Friend in the Closet Chapter Two

Click here to read the first chapter of Nolan's story.

Friend in the Closet

Chapter Two

   Akane lowered himself from the top of the small space and rubbed his sore joints. Humans always had a way of making tiny, uncomfortable places for monsters to inhabit. He cracked open his three, blood red eyes and looked around the enclosure. The room was enough for him to move around in comfortably, but still small. Hanging on the wall by hooks, were many articles of clothing that Akane poked and prodded before moving on. He also saw many books and magazines lying in stacks hugging the base of the walls. He picked one up and sniffed the cover. He snarled and dropped it, human stench.
   He saw narrow slits of light coming from a door to his right and turned to it. The light illuminated many dust particles that swirled through the air. He stared at the particles with great interest as they rose and fell in the light. He reached out to touch one, but they didn’t appear on his skin. He cocked his head and tried again. The particles evaded his hand yet again. He frowned and continued to watch them for a minute before hearing something stir outside the door. He retreated from the light and observed outside through the slits in the door. He stood rigid in complete silence for a few minutes before coming to the conclusion that someone had shifted in their sleep. Akane approached the door and peered out. The room was dimly lit by the pale moonlight flooding in through the window. It illuminated a small bookcase filled to the brim with many books of vastly differing colors. He gently pushed against the door. It moved open without a sound. Akane dropped to all fours and crawled out of the closet. He moved with deftness and agility known only to few. To the left of the bookcase, hugging the wall as well, was a table with a dead lamp sitting on top. The lamp was tan and without decorations. Akane scowled and huffed at the lamp. He turned his head to the right and saw the window the moonlight was coming through. He went to the edge of the light and looked at the moon. It was just as large as he’d remembered. He smiled faintly and looked away. He then noticed the bed and the human in it. He crawled onto the ceiling and hung above the bed. The boy was maybe fifteen. He had light brown hair that was shortcut and thick. He a couple of zits on his face, but no moles or freckles.
   Akane smirked and shook his head. He dropped from the ceiling and landed next to the bed. He rose to his feet and flexed his hands. He walked to the bedroom door and opened it slightly as if it was ajar. The hallway was painted the same color as the room, light blue. The only furniture in the hallway was a table, not unlike the one in the boy’s room. It had a single tan lamp on top, this one was alive and radiated golden light. Akane averted his eyes from the light and moved to the room directly to his left. The door was opened just enough to let light in. He opened it slightly more and slipped in.
   This room was painted light pink with random horse and princess stickers scattered on the walls. Akane grimaced, he detested pink. To the left of the door was a small closet with a box set in front of the door. Next to that was a treasure chest that looked to have dolls inside it. In the left corner of the room lay many stuffed animals of varying sizes. Across from him was a table with another tan lamp, this one was dead. In the right corner was a bed with a hot pink princess blanket and a small child nestled underneath.
   Akane moved to the edge of the bed and gazed at her. She had long golden hair that spread from her head like the branches of a tree. Her skin was soft to the eye and spotless. She had a single, flat mole on her right cheek, near her eye.
   Akane looked at the wall to the bed’s right and saw a window with its blind shut. He looked at the foot of the bed to see a nightlight emitting a soft purple light that filled the room.
   Akane, satisfied he’d seen it all, moved back out into the hallway. He moved past the lamp and to the door just beyond. He opened the door to find an ominously dark room. It had wooden planks for flooring that were extremely cold to the touch. The walls were unpainted drywall and the ceiling, boards. He looked to his right to find a man sleeping in a sleeping bag. He was shivering.
   Akane grimaced at the sight and looked to the mid-right of the room. There stood a table and a single chair, but no lamp. Akane moved closer and saw many books, pamphlets, newspapers, and folders lying on the table. He skimmed through the contents and moved on. Lying next to the base of the far wall was a pile of all the tools imaginable. Akane rooted through the pile for a while, picking one up after the other to see what they were, before coming to the assumption that the man was a cleaner or repairman of some sort. In the middle of the far wall was a window without a blind. It wasn’t on the right side of the house for sunlight, so Akane could see outside. All he could see was the foliage of some great tree. He huffed and looked to the left of the window. There stood a small tool chest filled to the brim with more of the same tools as the pile.
   He ignored this completely. In the back-left corner of the room stood a small bookcase stacked with repair books. Most of the covers were worn or torn. This man must’ve used them frequently.
   Akane moved back into the hallway, shutting the door carefully. He followed the hallway around a corner and saw a door and a staircase leading down. He peered down the stairs and decided he’d check out what was down there in the morning. He opened the door and saw a room with white tiles lining the floor and the walls. To his immediate left was a porcelain sink that took up half of the walking room. Past that was a toilet which took up the same space. On the opposite side of the room stood a shower, its curtain closed. Akane walked to the shower and pulled back the curtain. The shower was made of the same tile, but a little dirtier.
   Akane pulled the curtain back and exited the bathroom. He slunk down the hall and returned to the boy’s closet. He pulled himself up into his perch and settled down. Curling his tail around his knees, he rested his head in the crook of his arm. He sighed and closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him.

Click here for chapter three.

Duck Spa

Were no duck experts.

Due to a mink our first ducks didn't survive the first winter we had them.

This is only the second full winter we have had ducks.

We're still learning.

Since the water freezes we remove the pools for the winter.

They still have access to water just not for bathing.

And ducks love their baths.

These two ducks are our jumbo Pekins.

They were looking pretty ragged.

My best guess was that they had "wet feather".

A condition that is the result from a lack of preening oil that can be caused by not bathing.

They can freeze if they don't have the protective oil on their feathers.

So I had Connor bring them in for some duck spa time.

Not my first choice to have two ducks inside my house.

They are stinky. So stinky I lit a candle, which I do not like to do.

I also turned on the exhaust fan and shut the door.

They are messy.

Ducks taking baths is even messier.

Imagine a car wash with the windows down.

Water everywhere.

So my plan was to cover the floor with a tarp and close the shower curtain.

I chose to leave the curtain outside so there were fewer gaps along the wall.

This seemed to work fairly well and kept the wayward water to a minimum.

They were so noisy that Nolan thought the water was running.

I laughed and told him that it was off.

He was hearing the duck bathing party.

They were pretty much done by the time I took this video.

That's some nasty tub water!

Here they are in the drained tub waiting to dry off enough so I can toss them back outside.

They look much better.

I freed them on the porch because I wasn't about to go outside.

It's way too cold for that! (I think it made it up to +8.)

They stayed on the porch until I had to leave for town.

Then I shooed them off.

When it gets above freezing we're thinking of bringing out a pool for some special bath time.

Then we'll put it away until there's another "nice" winter day.

I'm happy to report that amazingly the tarp worked and caught all the water.

The floor was dry!

And yes I bleached the tub!

Friend in the Closet Chapter One

For a while now I've been wanting to post something that Nolan has written. This was a short story he wrote for his creative writing final for school. It's quite long for one blog post, so I will post one chapter at time every other day.

Friend in the Closet

Chapter One

   The bus was filled with the familiar smells of body odor and food. The sounds pounded against Terry’s ears as he struggled to turn his music up loud enough. That one noisy kid in the back of the bus was screaming at the quiet, nerdy kid sitting next to Terry. Carl wasn’t a shy kid, by any standards, he was just very quiet. Carl sank lower in his seat and closed his eyes. Terry skipped a song and turned to scowl at the noisy kid. The noisy kid, Ken, looked him dead in the eye and sneered. Terry rolled his eyes and turned around. Carl poked his shoulder and Terry removed an earbud. The sound was excruciating.
   “You got your math homework done?” asked Carl.
   Terry shook his head and glanced at his backpack. The quadratic equations laying there would take all night to complete. “Nope, It’ll be a while.”
   Carl sighed. “I can do mechanical stuff pretty decent, but not math. Hate it so much.”
   “Sure, ‘good with mechanical stuff’. You torched that last one. It literally caught on fire,” Terry smirked, his eyes sparkling.
   Carl glared at him. “We can no longer be friends. That engine was sabotaged,” Carl turned from Terry and faced the window.
   So, he was still sour about that after all. Terry returned his earbud and felt the bus slowly come to a stop. The door opened and the bus driver glanced back.
   Terry got up and shouldered his backpack. He got off the bus and waved Carl goodbye. Terry jumped when something slammed into his leg, taking him to the ground and knocking his backpack off. He struggled on the ground for a minute until realizing it was his dog, Ruck. Ruck was about seven years old and had a thin layer of grey hairs dotting his muzzle. He was overall black, except for one white paw. The paw was his front right and had black claws instead of white ones. He licked Terry on the arm good-naturedly.
   Terry pushed him off and sat up. Ruck leaned against him hard. His way of hugging someone. Terry put an arm around the dog and scratched his head. The dog closed its eyes and breathed slowly.
   “Terry!” Screamed Jennifer from the house.
   She opened her arms wide and ran toward her brother. Terry pushed the dog aside and embraced her. He stood, picking her up, and placed her on his shoulders.
   “How were you today?” Terry asked.
   “Good, how’re you,” She giggled as he ran toward the house.
   “My day was great, now, let’s go make daddy some food before he gets home,” Terry opened the door to see Miss Leron leaning against the door.
   She smiled kindly at him. “Need me here?”
   He shook his head. “Nah, Miss Leron, we should be good.”
   She dipped her head back inside only to appear a moment later clutching a brown purse. She opened the door and stepped outside while Terry and Jennifer entered.
   “You two have a good evening, and don’t burn down the house, Terry,” she called as she walked down the street.
   They waved her goodbye and shut the door. Jennifer squealed on Terry’s shoulders as he ran into the kitchen. He set her down on the counter and opened the pantry.
   “What should we make him?” Terry pulled out a cookbook.
   “Cereal,” she said, beaming at him.
   Terry stopped flipping through the book and looked at her. “Cereal? What kind of dinner is that?”
   “A good one.”
   Terry pondered that, then returned the book to the pantry’s top shelf. “Sounds like a plan to me. What kind of cereal do you think he’ll want?”
   She wiggled on the table. “I da’know.”
   “Well,” he opened the cereal cabinet and peered inside. “We’ve got his favorite in here, Sugar Stars.”
   “That sounds good to me,” she said, hopping off the table.
   “Alright, then you get the bowls and I’ll get the milk and spoons.”
   Jennifer opened the bottom cabinet door and retrieved three paper bowls with floofy robins on the sides. She set them on the table and sat in her seat swinging her legs. Terry watched her for a moment, then grabbed the cereal and set it on the table. He opened the spoon drawer and pulled out three spoons and grabbed the milk. He set them on the table and glanced at the clock: 4:10. He grabbed Jennifer and launcher her onto the couch. He plopped next to her and glanced out at the street.
A brown truck pulled to a stop in the drive and shut down. The driver’s door opened and out stepped a rugged man. He wore a dirty blue jumpsuit and a hat of the same color. The smudges of dirt danced on his clothing when he moved. On the hat was his name, Josh. He had a ring of keys jangling on his toolbelt along with many wrenches and screwdrivers. He looked in the back of the truck and then walked up to the door.
   Terry opened the door and smiled at him. Josh smiled back and looked at Jennifer. She ran and hugged his leg.
   “Hey, pumpkin,” he chuckled and ruffled her golden hair.
   “Daddy!” She hugged his leg tighter.
   He picked her up and held her in the crook of his arm. “How was school, son?”
   Terry shrugged. “Okay.”
   A look of concern flashed over Josh’s tired, dirty face for an instant, but only briefly. “Good, I’m glad. You make dinner?”
   Terry nodded and led him into the kitchen. Josh grinned when he saw the cereal. “Simple, but good. Thanks, kids, I’m gonna get changed. Go ahead and eat without me,” he set down Jennifer and walked toward his room, taking off his hat.
   Terry poured the cereal and milk into the bowls and ate with Jennifer. He rinsed the bowls and walked toward the stairs to go up to his room. When he reached for his backpack on the couch, his hand didn’t connect. He stopped and looked over. He panicked for a split second before remembering he’d left it out in the yard.
   He opened the door and walked out into the yard. Ruck was sleeping with his back against the backpack. Terry shook his head and nudged the dog with his foot. The dog awoke with a start and flailed its legs in the air. It rocketed to its feet and alertly looked at Terry. Terry chuckled and took his backpack inside. He hauled it upstairs and set it down on his bedroom floor. He opened it and pulled his math homework out with a sigh. No sooner had he got it into his lap when Jennifer ran into the room with her homework. She imitated Terry and looked up at him.
   “Help me?” She asked.
   He nodded and set his homework aside and looked over her head. The problem was the usual, math. Jennifer excelled at everything except for math. Terry thought it was just a family curse. His dad was horrible at math and so was he. At least she wasn’t his age. He couldn’t have helped her then.
   The problems were very simple. Two plus two and the like. Jennifer’s education was an odd one brought about by odd circumstances. The start of this school year was Jennifer’s first. She was so excited about the schooling, but not about the people. She’d always been wary of people in large numbers, or just people in general. Enough money couldn’t be made to send her to school, and neither Terry nor Josh could stay with her. Josh was beginning to panic when Miss Leron came to him saying she could watch Jennifer while the men were gone. Not only that, but she also said she would educate her at home for free. She said it had been a long time since she’d been around any young kids. Since her husband died, Miss Leron hadn’t been around too much, so Josh thought this was great for her. It was perfect. Josh and Terry didn’t have to worry about Jennifer’s schooling and they didn’t have to worry about going into debt.
   Terry loved that about Miss Leron, but he still didn’t like it. Even though she’d been in the neighborhood since Josh had been a child, Terry didn’t like the idea of anyone he didn’t fully trust staying home with Jennifer. Nevertheless teaching her, but there was nothing he could do. He just accepted it and was happy for Jennifer. Every day she ranted about how great Miss Leron was that day. Talked about what she learned about and what she got on quizzes. They always had tea parties around lunchtime.
   That was the thing about Miss Leron, she was a girly girl at heart. The kind that loved ponies and princesses and castles, and so was Jennifer. They were best friends, or at least that’s what Jennifer preached. Terry thought it was odd, but didn’t really mind. Josh thought it was great. He didn’t have enough time to do those things for his daughter, so having Miss Leron was a God-send.
   They got to the end of her homework and Terry did his usual thing; when he helped Jennifer he would always make up some problems for her to do. They were much harder than what she was used too, but she was grateful for the practice. Jennifer was an odd child indeed.
   Terry finished the questions and gave them to her. Then he heard something shift. He looked around the room. The room was dimly lit except for the bed. He turned on the main light and swept his eyes back and forth. He came to the conclusion that one of his books fell off the piles in the closet and opened the door.
   “No!” Jennifer squealed. “Don't open that!”
   Terry stopped and looked at her with concern. “What’s the matter?”
   She pouted. “Monsters.”
   Terry’s heart fell. Ever since he could remember, Jennifer had awful nightmares, but they weren’t just the run-of-the-mill nightmares either. She described them in vivid detail days after she had them, and they were often gruesome and horrifying.
   “Oh, it’s alright. There aren’t any monsters in here. Just my books,” Terry opened the door a little bit more, “see?”
   Jennifer hid behind a pillow for a little while before peeking. “Okay, maybe it's not that bad.”
   Terry smiled and returned his attention to the closet. He pulled the cord for the light and blinked hard. The light flashed on and hummed a low, steady growl. He looked around the small closet and saw that a stack of books he’d thought secure had fallen over. He sighed wearily and started stacking them. He finished and turned out the light. He closed the door and sat back down on the bed across from Jennifer. She had finished the problems and was watching him with her emerald green eyes.
   “It’s okay, Jen. No monster, real or not, is gonna get you if I can help it, and trust me, I can help it.”
   She smiled at him. “I know. Thank for your help, Tewwy,” she giggled, running away.
   Terry shook his head and shut his door. He returned to his homework and started on his Algebra 2, his devil.

   At around eleven at night, he finished and set the books and backpack against the foot of his bed. He slipped into his pajamas and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He dug around in his drawer before finding his “minty-fresh” toothpaste. He didn’t find it so “fresh”. It tasted like fire and burned his tongue. The only consolation was not having cavities when visiting the dentist. For a reason unknown to him he hated the dentist. Something about drilling in one’s head made him nervous and sweaty. Which led to him being embarrassed. He’d long since learned that teenagers stink.
   He spat out the foamy liquid in his mouth and bared his teeth at the mirror. He pulled back his lips and checked his molars. Eh, good enough.
   He walked back to his bedroom and crawled under the marble-white comforter he’d stolen from his friend, Carl. It’s not stealing if they know, is it?

Click here for chapter two.