emotionally connected person."

Roger flashed momentarily with anger, then with embarrassment. "I can't go bawling on my boyfriend's shoulder every time some random emotion pops up out of nowhere."

"It didn't come out of nowhere." I replied. "You were upset about what happened and worried about me, your_boyfriend_."

Roger dropped the term so casually, so easily. And yet for me _boyfriend_carried a giddy, almost magical quality.

My feelings must have shown because suddenly I was wrapped in Roger's arms again. "I'm sorry Nick. I'll work on it, really."

Next thing I knew, Wolf tongue was being dragged down the side of muzzle so forcefully that it plastered my whiskers and smeared across my face. I sputtered and laughed, playfully squirming within his grasp. "Hey! Hey!"

"Enough heavy stuff!" he said, fixing me with a mischievous grin. "Let's do something fun! Wanna go to the Buk n' Cluk for supper?"

My stomach growled hungrily at the thought of their super-tasty chicken. "Roger you know you aren't allowed off campus without a staff member."

He huffed and rolled his eyes. "It's BARELY off campus and_you're_ allowed to leave. You could just happen to stroll over there alone. And while you're gone I'll uh...study. Then when you get to the restaurant you'll just happen to see me and be all 'Hey Roger, what are you doing here?! What a bad, _bad_Wolf! I'm going to march you right back to school this instant!' And by then I'd be so full of crispy Louisiana-style drumsticks that I wouldn't be able to fight you off."

He grinned at me, his tail thumping the sofa cushions expectantly.