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The Life of Another - Chapter 5

© Jake Atkinson

After using several donated shirts to dry off I realized I was still far too damp to put on clothes and had no fur-dryer of my own. I eyed the two on the counter and, with a pang of guilt, grabbed the closest one and fired it up. The backpack had a decent set of travel brushes and combs; some even had fold-out handles so I could reach my back. Once finished, I clicked off the dryer and stood admiring my work in the mirror.

Hmm, fur is nice and short, Roger must have gotten a trim before arriving._I turned around and craned my neck to see my back in the mirror. The dorsal top section of my tail was still as electric blue as ever. I had mixed feelings about it as I had always been able to hide my deviance before. I swished it from side to side idly as I imagined being in a public place and started to feel apprehensive. I let my gaze drift to the rest of my body and my mood shifted. I had always considered my old body to be on the unattractive side of normal but took some solace in that I was normal, at least in appearance. Now I was well on the attractive side but clearly a deviant. _It is what it is, lots to do. Let's get at it. I pulled on my clothes, grabbed the bag and stepped back into the bedroom.

No sense in putting it off... I told myself as I fished out the wallet I found in the backpack while rummaging around for brushes. It was made of faux black leather and had a chain attached to it. Upon opening it I discovered it was still damp inside as I removed $26 in cash and laid it out to dry. There was an I.D. card from his old school which finally gave me a last name to work with, Evans. Hmmm, now that I have a name and school maybe I can find a profile online._I thought as I continued to read. _10 __th_ grade... Oh god! Someone shoot me! I do NOT want to do that all over again! I could probably teach half the classes I'll be taking. It's already Spring at least so nearer the end of the year but still..._ My stomach turned and I felt nervous. I took a breath, concentrated... and I was still tense. Damn, what is UP with my emotions? Why can't I shut them off? This sucks.

I continued my search of the wallet and produced a Water Vapor Inc. game card and a family photo. It appeared to have been printed on regular paper and covered with clear shipping tape to form a crude laminate. Judging by Roger's appearance I guessed it was quite recently taken. What I assumed were his parents sat on either side of Roger, both leaning towards him and facing the camera with genuine smiles. It was a selfie with the father holding the camera out. The whole scene had a trailer-trash vibe with the father's wrinkled T-shirt sporting a trucking company logo and the mother's crooked discolored teeth. It was a tightly taken photo but I could see the edge of a weathered picnic table at the bottom and chain link fencing in the background. On the back of the picture was a hand written note that stated "We love you no matter what!" with a heart drawn underneath it. At first I set it all on the desk to dry but reminded myself I wasn't living alone anymore and put it in a desk drawer. The key was in the lock which I removed and pocketed after securing it.

"Are you Roger Evans?" said a female voice from behind me.

I spun the chair around to make brief eye contact with a seventeen year old raccoon/cat. She had the eyes and nose of a cat but the rest of her features spoke clearly of raccoon. I did my best to pretend not to notice but in my flustered state forgot not to talk. "Yeah, what's up?" I managed to croak out. The steam in the shower must have helped to soothe my throat but it was taking a mighty fight not to cough embarrassingly and my eyes watered at the strain.

She faltered only a moment before responding, "You're wanted in the admin office right away, your mother's on the phone."

Oh crap! I'm not ready for this! I thought.

"They said we need to hurry, she can't be on the phone too long." she said while steadfastly looking at my paws. I suppressed a cough as I quickly pulled on the foam flip-flops and stood to follow her.

She kept her head down as we proceeded, the hallways empty as classes were still in session. I couldn't decide if she was lost in thought or shy but I found the silence awkward and yearned to talk, truth was I also didn't want to think about what was coming next. "It's just up these stairs." was the extent of our conversation. She held the door for me at the main office, her eyes cast downwards.

I couldn't stand just walking through in silence, she seemed so in need of a kind a gesture. I braced myself and forced out a raspy "Thank you."

I was proud of myself for getting out both words before the irritation sent me into a coughing spiral. "You must be Roger, here let me get you a tissue, do you need some water?" said a fifty-ish black panther. She was wearing a white blouse with a pearl necklace, earrings and a black skirt. Her shoes clicked on the hard floor as she walked over to a cooler and filled a paper cup. It was offered to me along with a tissue and I nodded a bleary eyed thank you. The water helped and my composure returned. "There now, why don't you take that in with you and head into the office. Mr. Burwell is expecting you." She indicated a solid wooden door with a richly grained, polished texture.

I nodded and pushed at the heavy door, it swung inward with graceful, silent weight and I stepped in just as the lion stood from behind an antique desk. He was wearing a tailored gray suit that fit his feline frame to a T. There were hints of silver in the fur on his muzzle but it was the mane that caught my attention. The fur of his mane glowed, the light shifting slowly through shades of orange and black like embers in a fire. His manner of speech and posture spoke of a well-schooled upbringing. "Roger, please come in. My name is Nigel Burwell. We're rather pressed for time, we can get to know each other better shortly. Please, have a seat." I took the offered chair as he pushed a phone across the desk and handed me a cellphone. "I set this up for text to speech, you may use it to speak with your mother Catherine over the speaker-phone. Just press the button there to pick up the line. I'll let you have some privacy now, take as long as you need, simply come out to Mrs. Patterson when you're finished." He smiled and patted me on the shoulder with a powerful hand before leaving the room, the door shutting with a solid but soft click of the latch.

I took a deep slow breath, cleared my mind and found little peace. I was nervous and it wouldn't shut off. Ever since the accident I'm an emotional wreck, why can't I shut these feelings down?! Focus, remember, she's lost a husband. I hit the speaker-phone button and forced out a "Hello..."

"Roger?! Oh thank god! Oh honey I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I can't be there!" I could hear other voices in the background, they all sounded feminine. "Honey, they told me you're going to be ok, are you really? You can tell me if it's not, did the seat belt injure your neck? What happened?"

I quickly typed out "Throat hurt in ER but ok soon" and hit enter. The emotionless automated voice pronounced "E. R." as "er" but provided an otherwise intelligible response.

It's tone contrasted sharply with Roger's almost hysterical mother as she continued. "I'm so sorry about what happened, about everything! Your father... oh god... Denny..." She became too choked up to talk and struggled to pull it together.

I gripped the cellphone and stared at the desk in front me, I felt awful. It was as if I was overhearing an extremely personal and stressful moment that wasn't meant for my ears. I wanted to ease her suffering and mulled over the words. I typed out "It'll be ok Mom I love you" and hit enter.

The expressionless voice helped her contain herself enough to speak again. "You know your Daddy is watching over us now, he'll always be there for both of us. You're gonna make him proud, you're the man of the family now and I know you can do it." She sniffled and blew her nose.

I realized I was crying softly too but at the same time angry. Geez what a number to lay on your kid! He loses his father and almost his own life and bam! now he's suddenly responsible for the family and for living up to a dead father's imagined expectations?! That kind of sh#t can land a kid in therapy... or off a cliff!

I heard a gruff female voice in the background announce loudly "Thirty seconds!"

Catherine's voice took on a tone of urgency, "Honey I gotta go but I want you to know that THIS time is different! I'm gonna do it right this time, I'm gonna do it all and I'll be back for you." She swallowed hard before saying "I know you don't know Aunt Sue that well but she's a good person, she'll be there soon. You do what she says and you stay away from music. Promise me you'll put your earplugs in and just stay away from it. Oh god, oh honey, is that what happened?! Was there music in the car?! Roger, you know can tell me, you know I'll always love you, is that what..." The line went dead.

I swallowed and looked blankly at the phone on the desk before hitting the button to disconnect. Wow, if poor Roger were alive right now... this would all be so f%@'ed up!

I straightened in the chair and tried to sort through my emotions. It was a confusing blend of grief, anger and guilt. With a slow breath I tried again to clear them and failed miserably. How do people function like this?! I pounded my left fist on the desktop and almost hurled the cellphone across the room with the other. I barely caught myself in time and tried to think rationally. Was it part of my talent all that time? Is this what it's like for everyone else?! How do they DO it? How do they plod through, day in and day out, with all of these feelings tossing them around?!

I heard the phone's case creaking in my hand and realized I had it in a death grip. I almost dropped it for fear I cracked the screen but it appeared undamaged. A random thought popped into my mind that this was the headmaster's phone, it might be worth a quick search. I tapped out of the text-to-speech app and into his text messages. My heart started pounding in my chest and I felt a need to be quick or be discovered. I flicked at the screen and sent the text list spinning, tapping it a moment later to randomly stop at one.

"Jason, we need to revise the projections for our 3rd quarter budget, with the passing of Mr. Prescott we have to assume that revenue stream is closed although I wouldn't be surprised if our clever benefactor has a final gift for us." The next message read "Theana, I look forward to the report on your investigation. Yes, 10:45 am will be fine." Mr. Prescott... how could they know?! I buried those tracks! There is no way they could...

A knock sounded at the door that was followed by the resounding voice of Mr. Burwell. "Roger, we can see by the light on our extension out here that your called ended a minute ago. Are you alright?"

I quickly flipped the phone screen down to the current text and switched it back to it's speech app as I rose and opened the door. I held the phone out to him with a shaking hand. He accepted it and returned it to his inner coat pocket.

"Roger, please, sit down again." he stated as he ushered me back to one of the chairs in front of his desk. He settled his formidable frame in behind the workspace, the chair groaning it's hundred year old braces to contain his bulk.

"Roger, we know you've been through a horrific experience and we understand why you didn't want to tell us about your mother. You must realize that we don't hold prejudices here, we won't judge you because of where you come from or what situations your family might be in. We're going to help you through this, you're going to be taken care of. Please know that you can come to our staff at any time. Ms. Thurlington has been fully apprised of your situation, she's one of our counselors. We understand that you can't speak right now but in a few days we think you would do well to sit down and talk with her."

I nodded, only half able to pay attention as I finished the water left in the cup from earlier.

"We were able to get ahold of your father's sister, your Aunt Sue. She's scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. She'll be taking care of all the necessary arrangements and is quite anxious to speak with you when you are up to another phone call. In the mean time, I suggest you head to the cafeteria as lunch is being served momentarily. When you've finished please return here and we'll arrange for your call."