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The Life of Another - Chapter 26

© Jake Atkinson

P.O.V. - Roger - Dorm Kitchen - Wednesday 5:30 pm (right after meeting with Mrs. Patterson)

I wandered into the kitchen and was presented with an immediate opportunity to test my theory about Ms. Thurlington's latest blunder. Casey was rummaging in the top section of the refrigerator and I could see her from the waist down. However, her view of me was obstructed by the open door, providing me the chance to take a long look without drawing attention. Hmm, those tight jeans suit her well but they aren't doing a thing for me. I mean, the __y're complimentary enough and her ringed, Red Panda tail is cute but the only emotion I'm feeling is sympathy. Th_ ose pants_ look really uncomfortable! Phew, at least the effect seems to be specific enough that I don't have to worry about getting turned on by every girl in school! I wonder if __species matters?

Casey shut the door, diet soda in hand, and noticed me standing in the entryway. "Hi Roger." she said with a smile.

My tail wagged a subtle greeting. "Hey Casey.Any V-8 in there?"

She stuck out her tongue. "Blech, you like that?! No, but there's some in the cupboard. We finally took it out of the fridge because no one was touching it and we needed the space. Maybe you could pour it over ice though?"

"I don't mind it warm." Ireplied. "About the only thing I like ice-cold is beer."

It wasn't until a momentlater that I realized my mistake. Luckily, Casey didn't seem fazed by the idea ofa fifteen year-old drinking beer. "Ugh, that stuff is even worse than vegetable juice! What do you call a snack... liverpâté?"

"Heh,I don't mind itspread on freshcrostini.That said, I wouldn't turn up my nose at a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos either. What cupboard is the V-8 in?"

She pointed to one of the lower cabinets. "Down there I think. Oh and there's some cheese puffs in the snack drawer but I don't know if they're the hot kind."

"Ok, thanks." I turned my tail to her andended up on my knees in order to get back far enough into the cupboard to find the vegetable juice. After some serious digging, I finally gotacan out into the light of the kitchen andnoticed that not only was it dusty, but it had expired over a year ago.

Casey must have noticed my disapproving glare. "What's the matter?"

I blew off the dust and rubbed the top of the can with my shirt before cracking it open. "It's expired, but only by a year."

The Red Panda cocked an ear at me. "And you're going to drink it?"

I shrugged. "Truth be told, I'll eat just about anything. A guy bet me ten bucks to eat a live potato bug once. It really wasn't so bad.Tasted sorta like creamed corn and had a nice crunch to it."

Her lipscurled in sync with her tail. "Eww!"

With a laugh, I let her off the hook. "Just kidding!Come on, give me SOME credit! Those things are hideous!"

That got her smiling again. "Thank god! You had me going there for a second. But, is that juice really expired? You might get botulism or something."

"Nah." I lied. "It's fine. Anyway, I don't want to keep you."

"It's alright." she said. "Hey uh, what are you and Nick doing tonight?"

"I'm not really sure." I repliedwhile lapping at the salty juice and affecting an overly casual tone. "I guess maybe we'll go off someplace privateand see what happens when I stick my tongue in his ear."

Her smile turned into a grin. "Almost got me again Wolf boy! Ya know, now that you can talk you don't seem as shy as I first thought."

"Yeah well, I can handle a crowd of one. And I know you're not the small minded type, which makes a huge difference."I leaned my hip against the counterand continued."So what are you up to? Don't tell me you guys have another pajama party planned."

"We don't do that EVERY night! Besides, Jim and David reserved the rec. room for the whole evening. What's up with that anyway?"

"First I've heard of it." I replied."But I'm headed up therenow. Want me to ask about it?"

"Nah,it's just thatI hardly ever see David out of his den so it got my curiosity up when I saw his name on the reservation board."

"I know what you mean. He does tend to keep to himself."I polished off the last of the stale beverage and tossed the can into the recyclebin. "Good to see you Casey but I really should get upstairs. Time for me to pester a certain Coyote."

Her ears perked. "I KNEW you had something planned. Come on, what are you gonna do?"

What was it that Nick said she was into? Yowwie? Yaowee? I've gotta remember to look that up so I can figure out why she's so obsessed about the two of us."Unless he's part of whatever Jim and David have planned,we'll probably just 'Netflix and chill' since we'll have the room to ourselves for awhile. Oh wait! I've gottaget some more dance practice in before the big night, maybe we'll..."

Casey instantly lit up,cutting me short."Oh my god! Are you guys going to the dance together?!"

Suddenly shy, my tail curled as I replied "Yeah, someone mentioned it at the last G.L.A. meeting and uh... next thing I knew, we decided to go."

A vaguely familiar, and very sarcastic,voice caught my attention from behind. "Ohhh, the faeries gonna come and sprinkle their pixie dust on the dance floor?"

I spun to face the green tinted, black furred Wolf andglared into his eyes silently, trying to control my rage.If it had been anyone but Steven, they would have been on the floor already; but my memories of him as my old Aikido partner's son helped to keep my emotions in check.

Initially he cringed back and flattened his ears, but he fought his instincts and managed to stand upstraight. "That tough act of yours may work on some guys but I think you're full of sh#t."

Brandishing a predatory smile, I responded"Steven Tanaka, my how you've grown. I remember when you were just a little cub and used to come to your Dad's studio. It was so cute, the way he'd train youa newmove and then you'd turn around and teach it to your doll. Whatwasyourlittle Wolfie's name again?"I tipped my head."Umm... JamJam, right?"

Steven's false bravado caved and he lunged forward to clutch at my chest, twisting my shirt in his fists. "You get off on digging around in people's minds?! Just because you have some f#ckin' psychic talent doesn't give you the right!"

I glanced at his grip and shook my head disapprovingly. "A double lapel grab, really? You can do better than that." As I looked back up, our eyes locked and for a fleeting moment I could see signs of his father in our shared gaze. The sense of déjà vu was overwhelming; it was as if Natsume and I were sparring like we had so many times in the past. Reflexes took over and I had him pinned down on his knees with a classic application of sankyo before he even knew what was going on.

Steven responded with a yelp and struggled forcefully against the hold I had on his bent wrist. Fearing he might hurt himself, I let go of his hand just as Casey snapped out of her gawking stare and shouted "Get out of here Steven! What are you doing in our dorm anyway?!"

The Wolf rose and turned to face us while rubbing his arm. "None of your business! And stay out of my head, Splash! If you keep up that sh#t you're going to get into some serious trouble!"

The commotion and raised tones had managed to draw a small crowd and I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable at the attention. Crap, I hope this doesn't hey reported. Self defense or not, Ms. Thurlington and Mr. Burwellwon't like it. I held up my hands in a placating gesture. "Yeah, yeah. If you're so worried about me then keep your comments, and your hands, to yourself." And, for the benefit of the late arriving crowd, I added "I was standing here talking with a friend and you just had to come along and start something with that stupid comment. And then you were dumb enough to grab me! Imagine what would have happened if you had walked by and simply kept your muzzle shut." I waited a beat for dramatic effect, letting silence hang in the air. "That's right, nothing. So go do whatever it is you came here for."

As I brushed past him, he tried to stare me down but his tucked tail left him looking more like a defiant cub than a threatening Wolf. The crowd briefly parted to allow Steven and I to stalk our separate ways and then quickly contracted around Casey to bombard her with questions.

P.O.V. - Nick - Dorm Room - 5:45 pm

My tail wagged excitedly as David and Jim leaned back in their chairs to admire their work.

"This thing is a MONSTER!" Jim said enthusiastically. "Roger's gonna be the envy of the dorm!"

"Yeah, and that's the last of 'em." commented David. "We've tried every game on the highest settings and look at those core temps. Winry's barely getting warmed up."

The Fox tipped his head. "Of all the names you could have picked, why Winry? It deserves something sexier. How about Natasha or..."

David was quick to cut him off. "If you had the sense to be a Full Metal fan you'd understand! Besides, I did most of the building so I get to name it. Natasha is more appropriate for a full size server anyway. This is a micro-ATX build!"

Jim turned to me and dropped his ears in an overly dramatic, pleading gesture. "Nick, come on! Back me up! You helped pay for it, you get a vote. Look, I'm ok with an anime name but we can do better than Winry. How about that girl from Toradora, the little feisty one?"

David knew the reference and responded with "You mean Taiga? I dunno..."

-KNOCK-KNOCK- "Hey guys, you in?" came Roger's raspy voice.

I panicked and whispered loudly "That's Roger! We can't let him see it yet, can we?"

Jim jumped up and started shoving me towards the door. "No! David and I have it all planned! Just take him back to my room and keep him busy for awhile. Don't even let him out into the hallway."

I raised my voice and said "Hey Roger, I'll meet you in your room."

"Ok" he said "and bring your bluetooth speaker. I've got something really cool to show you."

Affecting a casual tone, I replied "Ok, I'll be there in a minute."

After listening to Roger step away, I quickly turned back towards my desk and began rummaging for the speaker.

"What's he want that for?" asked Jim as David started to power down the computer.

Without looking back, I responded "I don't know. Something 'really cool' apparently."

"Smart ass!" Jim said with a smirk. "Just keep him in there. I'll stop by when it's all clear."

"Ok" I said as I finally found the speaker. "See ya in a few minutes."

While passing through the adjoining bathroom, I rolled over the computer's name in my mind. Winry... I think Jim has a point. Hmm, I wonder if Roger watches any Anime? Maybe I could steer the conversation that direction and feel around for a name that he'd like.

I shut the bathroom door behind me and found Roger standing beside his desk. He was tapping away at the screen of his tablet but looked up and wagged his tail in greeting.

"Hey Nick." he said "Uh, I didn't mean to pull you away from your homework. I'd hate for your grades to start sliding because you've been hanging around with a delinquent Wolf."

I could sense he was frazzled and angry and assumed it was from the call with his mother. Concerned, I wrapped my arms around him. "Oh stop it. My grades are better than ever, and you're not a delinquent. Here, I brought the speaker. What do you want it for anyway?"

Even though I had his arms encircled, he managed to return the gesture by squeezing my head between his shoulder and down-turned muzzle. After a moment, he replied "Ms. Thurlington left me in a bit of a heap this afternoon so I decided to do some meditating to sort everything out. And yeah, I know it's weird. Anyway, a totally random song slipped into my usually serene playlist and I learned a really cool new trick."

While he spoke, I gave him a squeeze and then let go to set the speaker on Jim's desk. "Oh that's right. You said something about her 'help' earlier. And there's nothing weird about meditating, more people should do it. So what's the trick?"

My speaker sounded a confirmation beep as Roger synced it to his tablet and his tail started to wag eagerly. "It's kind of a two parter. I just barely got the second part figured out when the school bell rang. It broke my concentration before I could really get it going, but I think I can pick it up again. Would you get the lights? It's easier to see it in the dark."

I hit the light switch and stood leaning against the ladder of Jim's bed just as the music started. Within the first few notes I recognized the song as "Secrets" by Tiësto & KSHMR. What an odd song to meditate to! It's got a nice beat for dancing though.

The glow from the tablet's screen lit Roger's face enough for me to see him close his eyes and several seconds passed before I could sense any change in his emotions. Slowly at first, his excitement took on a giddy, anxious edge and his aura started to visibly flicker. However, as the song gained momentum, his anxiety ramped up exponentially. Concerned something was wrong, I was just about to interrupt him when he grinned mischievously and opened his eyes. Despite their playful gleam, his gaze was distant, like he was concentrating deeply on something unseen.

Uh oh! I know that look!

Without warning, Roger's restless apprehension began pulsing and his flickering aura started flashing in perfect time with the beat. Visually it was stunning, emotionally it was overwhelming. His anxious excitement pounded at my senses, forcing me to wince and step back until the song reached a quiet point and he closed his eyes again.

The brightness of his aura dimmed and at first I thought he was winding down. But before I could catch my breath, his grin twisted into a sadistic snarl and his restlessness turned to rage. Then, in an instant, he completely vanished from my emotional senses and his aura collapsed into total darkness just as the song climaxed with the line "I'll take you on a ride if you can keep our secrets." Right in time with the beat, a brilliantly intense, violet glow started strobing over Roger's head and it suddenly felt as if the music was coming from everywhere; and it was getting louder. The thundering bass hits were impossibly low and the high notes rung with unimaginable clarity.

I clapped my hands over my ears and folded them tightly against my head but it did nothing to quiet the storm. It was as if the song was being streamed directly into my consciousness.

"Roger!" I cried out. "Stop!"

His eyes were closed, however, and my voice was inaudible even to my own ears. In desperation, I snatched the nearby speaker and turned it off. I'd swear the song kept going after I hit the switch but it was hard to tell because Jim rushed by me at the same time and grabbed Roger by the shoulders.

The shock of Jim's grip brought Roger's performance to an abrupt halt and the room fell instantly dark and silent.

"What the f#ck was that?!" exclaimed Jim.

I fumbled my way to the light switch and brought the room's old-fashioned, incandescent bulb to life. "Are you ok?" I said as joined them near the window.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Roger replied as he rubbed his temples. "Did you guys see it?! It's such a deep shade of purple it doesn't really show unless the room is dark enough."

Jim jumped in enthusiastically. "Hell yeah I saw it! How'd you get it to pump with the beat like that? And Nick, that's one serious speaker you've got!"

My extrasensory perception of the event left me more shaken than the others and Roger must have picked up on it. Despite Jim's presence, he put his hand on my shoulder and his ears splayed sympathetically. "I'm sorry, that must have been a bit much. I've been trying to figure out how to control that stupid glow in my fur and discovered this little trick. I sorta clamp down on how I feel and then move it up into my crown chakra where -poof-, it goes away. It doesn't do the purple thing unless I pulse it at juuuussst the right frequency though. I think maybe the alternating cycles set up my aura for a Tesla coil kind of effect and... hey, what's that smell?"

Our noses twitched simultaneously and we cringed in unison at the unmistakable odor of burning plastic.

"Uh oh." said Jim.

Roger startled and quickly took his hand from my shoulder to tap at the tablet. After several unsuccessful attempts at both the screen and the power button it was obviously dead. "Crap!"

Jim's ears swiveled back. "I take it that's not part of the trick?"

"Damn it!" Roger said with a rush of anger. "Now I'll have to go to the library just to check my f#ckin' email!" His aura smoldered brightly and his grip tightened on the tablet so forcefully that it creaked under the strain.

For a frightening moment I thought he was going to throw the device through the window. Instead, he closed his eyes, took a slow breath and somehow caused his anger to completely vanish. In fact, I couldn't sense anything from him at all. The feat lasted for several seconds and then a subdued thrum of emotional activity resumed. Desperate to understand what was going on, I struggled to think of a way to ask Roger about it but Jim's presence held me back. Few people knew of my empathic talent and Jim wasn't one of them.

"Woah, take it easy!" said Jim as he held up his hands. "I'll bet David can fix it. He's downstairs but he'll be back in a few minutes. Hey uh, do you think your glow is what fried it?"

Roger looked away and grew self-conscious, his tail curling. "I dunno. Remember when you saw the black bands rolling over my fur? I've made the lights dim a couple times that way, but that was pretty different."

"Oh yeah." Jim recalled. "That was some freaky sh#t!"

Roger's ears folded further at the Fox's words and he flickered with renewed anxiety.

Too late, Jim realized the callousness of his remark and tried to make up for it. "I mean uh, it was scary and all. You know, in a good way. Like if you were angry at me and started doing that, I'd totally wet myself."

Poor Jim. I thought. I know he didn't mean for it to come across that way. And Roger, he's just got too much going on and the stress is probably overwhelming him. Let's see if we can smooth things out. "Heh, yeah. I've seen it too. It reminds me of this guy in an anime series I watch. He does something like that right before he does his signature attack. It's really cool."

Roger chewed his lip and looked back up, his ears rising slightly. "Ah, it's alright. I don't mean to be so touchy. Hey uh, I'm afraid to ask but... you guys don't have your phones in your pockets, do you?"

Jim and I exchanged worried glances and pulled out our phones. Mine sprung to life with the usual tap but Jim's stayed lifelessly dark in his hands.

Roger groaned and slowly wiped at the fur on his face. "That's an S4 huh?"

Reluctantly, Jim nodded.

His anger returning, Roger exclaimed "F#ckin' 'A'! Those are like $230!" and punched at the air.

The outburst startled all of us, even Roger, and he worked quickly to rein in his temper. "Sorry, I got kinda riled up earlier and now... this. Look, it'll take a little while, but I'll get you a new one."

The Fox looked up from his defunct phone with a half-smile on his muzzle. "I was just downstairs and heard about that. Rumor has it, you beat up Steven Hampton for threatening to tell everyone that you're going to the dance with Nick! Oh and now they're even saying you have psychic powers." With mock seriousness he added "You're not telepathic... are you?"

Roger rolled his eyes. "Rest assured, I have no psychic powers, mind-reading or otherwise. And I didn't beat up Steven Tanaka! That's his REAL last name by the way." He paused, his anxiety spiking, but he quickly composed himself and continued. "The guy grabbed me by the shirt and his grip was pulling at the fur on my chest so I uh, helped him let go. That's not exactly a beating!"

Jim visibly relaxed. "I kinda figured it was something like that. Have to admit, it's a bit of a relief. I'd be totally paranoid if I had a gay roommate who could read my every thought and feeling!"

Roger glanced worriedly in my direction and then back to Jim. "Yeah uh, thing is... Steven and I didn't get into an argument because he was gonna tell everyone about the dance. He overheard Casey and I talking about it and..."

Jim playfully shoved at Roger. "Oh! So you were asking out Casey huh? Not bad! I've had my eye on that ringed tail of hers myself."

"No." Roger replied stiffly. "Actually I was uh, telling Casey about how Nick and I were planning to go."

It took Jim a broken moment to process Roger's words and his emotions swam between humiliation and anger before he finally responded. "Who would of guessed that one of the rumors about you was true after all? Heh. Hey uh, I'll bet David is back by now so I'm going to have him look at my phone. When I realized it was dead, it was like someone cut off my life support! Don't worry though, I'm sure he can fix it. Oh and maybe you guys should do a sweep of the room. See if anything else got damaged."

"Hey wait!" I called, but it was too late. Jim practically dove through the door and slid it shut with a noticeable clack before Roger or I could stop him.