Symby (4 page)

Snuffles was deeply worried. It was obvious that something terrible had happened to his best friend. He walked around Jody, sniffing, licking and barking, trying desperately to get his attention. No response. Snuffle's razor sharp sense of smell had long ago sensed a serious problem with Jody, but this had never happened before. He loved Jody and could not imagine life without him. Snuffles had almost given up trying to prod Jody back into the world when an idea came to him. Racing back into the yard, he found the little creature sunning itself on a rock. He picked up the furry little ball in his mouth, grateful that he hadn't eaten it when it had first arrived.

Racing back to Jody, he deposited the creature on Jody's chest. He waited a while, hoping that the creature could help Jody. He didn't have to wait long before he could see the liquid he had hoped for spreading on Jody's chest, soaking his shirt. Snuffles resumed licking Jody's face. After what seemed like an eternity to Snuffles, Jody finally began to stir.

Jody was confused. Why was he staring at the sky and why was Snuffles licking his face? As his addled brain slowly began to put the pieces of his collapse together, his initial reaction was an overwhelming sense of depression. Was this the beginning of the end of his independence? Could this be the beginning of the end, period?

He put his arm around Snuffles.

"I'm glad you were around, Snuffy," he said. "You were worried, weren't you boy?"

Snuffles acknowledged Jody's statement with a push of his wet nose against Jody's face. Jody smiled, despite his anxiety.

"They're not kidding when they say 'man's best friend', are they, boy?"

As Jody stroked his best friend, he became aware of moisture on his shirt. "Guess I've been sweating a lot," he thought. The soft vibrations emanating from the center of his chest generated an altogether different reaction.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, suddenly jolted into complete consciousness. A fuzzy little creature was nibbling at him.

"I'm not dead yet!" he exclaimed, plucking the rat from his chest and flinging it away. The rat curled into a small ball as it flew and rolled a few feet more before it stopped. Jody propped himself up on one arm and stared at it. He was wrong, it wasn't a rat. As far as he could tell, it had no eyes, no tail and no feet. What was it, then?

Jody watched in astonishment as Snuffles immediately padded over to the little, furry ball and licked it. Snuffles looked at Jody balefully, obviously trying to communicate his displeasure with Jody's reflexive actions.

"Is that a friend of yours, Snuffles?" asked Jody. "Is that what you're trying to tell me? Well, I'm sorry then."

Snuffles picked up his little friend in his mouth, trotted over to Jody and deposited it into Jody's lap.

"You really want me to like this little guy, don't you?" said Jody. "Okay, I like him."

Snuffles put his head on Jody's lap, covering the little animal, as if trying to protect it. When the pulsing of the small animal resumed Jody felt strangely comforted. He sat up and stared at his wet shirt, suddenly aware that the wetness was not caused by his own sweat.

"Jeez, Snuffles, maybe next time you could pick a friend who doesn't pee on people!" he exclaimed. He laughed at his quip, which surprised him. Collapsing was no laughing matter, so why did he feel so jovial? He sat for a while, petting both Snuffles and Snuffle's little friend. Snuffle's love always served to boost his moods, but Jody quickly began to notice something resembling affection coming from Snuffle's friend as well. He could understand why Snuffles had been offended by his rough treatment of his little friend.

"You can never get enough love in this world, right, Snuffles?" said Jody. He, of all people, understood that concept. Jody sat there for a while, absorbing love from two sources, feeling better by the moment. Getting up off the ground would be an arduous task, but he finally decided to face it. He held the little creature in his hand as he began what he assumed would be the lengthy process of simply standing up. He would have to analyze which muscles were working most efficiently on this particular day and determine which angles would work best for foot placement before he could finally arise. Yet after he rolled over, he found it relatively easy to rise. His body was working much better than he had anticipated, especially given his recent collapse. As he carried Snuffle's friend into the house, Snuffles following excitedly behind, he realized that he was moving quite a bit faster than he had before the collapse.

"Guess I should collapse more often, Snuffy. I feel like I just drank five Red Bulls," he said. Once in the house, Jody's good mood and enhanced coordination stayed with him. Feelings of ecstasy washed over him in waves. He walked to his room and turned on his I-dock, still carrying Snuffle's friend. Music blared from the small speakers. Suddenly, he wanted to dance. Slowly and carefully, he began placing one foot in front of the other to move in concert with the heavy bass beat. Succeeding in this effort, he tried to swivel his hips. Again he succeeded.

Snuffles looked on with uncritical eyes as Jody stepped and gyrated spastically. Snuffles basically loved everything Jody did, and he was certainly not going to judge Jody for the poor dancer that he was. He hadn't seen Jody even try to do anything like this in months, and he was happy for Jody.

Jody stopped dancing after only a few minutes, exhausted but joyous. He was clearly moving better than he had in quite a while. He could not understand why, though. Had he hit his head when he fell, and jolted his brain? Was he feeling refreshed from his few minutes on the ground? Neither of those theories seemed plausible.

Only one theory for his sudden surge seemed likely, though it seemed implausible, if not impossible. He petted Snuffles on his head.

"You've been feeling pretty darned good too, lately, haven't you, boy?" he said. "Now that I think about it, you've been running around like a puppy lately. Is that why you brought your little friend to me when you saw me hit the ground?"

Snuffles couldn't answer, of course, but the more Jody thought about it, the more he felt as though there was a connection between Snuffle's little friend and his resurgence. The connection was currently vibrating in his lap.

He ran his hand along his shirt, collecting some of the liquid the creature had emitted onto his finger. Even though it was now mixed with sweat, the liquid smelled sweet. A quick lick revealed a taste and texture similar to maple syrup, prompting Jody to try another sample. He looked down at the little ball of fur, now safely nestled in his lap.

"You know what, little guy? You can pee on me any time!"

Jody awoke early the next morning, as he had the day before. Snuffle's friend had attached itself to his shoulder for part of the night and left behind a small wet spot on his t-shirt. Jody's sole concern about the wet spot was whether the stain would come out in the wash. He had already grown fond of having the creature with him as he slept. The little creature seemed to genuinely enjoy sleeping with him, and its soft, rhythmic pulsations soothed Jody, enabling him to sleep soundly. Even if he was wrong about the creature's magic serum, he decided he wouldn't mind having it around just for its company. Apparently, Snuffles had the same opinion of the creature. Snuffles had spent the entire night at the foot of Jody's bed.

From the moment he swiveled out of bed, Jody could tell that today was going to be a very good day. His joints and muscles still seemed to be working as well as they had during his maniacal dance session. As he bandied about the kitchen preparing yet another breakfast for his mother, he noticed that his fingers had uncurled ever so slightly. Turning on the faucets and the stove seemed a bit easier than just the day before. Several times, he paused to check himself. He was hoping against hope that this sudden burst of energy and enhanced coordination was not just his imagination. He tried to think objectively, comparing the efforts of yesterday with the perceived ease of today's endeavors. Ultimately he concluded that although he could not be one hundred percent sure that he was performing at a higher level, something positive had clearly occurred. He could only hope that whatever had happened would continue.

His mother arrived in her bathrobe, pleasantly surprised at Jody's industry.

"Bacon, eggs and toast again?" she teased. "We're going to have to expand your menu."

Jody knew his Mother well enough to know that she was joking, so he responded with his own jape.

"Hey, I said I watched you so I could learn how to cook, Mom. Too bad for you that this is the only thing you make that I like!"

The two of them laughed. They both knew that the truth was that Jody liked virtually everything his mother cooked. When he didn't like something, she stopped making it.

"You seem perky today," his mom said. "Any particular reason?" She was hoping he would start talking about the girl. Once again, she was disappointed.

"Just feeling good today, Mom," answered Jody. "Nothing special."

Jody knew that his mother was probably hoping he would open up about Missy. He and Missy had viddied for a few minutes last night before bed, so she might have heard something. It wasn't that he was trying to hide Missy from her, just that he felt it was too early to get her hopes up. Anyway, the reason for his perkiness had much less to do with Missy today than it did with his new little pet. He wasn't about to talk about his theory that the creature was helping him, though. She'd think he was crazy, and he probably was.

As Jody and his mom ate breakfast, Jody's mind strayed from their conversation intermittently. What would he do with his newfound friend during the day? If the little ball of fuzz really was really helping him with his disease, then he'd have to find a way to ensure that it was safe during the day. By the end of breakfast, he had made his decision.

Jody hugged his mother goodbye before she climbed into her car and left for work. After she left, Jody retrieved the creature from his bed and brought it out to the backyard, calling to Snuffles to follow him. Jody put some food in Snuffle's bowl and placed the creature near Snuffles.

"Take good care of this little guy, okay boy?"

Jody couldn't believe what happened next. Rather than rushing to his bowl and chowing down as he always had, Snuffles picked up the creature in his mouth and placed it gently on top of the small pile of food in his bowl. Jody could see the little creature pulsate as it ingested tiny portions of the food.

"Wow, you really do love this little guy, don't you?" exclaimed Jody, astonished. "Guess I don't have to worry about it as long as you're with it."

Jody stayed to watch the amazing scene play out. When the creature stopped pulsing, Snuffles picked it up again and placed it on a nearby rock. Only then did Snuffles partake. Jody patted Snuffle's head and began walking towards the front gate. As he approached the gate, Snuffles raced up to him, expecting to walk to school with Jody. Jody unlatched the gate, but closed it before Snuffles could pass through it. Snuffles looked confused and disappointed.

"Don't worry, boy, I'll be back, just like always," he said, reaching down to pat Snuffle's head. "You take care of our little friend. I know I can count on you to make sure nothing bad happens to him. He's kind of a helpless little guy, you know that. I think we both know we need him."

Jody glanced at his watch when he left the house. He turned to wave goodbye to Snuffles, but Snuffles had already retreated to the backyard. Missy waved to him from the steps when he approached the school. Jody was surprised to see her. He had thought that he would be first. The trip to the school had taken him seven minutes less than it had just the day before. This was the only day he had reached the school in less than half an hour for at least a year. Missy greeted him enthusiastically.

"Hey, boyfriend, how are you today?"

"I'm good," said Jody, "really good."

"Me too," she said, offering her hand. "I guess it's nice to know you have somebody you can count on, right?" Jody debated whether to confide in her about the little creature, but the same considerations that prevented him from telling his mom also ruled out telling Missy. She had already overlooked his contorted body, but telling her about Snuffle's little friend might make her think he was losing it.

"Yep," he said. "There's strength in numbers, right?"

"Yep," she agreed. She paused for a moment, and then squeezed his hand a little tighter. "Is it just me, or is your hand a little looser today than it was yesterday?"

Jody was impressed and thrilled with her perception. If she could feel it, then he was probably not delusional. His hands really had unwound a bit. Still, it was better not to tell her. "Yeah, they feel a lot better today than the last two days," he admitted. "I have good days and bad days."

Missy nodded. "Me too," she said.

The two of them walked warily into the school and began passing lockers. They weren't sure what their reception would be. Snitching was usually not cool. As they walked, a small boy approached them.

"You guys rule!" he said animatedly. "Hey, everybody, it's the Jimmy killers!"

Other kids approached. Choruses of "You rock" and "U da man" went up. They shook several grateful hands. Jody half-expected the crowd to launch into a chorus of "ding dong, the witch is dead," but that was not forthcoming. By the time they reached Jody's locker, they were feeling like rock stars.

Missy was beaming. "Looks like we're popular all of a sudden. Did you know that Jimmy was messing with so many other kids?"

"I had no idea," said Jody. "I guess I was focusing on my own problems."

When they met for lunch that day, they were joined by three other kids. On any other day, Jody would have been thrilled to have companions at lunch. Now that he had a girlfriend, he really just wanted to hang out with her. Missy seemed to be enjoying the company, so he went along for the ride. He couldn't help but worry that Missy was making friends who might replace him, though.