No Rodents
Stevie walked through the door a few minutes before his young siblings arrived. Today being Thursday, he had many assignments done before Friday, relieved for many students to repair their liberties before Monday. The end of today already had Stevie ready to think obsessively about grabbing his bags, leaving home for a while, maybe taking a trip to the Grand Canyon and coming back when he is thirty years old, having his own place and a lot of money to pay back his parents’ grievances. However, since school was over, he let his mind feel at least grateful to be home, under a roof, and for all the other things he was taught to be grateful for.
He checked the kitchen first, fighting himself to wait in case his mother or his father had plans to go eat out, and marched upstairs to find his mother in his little sister's bedroom, with the hamster’s cage open, and her leaning over it.
She held the handle of her new vacuum cleaner and jumped to see and look up at Stevie. “Don’t come in here!” She said, pointing to stay clear. “Damn it, Nibbles. I barely saw you,” she bends down and uses the dustpan next to her to scoop up Nibbles. She walked out to go downstairs to dump him in the kitchen sink, as Stevie, not saying a word, stared into the bedroom of his little sister’s. Then, hearing from downstairs, the disposer turned on; Stevie immediately went into his room and closed the door to prevent hearing the sound of it all.
Later, she claimed she accidentally left the cage unattended and that it must have fallen while she was moving the nightstand to use her new vacuum. Of course, only Stevie can agree since no other person in the house can back up what goes on while they're gone. It’s best if someone else cleans these dishes this week, he thought and he went into the restroom to take a shower as his mother went downstairs to prepare dinner.
Both Tina and Charles, not an hour later, walked back from the bus stop and through the back door, holding the small toys they brought to school. Stevie was upstairs watching movies on his phone, trying not to think about the sound of the hamster being… “Hey,” Charles said; with his backpack still on, he opened a crack in Stevie's bedroom door and smiled. Tina walks by and says hi quickly, and before Charles can replicate it, Stevie asks both of them to come inside to talk.
“So, remember how Ruffus The Dog died?” Stevie said cautiously, as Charles and Tina sat down on the floor and held their toys in front, fidgeting as they looked up at Stevie.
“Of course,” Tina then said.
“Sure thing,” Charles said.
Stevie glanced at the door, afraid his mother might suddenly announce dinner was ready, or come up to tell him not to tell Tina or Charles what had happened.
Stevie, breaking the news that mother accidentally smashed the hamster while cleaning, both got curious to see the hamster.
“You owe me five dollars”, Charles said to Tina, and Tina reluctantly said,
“I said five dollars if dead. But if it's alive and hurt, then it's two dollars”.
“Guys, Mom tossed it in the dispenser in the sink,” Stevie said, and both Charles and Tina opened their mouths, looked at each other, and began laughing.
“I told you she was just gonna throw it in there,” Tina said to Charles.
“Well, at least we said goodbye before we left.”
