Jett sat shivering in the car, pulling his jacket as close as possible while Deacon drove him to college. The roads were icy and the sun was still hiding annoyingly behind the bare trees. The car's heater was busted, leaving the two in the cold.
"I could have driven myself, or we could have taken my car." Jett spoke through shivers and clattering teeth. Deacon let out a loud laugh as he swerved slightly, alarming them both. But he pretended that he had everything under control and that they didn't almost just swerve into on coming traffic.
"Your car can't grip on to ice worth a shit, and you can hardly stay awake. It's safer with me driving. Besides, I needed an excuse to go and get gas and now I have one." Jett watched as a large puddle of slush and snow was thrown into the air as they drove through it,"you left your wallet on the couch, how are you going to pay?" Deacon let a hand fly down to his pocket and he searched anxiously. He glanced away from the road for a second to make sure that he was emptying his pockets, refusing to believe he didn't have his wallet. Jett removed some cash from his own wallet and handed it to Deacon, who was hesitant to take it. Jett pulled his knees closer to him for more warmth. He was careful not to get his feet on the seat so as not to get yelled at. Deacon slid dangerously into the campus parking lot and struggled to slow to a stop.
"They've got to plow this shit, it isn't very safe." Deacon grumbled under his breath. Jett gave a quick "thanks" before climbing out of the freezing car and walking up to the ice covered doors. Deacon fought the snow and ice to free his car before taking off. He steadily made his way to the closest gas station to fill up the tank before heading home to go back to sleep. Honestly, some people have to get up too early.
Jett greeted a few friends with a smile and a warning not to get too close or they could get sick.
Besides Deacon, Jett had two buddies. A young man named Gray and a young woman named Allison. Allison was studying her best to be a defense attorney, she had a vast knowledge on the world around her and how to use evidence with and against people. And Gray was still a freshman just getting his core classes out of the way, preparing to be a psychologist. Both nerds had met Jett in their math class and ended up working together surprisingly well.
It came as no surprise to the three when Allison entered "mom mode" and began fussing over Jett's health. She has a kid of her own at home and with no husband to help her out with it. She wanders in and out of constant mom mode towards her younger friends just out of pure instinct. She'd often ask them if they've eaten or order them to use their words, watch their language, sit down and behave, and one of her new favorite things to say was,"because I said so, that's why."
Though she was often the Hilter of rules and order, she was also a really good nurse. Though, Jett could be his own nurse if he wanted. She sat with the boys naming off a list of what Jett should do to get better (things Jett already knew but couldn't care for because he had things to do and places to be). Gray would tell her she's over reacting. And like clock work the two would argue like an old married couple until Jett reminded them about classes where they'd race to their respective rooms and study for hours.
Occasionally, Allison would remove herself from class to call her daughter and make sure her baby was doing ok. She didn't exactly trust her current nanny and made that very clear with every call. And when Gray had finished his day's worth of work, he'd drive to Allison's house and pick up her kid. He'd return with the baby and make Allison's day.
The three were sitting in Gray's dorm room, Gray, the infant and Jett. Gray bounced the tiny human playfully on his lap while Jett helped him study last minute for one of Gray's tests. The child let out small coos and loud giggles in delight as she bounced.
"I'd ask you to go over the 'little Albert ' lesson but that has some touchy stuff." Gray muttered through a grin as he helped the baby stand on his knees. She stamped her foot and bobbed her head as if she was rocking out, gurgling all the while.
"Just tell me the name of the scientist, that's all it says here-"
"It was John B.Watson and Rosalie Rayner." Jett nodded and moved the flash card to the back of the overwhelming stack. He stared at a rather detailed hand drawn picture of the brain complete with labels and color coding. There wasn't exactly anything he could ask about it because he knew nothing about what "it" was. Gray noticed Jett's confusion and grinned,"bad handwriting again?"
"No, it's the brain...?" Gray sat the baby back down and let her lean against his chest. He freed his finger from her tight grasp and used it to indicate where in the brain he was talking about as he spat a mixture of Latin and nerd out at the more than perplexed Jett. How ever he wasn't wrong, the labels all seemed in place and if he missed one it was only because there were so many. The baby made it a bit difficult to work with. She wanted the finger back and she was angry that Gray wasn't rubbing the right spot on her head like how her mom does. She started to fuss.
Allison flew into the room with a large grin on her face. She gave a quick nod to Jett and grabbed Gray's hand,"come with me. But, leave the baby." She instructed. Gray handed a rather alarmed Jett the infant and followed Allison out the door. Jett got to his feet stammering,"wait, but you know I'm not good with kids! Allison? Allison!" However, whatever it was that was so important kept the woman from turning back. Jett looked down at the still fussy baby and gave it a nervous smile, not exactly sure what to do. Wouldn't he get the baby sick?
He set the child down on Gray's bed. The girl let out an odd hissing noise and her face crumpled with pure hatred. Jett reached for her diaper bag,"babies have normally binkies and food, maybe your hungry?" He asked himself as he removed a bottle from the bag. He held the child how Allison had showed him and tried to get the child to eat. But he only seemed to upset her further. She shoved the bottle away in a fit, kicking and screaming at him. He abandoned the idea of food and stared in hate at the diapers,"don't do this to me kid." He grumbled. He lifted the baby and gave a quick sniff with a nervous face that relaxed when he found the bay clean. He replaced the bottle and found a few of the girl's toys.
"Look! A pink and purple goat." He stared at the stuffed animal in disgust,"goats aren't pink and purple. This is wrong." He told the baby as he put it back, looking for a more educational toy. He found a small book and took it, reading the title aloud,"soft and hard? That hardly sounds appropriate for children at all!" He spat looking down at the book that included every page with a different texture for the baby to feel. He removed a brotherly sized book and smiled,"ah! Animals and their sounds!" He sat the baby down on his lap. She grabbed his arm in protest but honestly he couldn't care less. He opened the book,"This is a cat. That cat says meow,"he made a face and mumbled to the baby,"That's not true, my old cat just coughed," the baby showed no sign of interest at his remark, but was intrigued by the book. He sighed and continued,"This is a dog. The dog days arf! Yes it does. This is a pig, the pig says oink. M'kay, not true either, but ok. This is a cow, the cow says moo. This book it terrible." He grumbled, going to put it back. The baby whined and latched tightly into the cardboard book, taking it from Jett. She smacked him with it once to let him know who's boss before inserting the book into her mouth. Jett took the book quickly,"we do not eat knowledge, that's not how it works. And I tried to give you food and you didn't want it. Woman! This is why we can't have nice things!" He teased, replacing the books and removing a small stuffed mouse,"do you want a rodent?" The infant took the mouse and threw it the best she could. She was fuming to see that it was still with in her reach. She kicked at it in disgust and got angrier when it was still in sight. Jett shook his head and lifted the baby,"you are a reminder of why I shouldn't be a father. Not because I hate kids, but because kids hate me."
He tried to bounce the baby, remembering that she enjoyed it earlier. But she knew better! This wasn't her mother, the nanny, or Gray. How dare this stranger try to bounce her! She kicked at him with all her might.
"Listen kid, I don't know what you want. You gotta work with me. Help me help you, kiddo, help me help you!" He pleaded. But the child didn't speak English yet and she could only stare at him in confusion. What where these strange noises coming from his face? And why wasn't he playing peak-a-boo? She demands peak-a-boo! He had failed to please the baby goddess that she thought she was.
Her face was a mush of baby fat and hate. Jett mocked the face just to give her a taste of her own medicine. She grinned at how stupid he looked. He noticed this and quickly began making more faces. She reached out, in hopes of saving this poor man from what ever it was that was attacking his face and making it contort in these odd ways. But her arms were to little, and he was holding her too far away. She stared at his nose, maybe if she booped it, his face would reset and he'd be normal. But again, little arms, failed to reach target. But to be honest, she didn't want the faces to stop, she enjoyed how stupid he appeared. They made her feel smarter in a way she didn't understand.
Gray and Allison returned to the room. They were grinning from ear to ear and Allison just couldn't hold still. The baby pointed to Jett, look mother, look at this animal! He looks like the ones we saw at the zoo! She wished to say. But she went unheard and with out understanding. Her mother jumped excitedly,"I told you!" She chirped. Gray nodded, sitting down besides Jett who was eager to rid himself from the baby. The other two spoke between one another, leaving Jett to wonder what the two could possible so happy about. Allison took her child and thanked the boys before taking off. The baby eyed Jett as she was removed from the room. What a strange creature she thought. Gray followed Allison with the almost forgotten diaper bag.
Jett waited for a bit before grabbing his things and going to wait for Deacon who said he was on his way not too long ago.
The drive home was just as cold as the drive there. The radio was busted, spewing out only a terrifying hissing sound, like if satan got stuck in the radio and was trying his damnedest to be a an angry owel, that's the hiss that the radio made. Deacon decided to simply play music just through his phone, but his phone died before they exited the parking lot.
So the two sat in silence for the most part. Jett broke the silence after letting his mind wander for a bit,"I want a cat."
"A cat?" Deacon asked as he pulled into the McDonald's drive through. Jett nodded,"yeah a cat."
"This isn't a Chinese place dude, they don't sell cats here-"
"No! God no! I don't want to eat the kitty, I want a kitty." Deacon grinned,"relax, I know what you mean. You want fries and a burger?" He asked quickly. Jett gave a quick nod and reached for his wallet. Deacon stopped him and paid for them both,"you paid for gas, I'll pay for lunch for the week. Fair?"
"Fair. But can we get a cat?"
"Well, what about a dog?"
"The apartment doesn't allow dogs." Jett reminded him, clearly having thought of a dog before hand. Deacon thought for a second. He couldn't help but feel like he was a parent deciding weather of not to let his kid get a pet. He was half tempted to ask,"what would your mother say," but avoided doing so for two reasons, one; he's not actually a parent, and two; he wanted to avoid that mine field completely.
"May I ask why?" He pressed as he drove to the second window to collect the foods. Jett shrugged, though he had a script planed ahead of time,"I was thinking about cats earlier and I kinda want one."
"But cats are messy."
"Nah, mate, they groom themselves."
"No, not that kind of messy. They toss litter everywhere, they shed, they knock things over. Cats are messy." Deacon argued quickly. Jett smiled,"and I like cleaning. I can handle anything a cat does."
"Well, I'm not sure, Jett."
"Oh, come on! Gray told me that pets help out with anxiety and stress. And it'll give me something I can be dependent on so that I'm no so fucking clingy to every one I meet. Besides, it would be nice to have some other life form in the house, you know? Liven it up a bit." Deacon thought for a second. He didn't say a thing and his face was impossible to read. Jett was ready to delve deeper into the script but was worried that he'd only annoy Deacon and piss him off. So he'd wait for a response before bugging him further about it.
But Deacon didn't want to give a response. He felt like a villain when Jett caught on. Even more so when the younger man sank back into his seat all sad and stuff. And that made it all the better when he pulled into an unfamiliar parking lot and seeing the confused look of Jett's face.
"Well," he began, parking the car and motioning to the pets-mart,"go pick one out." Jett's eye lit up. He rushed to escape from the car, forgetting his seatbelt for a bit and wondering why he was still trapped in his seat. He shut his car door and rushed to the building, slipping on a patch of ice and falling. Deacon watched in both alarm and amusement before following the younger man. He locked the car doors and pulled Jett back onto his feet before marching into the store.
In the back was a sort of display case. There were three kittens and four grown adult cats. Jett wanted to get one of the adults, seeing that two of them were already spayed, but Deacon talked him into getting a kitten, something that would last longer. Some one came to help them out and after some paperwork and a payment, the kitten was placed in a cardboard box with some holes in it for breathing. Deacon carried the cat while Jett purchased its litter box, food trays, and a few toys for it.
The two left the store with the kitten and Jett looked like a child on Christmas morning. He held the kitten on the way home. The two struggled to find a good name for the patched cat. The shelter had named her Debra, but it didn't fit her.
The kitten appeared to be claustrophobic. She fought ever so desperately to get out of the box and succeeded. This resulted in Jett actually having to hold the kitten for a large majority of the ride home. She howled in his hands, happy to be free from the box but terrified of the movement and sounds the car made. But she was able to relax much more once free from the scary box. And as she adjusted to the car ride home, she eventually just let out small mews and cries barely heard to the two men. Jett liked the cat twice as more now, not ebbing fond of tight spaces himself. Though he probably had other reasons compared to the kitten, but it was still something to relate to.
She reacted poorly to the new environment of the apartment. Her first instinct was to hide beneath the couch for hours at a time. She only came out when Jett prodded her with food. And as the boys prepared for sleep, Jett finishing his homework and cooking them a meal, he locked the kitten in the bathroom with the litter box so that she wouldn't poop where she wasn't supposed to. She yowled loudly until she too collapsed from exhaustion and slept thoroughly through out the night. And with her meows finally hushed, the apartment was silent and still housing nothing but sleeping creatures.
