It was Thursday, and tomorrow was the trip to the mall, so I was prepared. I had the perfect outfit, a big wad of cash, even the perfect cologne. I was prepared physically.
Mentally? Hell no.
My stomach was doing backflips. My brain was coming up with every scenario imaginable, and it wouldn't stop!
What if I make myself look stupid?
What if she hates my outfit?
What if her German ex-boyfriend comes back from overseas and takes her away?
I'm a 7/10 at best. I can't compete with a German ex-boyfriend.
I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down. Her chances of having a German boyfriend are low... but it's never zero.
I decided to stop thinking about it and just go to work. I head downstairs from my room wearing my uniform—a purple shirt with a picture of a brown dog in the corner. I work as a manager at a nearby dog pound. My dad works as a dog catcher, so we team up sometimes.
In the kitchen, my mom—a short, petite woman—is fixing the air conditioning. Despite how she looks, she's a mechanic. My dad, a woodsy lumberjack kind of guy, is on the phone talking to one of his buddies about an upcoming fishing trip. And in the middle of it all is my baby sister Unis, sitting in her high chair eating cereal.
I smile and kiss her on the forehead. "I'm off to work."
Unis giggles and calls me "Baabi!" It's her nickname for me.
My mom looks up. "Do you want me to drive you to work?"
I shake my head. "I'll walk. I'll see you guys later."
My father moves the phone from his ear. "Oh, well good luck on your date tomorrow!"
I freeze mid-step. "Date...? I... I don't have a date."
My father smirks. "Your mother already told me."
My mom drops her screwdriver and groans. "God dang it, Pete, you can't hold water!"
She turns to me. "Honey, I kinda overheard you and your friends talking. And you talk in your sleep. Like, a lot."
Dad chimes in, "It's true. The only reason I found out about my surprise birthday party last year was because you fell asleep on the couch."
I roll my eyes.
"So," my mom asks in a sing-song voice, "who's the special girl?"
I sigh. "It's Flynn."
Both their eyes widen.
"Flynn, you say?" Dad says. "You've been crushing on her since middle school. And look at you now, years later, and you're finally in the talking phase. You see, when I was your age—"
"Dad. Mom asked you out because she got tired of waiting. Your blatant hesitation almost caused me and Unis to never be born! Shame, shame, shame!" I press my index fingers together.
"You do it too, Unis," I say, guiding her tiny hands to mimic me. "Say shame, shame, shame!"
Unis, happy to be included, shouts, "Bame! Bame! Bame!"
She's at that age where she repeats everything, so swear words are strictly off-limits.
My mom laughs, amused by our little conspiracy against Dad.
My father gently smacks the back of my head. "My own kids are conspiring against me." He picks up Unis and blows raspberries on her belly, making her squeal with delight.
I laugh and head toward the door.
"Oh, by the way, Isaac!" Dad calls out. "I saw something at the pound you've been dying to see."
I snap my fingers. "Halle Berry covered in honey?"
"Hey! Watch it, young man!" Mom shouts warningly.
I chuckle. "It was just a joke, Mom."
Dad stifles a laugh. "No. But trust me—it's something you've been praying for. Be safe walking."
I smile, hug my dad, and give my mom a kiss on the forehead. "See you guys later!"
I wave goodbye to my parents and Unis as I leave the house.
Ashvale is a town in Washington. Fairly peaceful. Not exactly "leave your baby outside unattended" safe like Denmark or Norway, but simple enough.
That said, Ashvale is known to be... freaky. It's a tourist attraction for the supernatural. Not legit supernatural—just alleged sightings. Still, it gives the town a weird reputation.
As I walk down the road, I spot it.
At the end of the block sits a two-story house. The paint's peeled into a moldy black-banana color. The lawn is dead and decaying. As I pass, the clouds literally cast a shadow over the property like they're in on the bit.
People call it the "Wiccan House."
One of the many legends in Ashvale. Supposedly, a magician lived there a long time ago. Every time my folks or I walk past it, we get goosebumps.
I make sure to cross to the other side of the street. Still, the chilling feeling creeps up my spine, igniting goosebumps across my arms.
"Creepy ass house," I mumble.
I pull out my phone to distract myself. Scrolling through social media... and immediately regret it.
A boy in designer clothes is holding up a boombox with purple speakers in the middle of a party. People are dancing and cheering. The caption reads:
"Any party I come to is automatically the party of the year! #RICHERTHENTHEREST #PARTYBOYFORLIFE #EUROPEEXCHANGEPROGRAM #HAVEMYTRUSTFUNDBABIES"
I roll my eyes.
Even far away, Carl Stuner finds a way to be a pain in my butt. It'll be worse when he comes back.
I ignore him and keep scrolling until I reach the pound—a simple white building with posters of dogs and animals in the windows.
I step inside to the familiar sound of bickering. My two employees are at it again.
Tom and Eveline are both college students from the campus just outside town. Tom's basically a surfer dude—long dirty blonde hair, Hawaiian shirt over his uniform. He might look like a slacker, but he's majoring in engineering and is surprisingly good at his job.
Then there's Eveline. The goth girl. She's majoring in anthropology... whatever that is. She acts like she doesn't care, but she definitely does. She just won't admit it.
Right now, Tom's whining as Eveline disinfects a wound on his arm.
"The hell is going on in here?" I ask, mildly concerned.
Tom throws up a peace sign. "Yo, tiny boss! Ow! Watch it, Eve!"
Eve rolls her eyes. "Hey, boss. New dog your dad brought in. Beautiful, but scratched Tom up pretty good, so it can't be that perfect."
Tom gasps dramatically. "HEY!"
Eve continues cleaning his wound without sympathy.
I clock in and head to the back. My arrival sets off a chorus of barking dogs and meowing cats.
I'm the manager for a reason. I work well with animals—taming them just comes naturally.
I smile, petting the dogs as I pass by. Then I turn to look at the vacant kennel—and freeze.
My heart begins to race, and my eyes widen with excitement.
Standing before me is a Tibetan Mastiff. Its fur is matted, and an angry glint burns in its eyes.
"Precious baby!" I coo in a baby voice.
Tom walks in beside me. "Your precious baby is a vicious killer! All I did was try and feed him, and look what he did to me!" He flashes his arm, now bandaged thanks to Eve.
"I'll let you go on break early," he says, patting me on the back. "You're the man, tiny boss!"
Tom's taller than me—he always calls me "tiny boss." I don't really mind it, though I wouldn't call myself tiny. 5'4" isn't tiny. It's average height.
Eve chimes in, "Clean it up and it's the spitting image of Max from that horror movie Man's Best Friend."
I grin at her. "Great minds think alike. Ever since I saw that movie as a kid, I always wanted a dog like this. Well… this one probably doesn't swallow cats whole or turn invisible. But it's better than nothing!"
Man's Best Friend came out in 1993. I watched it with my mom when she was pregnant with Unis. It was awesome—and ever since then, I begged for a dog that looked just like this one.
Now here it was, staring daggers at me from behind a cage.
I take the chart off the kennel door and read: Shows signs of abuse. Aggressive.
"Poor thing," I whisper. "You're just a cutie patootie."
I kneel in front of the cage. The dog bares its fangs at me. Tom and Eve step back.
"You gonna do your thing?" Tom asks.
Eve rolls her eyes and heads toward the front. "I'll get the med kit."
I slowly reach into the cage. "Hey there, sweeti—"
RAWR!
Pain shoots through my hand as the dog clamps down. But I don't scream. I don't yank my hand back. I just take a deep breath.
Being calm when bitten shows you're not a threat. I saw it on Dog Whisperer.
Tom winces. "That's some How to Train Your Dragon shit right there."
The dog bites harder, testing me. But I stay calm.
Then—just as suddenly—it lets go. Confused, maybe even concerned, it begins to lick my hand.
"See? Right as rain."
Tom steps closer, but the dog growls at him.
"Yeah, I'm gonna keep my distance."
I pet the dog gently, fingers brushing through its dirt-matted fur. "It's okay. You're safe with me. We'll get you all cleaned up."
Eve returns with the med kit. "So, boss, what're you gonna name him?"
Tom's eyes light up. "Magalar, the Devourer of Souls! Or—or The Grim Reaper! Or how about—"
"Maxine," I say.
Tom groans. "Ugh. I think mine were better."
I smirk. "Well, my name fits perfectly. And besides, I can check see the hardware from here. Either this dog's been neutered, or she's a girl."
Eve snickers. "No wonder it scratched Tom. Even female dogs can't stand him."
Tom eyes her back. "Well, I know one girl who couldn't stand around me."
Eve smacks him upside the head, her face turning red. "Shut up! God!"
She storms out of the room. Tom raises his hand toward me for a high-five—but Maxine barks loudly at him.
"Okay, okay, I'm going!" he yelps, speed-walking away.
I smile down at Maxine.
"Good girl."
Three Hours Later
Our day goes on—taking care of the dogs, cats, and the other animals we have here. Convincing people that adopting is good, and managing the amount of paperwork and background checks needed to adopt.
As I sit at the front desk, I see Tom being dragged toward the front door.
"Hey, Tiny Boss, we're uh… gonna take our break early if that's alright?"
I roll my eyes, knowing exactly what they're planning. "Alright, fine. It's slow today anyway."
Tom winks with a salute. "Thanks, Tiny Bos—"
Before he can finish, he's yanked out of the pound by Eve.
I roll my eyes again. Lucky bastard. I want a girlfriend too.
I sit at the counter for a while, scrolling on my phone. A few people come by, mostly asking for directions. It's about five minutes later when I hear the gentle swish of the front door opening.
"You guys are back already? Dang, Tom, I knew you were a fast person, but I didn't know you were that fast—"
I look up from my phone, expecting Tom and Eve—only to find a woman staring at me.
A tan woman in a crop top with long brown hair and baby blue eyes. She has a flirtatious smile, green cargo pants, and sneakers. For some reason, she seems… familiar.
"Oh my, such a cutie at the counter. Are you up for adoption? I'd adopt you," she says with a flirty smile.
Is this lady flirting with me? Would that pickup line work on anyone?
I play it off with a smile, trying to sound flattered. "Oh, thank you! But I'm not for adoption. Did you come here to help a furry friend find a new home?" I say in my best cheesy commercial narrator voice, trying to steer the conversation away.
She giggles. "No, handsome. I came looking for some… advice."
Do I look like Oprah to you?
"And this advice is referring to?" I ask.
She leans against the counter. I focus on her forehead to avoid staring at her cleavage.
"I'm having problems with my dog."
I perk up. "Oh, okay, certainly. What seems to be the problem with her?"
She does her best to draw attention to her… assets, but I refuse to look.
"She's having trouble being in heat. And I'm not sure what to do."
I spin around in my rolling chair to the wall behind me where there are slots full of pamphlets. I pull out a purple one.
"Well, if she's in heat, one way to avoid any… unsuspecting litters is to get her spayed—"
She waves her hand dismissively. "No, I don't think that's an option. No spaying of any kind."
I nod and open the pamphlet. "Well, some other options include restraining her until her heat cycle is over. But I feel the best thing to do is keep her away from male dogs."
I hold out the pamphlet for her to take. Instead, she grabs my wrist.
Her grip is surprisingly strong.
"Hmm… are you single, handsome?" suddenly I felt, Frightened in a way. the silence around us was Deafening.
I tried to yank my hand from her.
"Ma'am, my love life is none of your business."
She looked at my hand—the one Maxine had bitten and Eve had wrapped tightly. A little blood had dried up in the bandages. She leaned in, making full eye contact, then took a deep sniff.
What the fu—
"Seems someone got bit. Your blood... smells... intoxicating."
She then proceeded to lick my hand.
Disgust filled every part of my body as I stood there, helpless, while she licked the blood off my bandages.
"Oh god, lady, what the fuck is wrong with you?!"
I managed to pry my hand from her steel-like grip and kneeled to grab some wet naps from inside the desk.
"Ma'am, I'm gonna have to ask you to—"
I looked back up. She was gone.
"—leave?"
I looked around to see where she went. Then walked to the back to check if she had snuck in there. All the dogs and cats were collectively sleeping, except for Maxine, who looked up at me.
"You see anybody come in here besides me? The weird lady who licked my hand?"
Maxine made a noise that wasn't exactly a bark, more along the lines of a loud sniff.
"No? Well, keep up the good work."
I walked back to the front, wondering what the hell had just happened. I hadn't even heard the door open. Where could she have gone... and so fast, too?
"What's the matter, boss?" Eve asked, noticing my confused and disgusted face.
Tom and Eve had come back in, and I noted the swishing noise the door made as they entered.
"Some weird lady came in here flirting with me... then she licked my hand."
Tom snickered, his collar flipped up to hide the hickeys and black lipstick on his neck.
"All kinds of freaks in this town... all kinds."
He snickered again before Eve punched him in the arm.
"Did she leave?" she asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, she did some Houdini Shit and just vanished."
Tom took a seat in the lobby. "Was she hot?"
Eve rolled her eyes.
I shrugged. "From your perspective or mine? Because she was trying way too hard to be sexy and it came off as weird to me. But you look desperate enough to try and score, so yes—she's attractive."
Tom placed a hand on his chest, mock offended. "Hey, that hurt. I'm not desperate."
Eve snickered. These two were dating, right? At least I think they're dating.
"Say, uh... I need your advice on something, guys."
They looked up at me.
"Yeah?" they said in sync.
I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe I was about to ask my employees about this.
"So, uh... I and my friends—"
"My friends and I," Tom corrected smugly.
I rolled my eyes. "Eat shit and die, wannabe English major."
I sighed before continuing. "We're going to the mall tomorrow, and I invited the girl I like. How do I get her attention?"
Tom stood up, walking over with his usual over-the-top swagger.
"Well, tiny boss, as a lover boy myself, women just flock to me naturally. Confidence is key. And if you don't have any confidence—fake it until you make it."
He looked over at Eve. "Am I doing good?"
Eve sighed. "I guess you're making sense. Continue."
Tom smiled and leaned on the counter, fully in his element.
"When you're on this date tomorrow, there's one thing you gotta remember: Do not be yourself."
Wait—what? Who the hell else am I supposed to be?
Eve stepped in, waving her hand dramatically. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's horrible advice!"
Tom shrugged. "Think about it. If a girl says 'Just be yourself. I'll like you for who you are'—and then she doesn't like who you are—it won't work out. It's like opening a present on Christmas and discovering it's not the game you wanted, but some ugly Christmas socks. And you don't wanna wear ugly socks, do you?"
Eve and I just stared at him, wide-eyed.
"What?" Tom said, dead serious. "You guys know I'm right."
Eve looked genuinely afraid. "We know... it's the fact you're saying something so smart that's scaring us!"
Tom groaned and stood up. "Ugh, whatever! I'm gonna go back to work." He headed to the back.
Eve, however, turned to me with a sincere look.
"Boss, you're a good kid. Be yourself. If she doesn't like you, then it wasn't meant to be."
She patted my shoulder before following Tom into the back.
I sighed. I knew she was right. But I wanted it to be meant to be.
Just Outside The Pound
Beatrix walked down the sidewalk with an amused smirk on her face. She read the pamphlet as she strolled down the sidewalk
"Separate the female canine from the males... hmm... seems simple enough."
She felt the gentle breeze kiss her skin. The sun shining brightly against her flawless face. the taste of his blood and the smell of his scent is etched into her brain. Her memory.
"This is going to be fun."