Symby (10 page)

Jimmy watched Jody and Missy conversing from the opposite end of the cafeteria. Almost a month had gone by since he had taken Symby. It had been an excellent month for Jimmy. His father had administered two more of his "lessons" since the day he had brought Symby home. Symby had helped him through both episodes. He found that Symby's liquid diminished the physical pain rapidly. Jimmy was also experiencing another benefit to keeping Symby that he hadn't anticipated. Symby never failed to lift his spirits when he was down. Jimmy wasn't sure whether this had to do with having a little companion to comfort him during the bad times or whether Symby's liquid was improving his moods. Probably a little of both, he surmised. Whatever it was, life with Symby was better than he could remember life being for a long time.

Jimmy had been keeping tabs on Missy and Jody. He wasn't stalking them, as he had before he had absconded with their precious pet, just monitoring them from afar. He had noticed changes in both of them. The changes were not for the better. Jody was back to walking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame again, bent over and limping. Missy looked pale and gaunt. Jimmy should have been happy about taking his revenge successfully, but revenge wasn't as sweet as he had imagined. He was actually beginning to feel sorry for them.

He had never been one to bother worrying about other people's problems. He had enough problems of his own. Yet now, as he watched the two of them holding hands and talking, he noticed the sadness in their eyes. He envied the love they obviously had for each other. Nobody had loved Jimmy like that since his mother had died. Jimmy should have been celebrating, laughing at the two of them holding onto each other for dear life, but he wasn't. He was beginning to wonder whether Symby had another, more subtle power. Was Symby influencing him emotionally as well as physically?

Across the room, Jody and Missy were talking about Jimmy.

"Jimmy's watching us again," said Jody. "This is getting creepy. I still think he's got Symby."

"If he took Symby, then Symby's probably dead by now," said Missy. "I know you want to do something against Jimmy, but we're as stuck now as we were when Symby disappeared. We still can't prove he took Symby."

Jody reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, you're right. Let's face it, neither one of us is in good enough shape any more to take him on anyway."

The last few weeks had been the most distressing weeks of their young lives. Jody's decline had continued to the point where he was almost in pre-Symby condition. He was back to walking slowly to school. His hands had contorted again. Missy's situation had deteriorated from hopeful, when the first blood counts had come back from the clinic, to dire. Her counts were rapidly returning to the levels they were at when she had left California. It seemed to Jody that she was getting weaker day by day. Even Snuffles had returned to his former lethargy.

After a long silence, Missy spoke.

"Jody, have you ever thought about committing suicide?" she asked.

Jody looked stricken. "Of course I've thought about it. Even a lot of healthy kids think about it, from what I hear. But if you're thinking about it, please stop. I can't live life without you anymore."

Missy sighed. "I read on the internet that if you take fifty over the counter sleeping pills, you just go to sleep and never wake up. If we did that, maybe we'd end up spending eternity together."

Jody protested, "There's no such thing as spending eternity together! That's a myth! I'd rather make sure I get a few extra years with you here on earth."

Missy looked at him sadly, "I think you and I both know it's not going to be a few extra years if we don't get Symby back."

Jody refused to give in. "Even a few months are better than giving up now!"

Missy finally broke down and admitted something that she had been waiting for the right opportunity to divulge. "Not months, either," she said, her eyes glistening. "Maybe not even weeks. I never should have brought your books back to you on that first day with Jimmy. That wasn't fair."

Jody didn't want to hear it. He worked hard not to cry, but he couldn't stop a single tear from escaping its duct and running down his cheek. He wiped it off with his sleeve. "I don't care if it's a day," he said in desperation. "I want to live that day with you. Everybody in this room is dying, so it's just a matter of timing. Your time isn't up yet, and I need you to be with me. You're the only girl who ever loved me, so don't start thinking you weren't being fair to me. Life hasn't been fair to either one of us, but we've lived it this far, so let's live it out as far as it goes, okay?"

Missy grabbed his hand and squeezed it. She smiled warmly. "I guess my parents won't have to buy another bottle of sleeping pills for a while."

Jody put his head on the table, resting it on top of her small hand. "Thank you. I love you." he said softly. "Now let's get out of here. Creepy is still watching. I'll bet he's getting a kick out of watching me cry."

Jody was right about Jimmy watching, but he was wrong about Jimmy enjoying the show. Jimmy was experiencing an emotion that he didn't have much experience with. He was feeling guilty. What the hell was happening to him?

Jody and Missy walked hand in hand through the halls, stopping at each of their lockers to retrieve the books that they would need for their remaining classes. They were both looking forward to Mr. Belden's next lecture. Mr. Belden had a habit of ending each class with a "teaser" for the next class. Today's discussion would cover a topic that was the subject of virtually every ninth grader's fascination, the origin of life. He had asked the class to review the theories about how life had formed on earth.

Jody and Missy had a particular interest in this topic. Both of them suspected that Symby was not from earth. Jody had connected the dots regarding Symby's arrival while discussing Symby with Missy. Perhaps it was no coincidence that just a few days after Snuffle's water pot had been dented with green, glowing pebbles Snuffles had brought Symby to Jody when he collapsed.

When class began, Mr. Belden asked for volunteers to discuss what they had learned about the origins of life. Several kids offered the standard theory that lightning or volcanoes or some other natural force had interacted with chemical compounds to form organic compounds. Jody and Missy had done some additional research on the internet. When Mr. Belden called on Missy, she proposed a different theory.

"It's possible that life on earth was carried here from asteroids and meteors from other planets," she stated.

The class howled in derision. Comments such as "that's stupid" and "yeah, in a space ship with green aliens" bandied about the room. Mr. Belden stopped the ridicule before it had a chance to reach critical mass.

"Actually, class, many esteemed scientists are of the view that Missy's statement is correct. Life may well have been 'seeded' here from other planets. Not all scientists believe this to be true, but virtually all scientists agree that there are serious gaps in the conventional theories of the origin of life, gaps that might only be bridged with the concept of alien life forms or compounds arriving on this planet. When one considers that there are billions of planets and galaxies and perhaps even multiple universes, the possibilities are limitless."

Missy and Jody looked at each other knowingly. Even Mr. Belden seemed to think that alien life was possible. They sat enthralled as Mr. Belden regaled the class with his own views about how life had begun on earth. Near the end of class, Mr. Belden posed another question to his students.

"This is a science class and we've been talking about the various scientific theories that attempt to explain life on earth, but I'm surprised that nobody's mentioned the most prevalent theory of all. Anybody want to venture a guess what that theory is?"

Aliyah raised her hand and Mr. Belden obliged her. "That God created life?"

Mr. Belden smiled. "Correct, Aliyah, good answer. Virtually all religions believe that a God created the universe, the planets and life."

Aliyah asked a follow-up question. "What do you believe, Mr. Belden?"

Their teacher smiled. "I believe that humankind should keep posing questions until we find indisputably correct answers. Would you like to hear what I don't believe?"

The classroom resounded with nervous chatter. Mr. Belden allowed his students to talk for a while before quieting the class.

"I don't believe it is right for any one group of people to attempt to suppress another's beliefs or inquiries. That is how true knowledge grows. Class dismissed."

As was his habit, Spud arrived early at the hardware store, looking forward to conversing with Burton during his shift. He waited outside for Burton to arrive, anxious to get started.

Spud hadn't thought much of Burton the first time they had met. Burton had made it clear that first day that the feeling was mutual. Now that they had been working together for more than a month, Spud had developed a different take on Burton. Burton was like an Oreo cookie, hard and crusty on the outside, but soft and sweet on the inside. Spud knew him well enough now to understand that Burton presented a tough exterior to the world because he was afraid of being taken advantage of. As it turned out, Burton and Spud had a few things in common. Both of them had grown up poor, too poor to afford college educations. Both had seen action in the army, Burton in Vietnam and Spud in the first gulf war. Both had used their G.I. benefits to put themselves through college. Both had married in their early twenties. This was where their paths in life had diverged. Unlike Burton, who spoke glowingly of his life with Thelma, Spud never spoke of his family. He was grateful that Burton never asked.

Spud was enjoying his job at the hardware store. The work was strenuous and the pay was low, but he had taken his first steps back into the real world. People were not just speaking to him again, but were actually appreciating his gardening advice. He noticed that some of them were returning for more advice and more merchandise. Only a few weeks ago, he had been one of the last people on earth that anyone would have asked for counsel. Slowly but surely his confidence was returning.

When Burton pulled up in the old truck, Spud was overjoyed to see Thelma waving to him. His joy was tempered as he watched Burton assist her out of the truck, handing her a pronged cane and holding her steady as she made a careful exit. He cheered as he realized that her disabilities obviously hadn't affected her sunny disposition.

"Hi, Spud. It's so nice to see you again!" she said happily. "I've heard great things about you from Burton." She walked unsteadily towards Spud. Burton walked alongside her, helping to ensure that she stayed upright. Spud noticed that her speech was slower and slightly slurred. Her portly frame had diminished and her face looked pale and drawn. He wanted to hug her, but he had no idea how to approach a stroke victim. Thelma put a stop to his quandary when she reached him. Keeping one hand on her cane, she raised the other one above her shoulder and placed it on his shoulder.

"How about a hug for old Thelma?" she smiled. Spud was more than happy to oblige. Thelma's warm embrace was the first human contact he had experienced in years. He didn't want to let go, but he also didn't want to prolong Thelma's awkward position. He released her after a few precious seconds, retaining her hand until she was steady again.

"Burton's been telling me all about your ideas for the store. I like your ideas. I wish they didn't cost money, but I like them. Burton and I talked things over. We both know we need to make some investments in our business if we want to keep it going. We brought the first investment with us. Show him, Burton."

Burton went back to the cab of the truck and pulled two boxes out. Spud hadn't seen the items contained in the boxes for years, but there had been a time when he had been well-versed in their use.

"Here's what you asked for," said Burton. "I was surprised. These things ain't nearly as expensive as they used to be. I bought a notebook PC, so we can take it home with us. A desktop is too big and clunky. The printer is a black and white laser."

"Fantastic," said Spud. "Just what we need."

"I hope Burton's right about you knowing what to do with these things," said Thelma. "We've always been scared of them."

"You don't have to worry about that," said Spud. "I'm sure a few things have changed since I was a marketing manager, but nothing I can't figure out. Did you get the software?"

"I asked the salesman if they sold a package for small businesses that had spreadsheets and inventory management in it. He did, so I bought it. It seems kind of strange to me that the software cost almost as much as the PC, though."

"If it's too much money, I might be able to make do with shareware downloaded from the internet for free. I think we're better off spending some money to get an integrated package, though."

"If we're going to do this computer thing, we're going to do it right," said Burton. "Just make sure it's got everything you need before you open the package. Once we break the seal, we own it."

"Will do," said Spud. "I'll stay after my shift to set it up and figure out how to log in all of last year's receipts. You didn't forget the receipts, I hope?"

"Got 'em," answered Burton. "You take the time you need to get the job done. You can stay in the store as long as you like. When you're done, you just tell me how many hours it took, and I'll pay you for it. That reminds me, here's a key for you."

Spud's eyes grew wide as he stared at the key Burton dangled in front of him. This was the ultimate milestone for his comeback. He was being trusted again. He hesitated, finding the offer of the key difficult to comprehend.

"Come on, Spud, take it," Burton smiled. "We've got to get in there and get busy. What say you carry the PC and the printer while I escort my beautiful wife inside?"

Spud was tempted to say something corny, like "you won't regret this," but decided against it. Burton didn't appreciate maudlin displays. Spud took the keys, thanked Burton and resolved to do everything in his power to ensure that Burton and Thelma did not regret trusting him.

Spud took the boxes and walked with Burton and Thelma to the front door. He managed to shift both boxes onto one arm, holding the key in his other arm.

"Let me do the honors," he said, anxious to try out the first key he would use in years. Spud felt a surge of pride as he heard the click of the door unlocking when he turned the key. He held the door open as Burton and Thelma passed. Spud walked back to the garden center to water the plants, as he always did before the store opened. When he returned, Thelma was sitting in the rolling chair behind the cash register, her cane standing next to her.

"Burton's not going to bring you back?" he asked.

"Maybe later if I get tired," she answered, "but if the Lord gives me the strength, I'll be sitting here all day. At least I can still work the cash register. To be honest, I can't stand being alone all day. This may come as a shock to you, but that cantankerous, old coot I'm married to is surprisingly good company."

"I'm not surprised at all," grinned Spud, "not surprised at all."