Cover-up

Chili-Dog

"Cover-ups breed false assumptions."

Group dynamics operate in non-obvious ways. Today, an awkward silence descended upon the classroom, and a group anxiety arose that seemed unfounded. A subtle sense of wrongness infused the groups' subconscious realm, with invisible ripples influencing the behavior of individuals in subtle ways. The classroom dynamics were such that a spontaneous self-organization occurred to positioned two unusual characters next to one another. The strength of their attraction was in direct proportion to the power of their repulsion from the rest of the class.

Sam, starting with the cover-up of his bunny murder, began a lifelong habit of hiding mistakes. This urge came from a subconscious fear that someone would take his bunny away if he were found out. Sam's skill, although rudimentary at present, seemed to improve over time. One could argue, however, that he was somehow becoming increasingly lucky. Sam's attraction to mistake-prone situations, combined with his intolerance of meat products, and a perceived need to cover up unexpected events, presented Sam with many difficult dilemmas. For example, in situations where Sam felt he might be outed as a vegetarian by avoided meat, he found he could force himself to eat the meat then later excuse himself to purge the meal in private.

Today, being Friday, was the favorite day of grade-school children everywhere and so it was for Sam. Having finished his first week of third grade, Sam was excited because he had made a new friend named John. It was a friendship by default. The two boys had been positioned next to each other by a mutual repulsion of their classmates. Both had their quirks. John was easily distracted because of several obsessive-compulsive behaviors and impulse control issues, and Sam gave off an odd vibe that could not be easily explained.

Since both boys lived near their school, they often found themselves walking together on their way home. Today, as they walked, John's compulsive behavior made a strong appearance. John had an overwhelming compulsion to step on every third sidewalk groove while trying to maintain a steady pace. Sam tried to have a conversation, but it seemed John couldn't do two things at once. Sam walked along beside John but found it difficult because of his friend's erratic pace.

Soon, another quirk made an appearance. Whenever John saw a cricket perched on the edge of the sidewalk, he altered his pace to step on the cricket. When he did so, he let out a high-pitched scream of triumph. Nearing the intersection where they had to go their separate ways, John asked, "Hey Sam, you wanna meet at the park tomorrow and step on some bugs with me?"

"I'm not so sure about the bugs, but I'll hang out for a bit."

Sam's prior friendships never lasted more than a few days; their downfall usually beginning on the first day. Sometimes Sam would say or do something odd, inappropriate, or unbecoming. In the majority of cases, however, his new friend would get a vague but nagging suspicion that grew and eventually triggered a life-preservation instinct whereby his friend avoided future contact. Sam's new friend, John, was a different character in several ways. For one, his friend never felt a sense of foreboding around Sam, so the life-preserving instinct was never triggered.

...

Today, Sam rounded the corner leading to the park and saw his friend in the distance stomping on the ground and giving muted shrieks.

"Hey John," Sam said, walking up to John's side. "What are you up to?"

"Hi, Sam. Glad you made it!" Pointing at the ground with a mischievous smile, John continued, "Look at that spider I just smashed. It's not going to be biting anyone else ever again!"

"That's cool, John."

"There's an earthworm," John said, pointing to the ground. "You want to step on it, Sam?"