The Uneventful Life of Harvey Mackler

c h a p t e r | e l e v e n

"I will," Gia responds tiredly. "Lend it to me when I get back — I'll be too broke by then to buy the series myself."

"Will do." Gia lets out another yawn and I start to feel guilty. "Hey, is it really okay for us to talk now? I can end the call and let you go back to sleep if you want."

"No, it's alright," she replies. "I feel wide awake — I don't plan on going back to bed. Seeing as I'm already up early, I'm going to try to get a head start on today."

"You sure?"

"Positive," she says, making her voice sound extra-chirpy to prove her point.

"Okay then..." I agree reluctantly. Outside my room, I hear a loud cluttering noise, like something heavy was being moved around. My forehead creases. It's past midnight so no one should really be wandering about anymore.

"Harvey?" Gia asks. "You still there."

"Looks like I'll have to put you on hold for a minute, Gi," I reply. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

I set down my phone on my pillow and walk out my room. Out in the hallway, I catch Hayden in the act of transporting a large metal cage up the stairs. Upon closer inspection, I realise it isn't just any cage: it's one specialised for animals.

"Is that a rabbit hutch?" I demand. "That's not fair, my terrarium isn't coming until tomorrow."

"You bought a terrarium?" Hayden asks. "How much are those? Like 200 dollars? What animal did you get Harry? A lizard? A snake?"

"I'm not dumb," I bite back. "It's obvious you got a rabbit. I already told you it would drown. How much did that cage cost? 10 bucks?"

"Thirty actually," Hayden says in a withering tone.

"You sure it'll hold it in? Your rabbit might end up escaping. Plus it isn't good to keep animals like those caged up for too long. They should be free to move around if they want."

"I know. This is just a temporary solution. I planned on us making an outdoor pen for it when I win the bet."

I laugh. "That's hilarious. You think you're going to win?"

From the end of the hallway, we are startled by a loud bang as Hunter's bedroom door swings wide open.

"What are you two arguing about at this time of night?" he asks exasperatedly. "Hollis and Harry are asleep."

"Sorry, Hunter," we apologise in sync, a long buried reflex suddenly kicking in.

Of course, Hayden had to go ruin it by adding, "Harvey started it."

"What? No! You did."

"No—"

"I don't care who started it," Hunter cuts in. "Hayden, what's that you're holding?"

"It's a cage for the dumb rabbit that he bought," I tell him.

"I don't see why you have to insult the poor rabbit," Hayden snips. "I doubt it's done anything to you to deserve the name calling."

"Wait, Harvey. Why are you calling Hayden's rabbit dumb, as if you bought a different pet?"

I blink at him. "Because I did?" I say, while Hayden choruses, "Because she did?" in a tone that implied that was pretty obvious.

Hunter lets out a long groan. "I can't believe you guys got two separate pets."

"What did you think we'd do?" I ask, confused.

"I assumed you'd resolve your little dispute before buying the animal." Hunter replies. "You two realise we can't keep both of them, right?"