Chapter 3 (Todd/Mike)
#3 of First Steps 3: New Generations
Chapter 3 (Todd/Mike) It was hard telling Riley the news about Bruno. Once it was done, he said he wanted to be alone. Him, Jo, and Mike went back upstairs because Riley said he wanted to be alone. I stayed downstairs with Wendell. "That was the hardest thing I've ever had to tell him." I say to him in the kitchen. "I know." Wendell says. He comes up and hugs me. "But sooner or later, he was gonna find out." "True." I say. Our child is like some sort of genius; of course he'd find out someway. Better to just tell him straight up. "What do we do until he comes back downstairs?" "Not sure." Wendell says. "What do you want to do?" "I don't know." I say. "I know." He picks me up and carries me into the living room. He lays us down on the couch. "You want to just stay here until they come back downstairs?" I ask. "Sure." Wendell starts licking my ears and I begin to murr. He's still so cute. I take a look back at all the crazy stuff that's been happening over the last five years. Angie and Bruno got married; Wendell was their best man. Dexter and Tom recently became engaged, which we're all excited about. We went to sly beach and had an awesome four way with royalty, then a five way with the same royalty. Me and Wendell also auditioned for the Amazing Race but we failed the trial. I remember watching Jo and Angie on the Race. It sucks they lost though. But of course, one of the greatest things that happened since our marriage is adopting Riley. I remember bringing him home for the first time. He was so excited that he had a home to call his home instead of some old orphanage. Plus, he was completely accepting of having two fathers, which was great. To this day, the three of us still have a good family connection. I remember when Wendell tried to teach Riley to play baseball once; but sports were never really his thing. Riley always prefered the educational field. He skipped kindergarten and went straight to first grade. He could've been in second, possibly third, but he didn't want to. We understood his decision of course. And then Jo and Mike came into the picture. He's been friends with them for as long as I can remember. Especially Jo. He doesn't make it obvious; but I think Riley has a thing for Jo. She's a rebellious child; but I don't think she's ever been suspended. Plus, it's not like she smokes or drinks or anything. For pete's sake she's only 10. Mike on the other hand, I've always known he was gay. And I've always known he liked Riley. Those two cuddle all the time. Even though Riley says he's not gay, he made it clear he's a strong supporter of the LGBT community. For example, for a while at school, he wore a button on his shirt with the rainbow flag with the word "supporter" on it. We were afraid he'd get harassed, and he was; but he insisted on it anyways. What else? Oh, the tail cancer thing. You see, I've known Bruno for years and so has Wendell. So when we were told that he has it, we were devastated. I mean, the most obvious thing to do would be to cut off his tail so it doesn't spread, however I'm not sure if Bruno is comfortable with that. It's not every day that you are told that you have a disease. Some suspect that it's because his grandmother had cancer and, since cancer can be hereditary, it skipped a generation and straight to him. As for why it wasn't diagnosed until recently, I'll never know. "Hey, Wendell?" I ask. "Yeah?" "You alright?" "Yeah. I'll be ok. I just feel bad for Bruno." "I know. Me too. You think Jodi knows yet?" "I'm sure she does." You remember Jodi, right? She's Bruno's sister. We were invited to one of her college parties once. We haven't really heard from her in a long time. "What do we do now?" I ask. "How about we just enjoy life and pray that there won't be another life threatening situation." "We haven't had one for years." I'll admit that after the Camp Roadrock incident, I haven't been the best at recovering. But, Wendell and Riley made me quickly forget and I definitely don't want to go back down that road again. I slowly stand up and stretch. "Where are you going?" Wendell asks. "I'm just getting something to drink." I say. "Ok." He give me a swift spank and I walk into the kitchen. I have no idea what's gonna happen as for tomorrow. On one hand, Riley is about to start the 5th grade; on the other, I don't know how Bruno is handling life right now. I go to the sink and fill a cup of water. As I start to drink, the phone rings. I set down my cup and pick the phone up from the receiver. "Hello?" I say. "Hi." A voice I recognize. "Hi Dallas." Dallas is the principal for the elementary school. He's a golden retriever that is half buff and half fat. He was the one who recommended that Riley skip a grade and then skip another grade. He calls us frequently to ask about Riley. "How're you guys doing?" He asks. "We're fine." "That's good. I mostly called to tell you guys about something coming up soon." "What is it?" "Well, as you know, every year at the school, we have screening for our students." "Yes I'm aware." Every year, the school tests their students to see where they stand as for academic performance. Riley has done exceptional for each screening. "Well, all 5th grade students are getting the usual 5th level test; but I want to ask you something." Dallas continues. "Sure." I say. "Well, we were wondering if we could give Riley the 6th level test. We think that he might have the potential of passing it." "That's great and all; but that's not up to me. We need to ask Riley about that." "Alright. Well, may I speak to him?" "Ok." I put my paw over the phone and I see Wendell has entered the room. "Go get Riley." I whisper. He nods and walks towards the stairs. I uncover the phone. "He's coming down." "Ok." Dallas says. As I'm waiting, I think about this for a moment. Riley said he wanted the full elementary school experience. If he takes a middle school level test and ends up passing, he might be given the opportunity to skip 5th grade; but I'm not sure if Riley would approve. Wendell comes down stairs and brings Riley into the kitchen. "What's going on?" Riley asks. "Your principal is on the phone." I say. "He wants to talk to you about something." Riley takes the phone; but he has a look of worry on his face. "Hello?" Riley asks. I hear Dallas' voice on the other line however, I can't make out what he's saying. Me and Wendell tiptoe out of the kitchen to give Riley some privacy. Once were in the living room, we sit down on the couch together. "Who is that?" Wendell asks. "That was Dallas. He wanted to ask Riley something." "What?" "He wanted to know if Riley can take a middle school level screening instead of a 5th grade one." "Why would he want to do that?" "Wendell, let's face it: Riley is a prodigy. He's too good at all subjects. If he passes, he might just be able to go to middle school this year instead." "Am I supposed to be happy for him?" He asks. "I don't know." I say. I should be happy since Riley has a big opportunity, yet I'm not since I don't want Riley to feel as if he has to do this.
Me, Jo, and Riley were just sitting on Riley's bed talking when Wendell came in to say he needed Riley to come downstairs. When the door shuts, I turn to Jo and ask, "What do you think is up?" "I'm not sure." She says. "It might have something to do with Bruno. I think we should just stay up here until Riley comes back up." "Agreed." I say. Me and Jo barely ever talk. I don't hate her it's just whenever we try to talk, it usually ends in a bunch of silence. If it weren't for Riley, we'd just be two furs talking and not so much friends. Jo got back on her video game and she played Rally-X again. I'm amazed as for how good she is at this game. I think this is how Jo and Riley became friends. She's good at games and not at school; but he's good at school and not video games. Most of you are asking about my crush on Riley. Well, I'm definitely in love with him. We cuddle all the time, we talk a lot, we've been in the same class for a couple years, and we've been friends for a long time. I know it's weird to think that a skunk and a fox being in a relationship is a bit unusual; but I still enjoy the thought of me and him together. I just lay down on Riley's bed and watch Jo dominate her game. I'm not one of those people who are a bit stalkerish about their crushes. Do I sometimes enjoy his company and maybe I like how soft his fur is? Yes. Have I been super creepy and build some kind of shrine of him? Absolutely not. The only thing I have of Riley's is a photo of him and I on my dresser. "Ohhhh c'mon!!" Jo exclaimed. She's almost surrounded by red cars. I think she's on level 4. When I hear the crash that indicates her losing a life, I'm a bit surprised. Jo usually never loses a life before round 5. On any game. "Crap!" "It's ok, Jo." I say. "I know but I'm trying to break a record, here!" She starts her second life. I'm sure she's aware that she has earned an extra life two levels ago. Then again, she's one of those people who think that every time they play a video game, they get competitive and think they have to beat someone. After a while of watching Jo play, Riley comes back into his room and shuts the door. "Hey." I say. "What's wrong?" His ears are pinned down. He walks over and sits down on the bed. I sit up and put an arm around him. "That was our principal on the phone." Riley says. "He wants me to do a different test for screening this year." "Ok. And why does that make you upset?" I ask. "Because I said I would. I just felt... pressured into doing it, you know? If I pass this screening, they have every reason to try and get me to start taking middle school early." "But that's not their choice, right?" I ask. "No. It never was. And I don't want to go there. I want to stay at the elementary this year with you guys." "We want you to stay too." Jo says. "Yeah. Who else is gonna be there for me other than Jo?" I ask. "Relax, Mike. I'm not going anywhere." Riley firmly says. "Let's just try to forget this, ok?" Me and Jo agreed. We all just go back to watching her beating Riley's video games. I've gotta admit, I'm a little worried about tomorrow. We're all starting 5th grade and it's crazy. Tomorrow, we become the top dogs. I am just hoping me and Riley are in the same class again. I mean, I have other friends in school too like Brady and Graig, but we all know how I feel about Riley. Brady is a golden retriever, about to start the 4th grade. Every year, I usually make most friends with the younger classes. Anyways, Brady and I met on our first day of first grade. I actually don't exactly remember how we became friends; just that we were mostly social outcasts and we just... clicked. As for Graig, he's mostly the silent one out of the three of us. He talks, just not much. He's a black lab/German shepherd mix. We met the same day I met Brady; but we didn't really become friends until second grade when he asked us if he wanted to play a card game with us. The game was confusing at first; but we got the hang of it after a while. Graig's good company if you ask me. Then in third grade, I met Riley and Jo. I swear, we were best friends from the start and as for Riley: love at first sight. I guess maybe it was after a week or two after I met Riley that I knew that I loved him. "Jo!" Wendell calls from downstairs. "What?! I'm kinda in the middle of an epic game here!" She shouts back. "Your mom's here! She's wondering where you are!" "I'm right here!" "Jo!" I think that's her mom. "Get down here!" "Ughhhhhh." Jo groans and she stops her video game. She leaves the room and goes downstairs, leaving me and Riley all by ourselves. Neither of us know what to say to each other. "Riley! Mike! I'm leaving!" Me and Riley get up and walk to the stairs. "What was that?" Riley asks. "I'm going home." Jo says. She stands at the front door with her mother. "See ya at school!" "Bye, Jo!" Riley says. Her and her mom leave and we go back into Riley's room. I turn off the TV and sit sit next to Riley on the bed. "Well," I say, "looks like we're by ourselves." "Yep." Riley says. I keep my paws on my knees. I don't want to freak Riley out by caressing him again. It's like he's glass right now: pretty to look at, but scared you might break it if you touch too much. "Mike, can I ask you something?" "Of course." Riley carefully puts an arm around me and I grow more nervous than before. "Do... you... like me?" "I mean..." What do I say? What do I say? "You're friend, Riley. Of course I like you." "No... I mean... 'like' like me." My heart beats out of its chest and my chest gets heavy. "And please be honest with me." "Ok." I say. I take a deep breath and look him in those cute, adorable, sky blue eyes. "Yes. I like you that way." "I was wondering that for a long time; but I didn't want to... be pushy about it." "You're not being pushy." I say. "And, can you blame me for loving you? You're cute, sweet, a nice person to talk to, you let me cuddle with you all the time, and you're the best friend a fur can ask for." "Oh. Well, I mean... I'm happy you like me and all... but..." "But you're straight." I finish for him. "I know." "Don't get me wrong, Mike, you're a great friend too. I just don't think of you that way." I nod my head. "I understand. But, may I ask something?" "Sure." "Can we still cuddle sometimes?" "Absolutely. Sometimes cuddling relieves stress and you know how stressed I can be." "I know." I hug him tight. I look him in his eyes again and smile. "You know, I've always thought your blue eyes were cute." "You're still gonna flirt with me, aren't you?" He asks, but mostly in an I'm-not-really-shocked tone. I shrug my shoulders. "Well, I can't help it." I say. After that, we end up cuddling together for a while.