The Crystal Possum

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Opossum. Yes, that was his real name. It was on his birth certificate. I'm sure you all are probably wondering how he got his name. Well, my dear readers, our hero had somewhat of an unusual upbringing. His parents decided to let him name himself. At the age of four, he became an expert climber. And the neighborhood opossums were the ones who taught him how to climb. That was when his parents realized that their son had a way with animals. And that he genuinely loved spending time with his tiny marsupial friends. So, Opossum it was. He grew up in a small Texas town called Sierra Blanca. His parents also noticed that he was a highly creative and artistic individual. At the age of nine, they enrolled him in piano lessons. He was also a theatre and art kid. Opossum was always eccentric. Unfortunately, he wasn't  popular in the slightest. Mainly due to the facts that he was openly gay, had a unique fashion sense and an equally as unique name. He was essentially known as "The faggot with the weird name." The asshole bullies would beat him up almost on a daily basis. In fifth grade, he finally began to fight back. The boy had had enough. Fortunately for him, he learned how to defend himself from two of his peers who were karate experts. He knew to only fight back when it was necessary for him to do so (whenever he was being attacked physically). After a while, the bullies stopped beating him up. They were now officially afraid of Opossum. "I am Possum, hear me roar!" He said to himself jokingly. He became heavily influenced by punk and metal during this time period. One of his favorite past times was  modifying clothes. His mother taught him how to use a sewing machine and how to sew by hand. He would wreak havoc on his own garments by adding safety pins, slashing them up, adding studs and band patches. He would also take some old pairs of tights, slash them up and turn them into undershirts. The boy was certainly crafty. One day, he got bored with his natural brown hair color and decided to dye it dark blue. He bought the dye with his allowance money. Of course, both of his parents shuddered as soon as they saw what he had done to his hair. They also weren't huge fans of his punk/metalhead style. But, this never stopped Opossum from expressing himself. Fast forward to the boy's later high school years: he still wasn't the popular kid. But, he was now close to graduating (senior) and that was good enough for him. Opossum dreamt of leaving his judgemental and boring hometown. His plan was to move to Los Angeles, California after graduation. He wanted to become a famous musician as well as a famous fashion designer. His parents didn't approve of his dreams. They wanted him to attend a medical school in El Paso. One oh so fine morning, his mother, Sarah, approached the boy while he was sleeping. His bedroom walls were pastel blue. They were also covered in large abstract pictures of aliens and sci-fi posters (Alien, Predator, Event Horizon, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lost in Space and Donnie Darko). His bed spread was black. "Opossum! It's time to wake up!" She exclaimed while softly shaking his right shoulder (he was lying on his stomach). She was wearing a white blouse, a black midi skirt, black tights and white pumps. Her hair was brown and curly. Almost lion-like. "What time is it?" He said to her groggily. "Sweetie, you know that I always wake you up at five-thirty in the morning because no offense, but you're just a little bit slow in the mornings. I mean, you typically take longer than I do to get ready." She replied. "Fine." The groggy boy responded. He then rose out of bed in a zombie-like fashion. "I made you some breakfast. It's your favorite too." His mother said. "Is it waffles with overeasy eggs and bacon?" He questioned. "Yep. It's in the dining room, on the table." Sarah answered. "Cool." Opossum said, making his way to the small dining room. "Thanks, Mom, you're the best!" She said in a snarky tone of voice. "Thanks, Mom." He responded, sitting at the table. "That's better! Enjoy! I've gotta run. See you after school, okay? Love you!" His mother replied. "Okay, Mom. See you later. Love you too." The boy said. Sarah bent over to kiss him on the cheek then left for work (she was an accountant at The Pecos County State Bank which was one of two local banks). His father, Tim, was already at his job (he was a store manager at the local Exxon gas station). Opossum was also employed, but only part time for obvious reasons. He worked at a Mexican restaurant in the area called La Familia Cafe. The boy then heard a very bizarre sound coming from outside. It was one of his opossum friends, Crystal. "Hello, big brother!" She said to him. And without hesitation, he opened up the back door. "Hello, little sister! How are you today?" The boy greeted the tiny marsupial with enthusiasm. "Good! About to go back to my nest soon since it's already dawn. Do you by any chance have any unwanted food?" Crystal said politely. "Yes, ma'am. Let me go fetch it real quick. I'll be right back!" He replied. Opossum ran to the kitchen to grab last night's leftovers from out of the refrigerator. He then closed the fridge and bolted back to the door. "I smell pork chops. Is it pork chops?" She questioned him. "Yep. Here you go! Enjoy!" He said while opening up the medium sized container. Crystal ate the pork like there was no tomorrow. "Thank you, big brother! You're the best!" She exclaimed blissfully. "No problem. I need to get myself ready." The boy replied, stroking her back. "Oh, of course. School day, work day or both?" The tiny marsupial asked. "Just a school day. But, you know that I've got a flair for the dramatic. You're more than welcome to sleep in my room if you'd like." He said. "You can say that again. I guess I'll take up your offer. I mean, it's better than being eaten. Way better." She accepted. "Cool, come on in!" Opossum replied, holding the door open for Crystal. She slowly hobbled her way towards the boy's bedroom. "Thank you again, big brother!" She said to him gratefully. "Anytime, little sister." He led the way. He then opened his bedroom door for her. As soon as they both reached the bedroom, the boy asked "Do you want some water?" "Yes, please." Crystal answered. "Okay, coming right up." He replied. He rushed back to the kitchen. This time he pulled an empty black bowl out of the dishwasher, filled it up with his bottled water, and rushed back to his room. He set the bowl down. "My hero." The opossum said, approaching the black ceramic object. While she was lapping up the water, the boy began his morning ritual. Today, he wanted to be a goth dandy. So, he barricaded himself into his closet. "Hmm... what should I wear?" He thought out loud, going through his wardrobe. Opossum spotted a black blouse with long sleeves and ruffles. "Ah, I shall wear you! But, with what exactly?" He said. He then spotted a pair of black and white pinstriped slacks. "You! Both of you!" He whispered, grabbing the blouse and slacks. He also grabbed a long black and white pinstriped blazer. "You too!" He exclaimed. Now it was time to pick out some accessories: he chose a black belt with a large silver buckle that was in the shape of a skull, a matching top hat, gloves and boots. He bolted towards a full body mirror on his wall. It was now makeup and hair time. He pulled his long purple hair back into a low ponytail and placed a black ribbon on the base of his hair tie. Simple, but effective. Yes, he dyed his hair again. He then caked his already pale face with white foundation, contoured it with grey eyeshadow, framed his large blue-green eyes with black eyeliner and added some dark red lipstick to his lips. The boy changed into his goth dandy getup and was  officially ready for school. "What do you think?" He questioned Crystal. But, she was already asleep on top of his bed. "Oh, sorry! Bye!" He whispered. Deep down inside though, Opossum knew that he looked fabulous and badass. He grabbed his black satchel, closed his bedroom door and left the  house. On his way to the bus. On his way to school. Whee.