Bristles; Chapter 3: Part 2
July 17, 2009
(Continued from Chapter 3: Part 1, Continued in Part 3)
Danny laid out the five remaining Tylenol, placing each blue gelcap in line with an accusing tap. One by one he chased them down with a swig of water, stopping between each to glare balefully at the Hedgehog. The half melted Ziploc bag full of ice was applied to his newly reattached ear. The Panda was curled inconsolably under the kitchen table, wracked with guilt over his role in the guerilla surgery. The Hedgehog, who was pacing across the tabletop, showed considerably less remorse.
“Stop being a pussy…if you’d gone to the hospital you’d still be sitting in the waiting room next to some fossil with a busted colostomy bag. I probably saved you ten hours of checking out shit stained pictures of ugly grandkids.”
“You probably gave me fucking rabies or…. leprosy” said Danny.
“Armadillos carry leprosy, not Hedgehogs. And I’m not the one who jerked off after fishing candy out off my neighbor’s garbage…without washing my hands. If anyone was in danger of contracting a disease it was me; you pestilent motherfucker!”
“It was in the recycling, not the garbage; and it was still in the wrapper!” said Danny.
The Hedgehog flourished a mocking bow.
“Oh Pardon me, Lady Primose…so sorry to have impugned your manners”.
“Man…what is your fucking problem? You say you’re supposed to help me but all you do is jack my life up and tal…speak to me, like I’m trash. How is that helping?” said Danny.
“Do you think I want to be here? Do you think I spent my days lying around the hedge yearning for the chance to teach special Ed. in some douchebag’s shithole apartment?”
“Then why are you bothering? What’s so special about me that you have to ruin both our lives?” said Danny.
The Hedgehogs maw peeled back to show long rows of needle teeth, his quills seemed a length and sharpness Danny had not seen before.
“Kid, you are as far from special as this world will allow. Literally”
As before the truth of the statement resonated in some deep place; though the tone struck somewhere small and brittle; the Panda issued a hard growl of warning and rose up from under the table. The Hedgehog remembered himself and snapped his mouth shut, offering a shrug of apology to the looming Panda. Danny could feel the tension pull between them but couldn’t fully place its source. Confounded, he swallowed his last pill and stayed silent, if wounded.
The doorbell rang.
“About fucking time” muttered the Hedgehog.
Continued in Chapter 3: Part 3
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(See :Chapter 2 PART 1 and PART 2 and PART 3 and PART 4 and PART 5 and PART 6 for the chapter before this one)
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See chapter 1 for the beginning of the story: PART 1 and PART 2 and PART 3 and PART 4 and PART 5
