Week Two, Mon.

     Egads…. What a week that was…  I’ll tell you one thing, it’s going to be a long time before I forget any tiny part of it from my mind.  But, that was then and now I have to deal with the present and beyond.

     As I looked out the window from my bedroom, I was not looking forward to enter the world again.  But, errands required my attention as well as refrigerator.  A week of staying indoors took its toll on my food supply and it was only a matter of time before I needed restocking.  Sure, I could have just sent Crash out shopping, but Dr. Oki had given me a long list of things to look out for, as they could be harmful to my skunk half.  On top of that was an almost as long list of prescriptions from Dr. Harvard, that and a limited about on shopping money to begin with.  Oi…  Even with generic brands, I knew the medicines were going to take a huge chunk of my budget.

    As I walked downstairs and mulled about in the kitchen, Crash decided to finally join the ranks of the living.  I could tell by the ‘not here’ look on his face, he had a little too much fun last night.

“Morning, Crash.”

“Blea…”

“Same to you, too.  Listen, I need to a couple of favors from ya.  Can you go out and get a few papers and then later on, would you mind going to the store with me?”

“Let me jump start my ass first with something…”

     Caffeine is like a magic elixir to Crash.  The moment one drop of a caffeinated beverage hits his system, he is well beyond hyped-up.  And it didn’t fail to work this time as he instantly straightened up just from the first sip of his coffee.

“Whoo-yea, I’m awake now!”

I just rolled my eyes.

     Half an hour later, Crash came back into the apartment with a surprised look on his face.

“Your ugly mug was on every damn paper I saw at the newsstand,” he said as he flopped down a stack of paper onto the kitchen table.

“Really?!?”

“Even ‘America Today’ had a story on you.”

“Good grief…”

“You wanted people to see you.  Well, buddy, I think you got your wish and then some.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who wanted mass-media coverage.  Geeze, I wasn’t expecting this much of a snowball effect…” I replied as I reached over for the local paper to read the front-page story on me.

     The news stories all seemed to portray me in a fairly favorable light as a “victim of an unforeseeable accident with unbelievable results.”  One of the out of town papers had a nice full-body shot of me taken while I was explaining something to a reporter.

“Interesting pose,” Crash said as he looked over my shoulder.

“I didn’t even know someone had taken this shot.”

“Hmm, says to me ‘Can you help me find my hair remover?”

“I’ll let that one slide, but do remember that you’re downwind of me…”

Crash slowly began to slide off to my side the moment I finished that sentence.

     After finishing reading the papers, I got ready to go outside for the first time in a week.  Clothing wasn’t a problem any longer, but I still didn’t have a clue as to what to do about footwear.  Sitting on my bead with my head resting on my hands, I knew I had to figure something out, considering how most businesses are no shoes, no service.  After pondering on it for over an hour, I came across my strap sandals and to my surprise, they actually fit my odd foot shape.  Clotheswise, I was ready to face the world.  Mentally, now that was a different story.

     I stepped out into the morning sunlight and took a deep breath.  I then almost choked on the smell of car exhaust…

“Oh, come one now.  The smog’s not that thick today,” Crash said with a smile as he walked on past me to my car.

I just growled my response.

     It took me a while to figure a way to fit into the driver’s seat of my car.  It took even longer for me to find a comfortable way to sit.  I eventually settled on having my tail stick out from between my legs and into the footwell.  It wasn’t the most comfortable feeling position to be in, but it worked and would do for short drives.  Of course, Crash was laughing at every shift, fidget, and curse I muttered the entire way to the grocery store.

“You know, it can be easily arranged for you to suddenly have a tail yourself,” I said to him with an evil glare.

Crash immediately closed his mouth.

     After a few minutes drive past gawking motorists, I pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store and as my luck would have it, the only open spots were all the way as the end.  As I drove up one of the lanes, I could feel all the eyes just staring at me.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a hot idea after all,” I said with a whimper.

Crash stared at me before asking, “What in the hell was that noise you just made??”

I only managed a weak smile for a response.

     I’ll tell you, it was the longest three minutes of my life when Crash and myself got out of the car, grabbed a cart, and then walked through the lot to the store.  Traffic came to a standstill and not a person moved.  The moment I stepped into the store, the same exact thing happened as a collective silence came over the front of the store.  As head after head turned towards me, I gave a weak smile and did a little wave to try and relieve some of tension.  A couple of kids and to my surprise, a couple of adults, returned the gesture.  I nudged Crash before hurrying on about my business to the first isle.

     I pulled the list of items out of my pocket and began to read over them.  Dr. Oki’s list was split up into things I should eat, things that I should use caution on the first time eating them, and what I absolutely had to avoid.  The ‘absolutely had to avoid’ side of the list was insane as it took up ¾ of the two page long list.  And I swear half the foods I loved to eat were in that side.

“Look at this!  I was worried about having enough money to buy food with, now I’ve got to worry about if I’m even going to have enough to eat period.”

“Why don’t you just buy a big bag of dog food and call it even?” Crash responded.

“That was not funny…  Besides, most brands of dog food listed are on the bad list…” I said as I put a couple cans of veggies into the cart.

I chuckled at the strange look Crash gave me about my last statement as I moved on.

     As we moved up and down the isles, a second group followed up every bit of the way and doing a really awful job of trying to look like they weren’t.  If I would move, they move with me.  I’d stop, they’d stop.  Just for fun, though, I backed up suddenly like I had forgotten an item.  You should have seen the way the group fell over each other like dominoes.  Crash and I immediately moved off so that the pile of people wouldn’t see us snickering at them.

     Things went fairly well, until the frozen food section.  While I was trying to decide on which variety of frozen pizza to buy, I let out a sudden churr of surprise as a jolt of pain zapped my rear end.  I turned around to find a little toddler latched onto my tail and having a ball playing with it.

“…….” was the only thing I could reply with.

“Aw… isn’t that cute?” Crash said with a smile.

“Er…. Ouch!” I responded as the kid yanked a second time.

     Whom I presumed to be the mother slowly approached with a mortified look on her face.

“Um, I presume this little one’s yours?” I asked her.

“Mommy, look at the big fluffy!” the kid said with a giggle.

“Fluffy??” both Crash and I said at the same time.

“Come here, son.  Leave the nice skunk man alone,” the mother said as she motioned for her kid to come over to her.

“Sorry, kiddo, looks like you mother wants you,” I said as I gave him a gentle nudge towards her.

“Awww….” the kid said in disappointment as he slowly wandered over to his mother.

As the mother walked off, the kid waved back at me.  I returned the gesture with a little half-smile.

     I could have sworn that I heard a collective sigh of relief from the crowds surrounding me after it was quite clear that I wasn’t going to eat the kid or something.

I just quickly grabbed a couple of random pizzas and jokingly said to Crash, “You know, 9 out of 10 skunks prefer sausage to kids.”

“But I want mushrooms,” whined Crash.

I let out a long sigh as I hung my head, “Work with me… please?”

     I finished up shopping and headed for the checkout lines.  All of them were jammed pack with people and I just picked one at random.  Of course, the one I did pick turned out to be the slowest…  Things weren’t helped along when I finally did make it to the clerk, as she completely froze up looking at me.

“Um, hello?” I asked as I waved a hand in front of her face, “I’ve got ice cream melting here.”

That kind of got her moving, but she still kept her eyes on me.

“Out of curiosity, wouldn’t it help to look down at what you’re doing?  I promise not to bite or anything. ”

Even after that, it still took her a few tries to get up to speed and actually get done.

     As Crash and I finally began to walk out of the grocery story, I just happened to notice three news vans cruising about the parking lot, like sharks to a kill.

“Damn-it!  Someone must have tipped them off,” I said as I slammed a fist on the cart’s handle.

“So, what do we do?”

“Whatever it take to get to the car, I guess…” I replied as I let out a sigh.

     The moment we stepped one foot out of the store, the news crews assaulted us from three different directions.  Their questions were more of the same gibberish from the other day, so we tried to act as polite as possible without showing that we were just trying to get away.

     Crash and I finally got to my car, loaded it, and slammed the doors shut.

“Lord, don’t those people ever shut up??” Crash asked as I pulled out of the parking space.

“Good question…  Nothing like the 3rd degree this early in the morning,” I said just as we pulled out onto the street.

     As I drove on, Crash happened to look behind, “Heads up, I think they’re following us.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said as I looked into the rear-view mirror.

Sure enough, five cars behind me was a news station number lineup.

“I don’t frigging believe this!  2, 4, I count 6 vans behind us.”

“And doing such a wonderful job of shadowing, don’t you thing, Jus?”

“Why, I hardly knew they were there.”

“So, wise one, how are we going to get out of this mess?”

“Er….. wait a minute!  Melvis St.!  I can lose ‘em on the curves!”

     I whipped a wicked right hand turn onto a street that lead to Melvis and gunned the engine.  Only a couple of the vans were able to weave through traffic to follow and did their best to keep up with me.  A few side streets later, I was on Melvis and counting on the numerous S-curves the street was comprised of to save us.  I slipped the car into 3rd gear and sped up to the top speed I knew my car could handle through the curves.  I rode through the curves hard and fast and the top-heavy vans couldn’t come anywhere close to matching my speed.  Quickly, the vans began to fall behind as I pushed my car even harder.  By the time Melvis came to an end, I had no problem slipping into a couple of sub-divisions and backtracking my way home without a single tail in sight.

“Man, that was seriously smooth, Jus.”

“I try.  Geeze, if they ever found out where we lived, it would turn into a three-ring circus.”

“True, true…”

     I pulled into the apartment with no problems and began to unload the car.  Just then, I remembered something very important that I had forgotten to get.

“Crap!!!!  I forgot the prescriptions!!” I said as I hit the roof of the car with my head, “But, I don’t even want to think about going back out there with those vans roaming about.  Ah, damn-it all!”

“Calm down! I can go get them for you.”

“Will you?  Thanks a lot!”

“Well, it’s either that, or have a six-foot pet skunk loose in the house.  That I don’t need.”

     As Crash and I were talking, I noticed that my presence outside was beginning to draw a crowd.  Faces appeared in windows, people in doorways.

“So, that really is you?” drifted from a voice to my side.

I turned about to see a guy that I recognized from the mob that had rushed me on Friday.

“You really are Justin.”

“How many times am I going to have to say it?  Yes, it is me!  What, you just thought I was some stray experiment Crash brought home from the biology labs or something?”

“I, we… um… that is…” the guy stammered out.

I brushed a tuff of hair fur from out of my eyes and then stared straight into his.  The man quickly lost his nerve and sheepishly walked back to his own apartment.  I let out a little huff of a laugh before turning back around, gathering the last of the grocery bags and went inside.

     After the groceries were put away and Crash left to complete my errands, I flung off my shirt into a nearby chair and flopped down onto the couch.  That’s problem with being a giant furball, clothes just irritate the heck out of me after a while wearing them.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ll keep my shorts on out of modesty.  I’m not completely gone in the head, yet…

     As I lay there, I stared at the couch’s armrest and all of the little black and white hairs covering it.  A little smile came to my muzzle at the thought of what was going to happen to the next poor person to sit down here, especially if they had on white.  Hey, I can’t help I’m shedding.  After all, it is close to summer.

     Crash came home sometime later to find me curled up on the couch and sleeping.  I was rudely awakened by a rough yank on my tail.

 “Wake up sleepyhead,” Crash said as he tossed the tip of my tail on top of me.

“Ouch!  That is attached, you know!”

“No need to get your fur in a ruffle.  Here’s your stuff.”

Crash threw a brown paper bag on top of me.  I just shifted my body a bit to let it slide off and onto the floor.  The bag landed with the characteristic rattle of pills in bottles before coming to a rest.

“You feeling alright?”

“Guess so, just can’t seem to stay awake.”

“Well, aren’t skunks nocturnal to begin with?  That could be half the problem.”

“Maybe.”

As Crash walked off, he said one more thing to me over his shoulder, “Oh, and another thing.  If I catch you in any other chair, I’ll murder you in your sleep.”

I just let out an annoyed churr and went back to sleep.

     Rapping on the cage’s bars awoke me from a deep sleep.

“Hello there, little one.  I’ve got something new for you today.”

I really didn’t like the sound of that, but I didn’t have any time to argue the point as a dart hit me in the side.  All I remember from then on was the sensation of being picked up and strapped down to something hard and cold.

“Today is the beginning of phase two…”

     I awoke to find myself on an examination table with strange things all around me.  I struggle to get free from my restraints, but to no avail.

“Ah, good.  You’re finally awake,” the researcher said with a smile.

“What are you going to do to me?” I asked in a scared voice.

“All in good time, little one.  All in good time.”

As he reached in to try and scratch my head, I snapped at his fingers.

“Now, now.  No need to get nasty,” he said with a pop to the side of my head.

I let out a soft whimper at the pain.

     I was jarred awake and found myself flat out on the living room floor.

“Crud… How’d I end up here?” I asked myself before sitting up.

I pulled myself onto the couch and made sure that Crash was nowhere to be found.  He would have never let me live this down if he had seen it.  Just as I sat down, Crash came down the stairs.

“I heard a loud thump, you OK?”

“Didn’t hear anything.  Must have been your imagination.”

“Yea, right… and you’re just a figment of it.”

I looked over at the VCR clock and strained to read the tiny numbers.  It said 4:30; I had slept through the better part of the day and I could have cared less.

     About then, my ears picked up something strange coming from outside.

“What’s up?” Crash asked me as I walked over to the front windows.

“I don’t know, hold on a sec,” I moved apart a couple of blind slats and peeked through them, “Oh, no…”

“What do you mean by ‘Oh, No?”

“You better come and look for yourself.”

 Crash came over and looked through the blinds for himself.  Outside was a giant encirclement of news vans, cameras, and reporters.

“My, God… its ‘Camp Justin’ out there,” he then said to me.

“This really, really, sucks…” I whimpered out.

     We watched the reporters mull about for a good half an hour before I just slumped down on the couch with my head in my hands.  Crash turned on the TV to see if anything good was on and all he could find was report after report on me, and then came the people “live on the scene.”  I just groaned and wanted to sink even lower into the couch.

“I’m here outside the supposed home of the skunk-man Justin Kavin.  Now, we’ve been here for only a little while and no one has seen or heard from him yet.  Witnesses do report that earlier in the day, he and an unidentified companion was at a nearby grocery store this morning, shopping.  We’re hoping that he will say a few words sometime soon.”

“Yea, I’ve got a few words for you, but I don’t think the censors would like them,” I growled out from between my fingers.

“Now, now, be nice.  They’re only doing their job.”

I did a razzberry at Crash in response.

“Don’t make me have to shove you out that door.”

“Just try it…” I said, bearing every tooth and claw.

Crash simply moved a few feet away from me.

Tuesday Morning.

     I didn’t get much sleep that night between the noise outside and the constant phone calls every hour.  I was on my last nerve and it showed…

“I don’t know how much more of this I can take, “said at the kitchen table as my fur actually beginning to bristle.

“Calm down, Justin.  Maybe you should give an interview or something.  That might get these wolves off your back.”

“Are you daft??  I really don’t want to deal with these people at all.”

“Well, it’s either give them what they want or be hounded for the rest of the week.”

“If you put it that way….” I said with a sigh.

     It took the rest of the afternoon and a touch of luck to wade through the chaos of reporters and narrow the choices down to a handful.

“What about the guy from ANC?” I asked.

“Mmm, he likes tricky questions.  Better not.  How about ABS?”

“That guy scares me.”

“Like you’ve any room to talk.”

“That was cold, Crash.”

“Well, stinky, that only leaves the guy from NCS.”

“You’re really beginning to push your luck and I don’t give warning shots.”

“You wouldn’t dare…”

“Try me,” I said with an evil little grin.

“Stop it man, you’re beginning to scare me…”

“Good,” I said with the smile still on my face, “Now, what was that about NCS?”

Crash was at a lost for words.

     With some phoning about, the interview was all set up.  One reporter, one cameraman, and me.  At the appointed time, we sat down, face to muzzle, and tried to mentally prepare ourselves for what was about to take place.  After clearing his throat, the reporter began:

“How long have you been like this,” he started off with.

“Um, a bit over a week now,” I responded as I fidgeted about out of nervousness.

“Quite frankly, Mr. Kavin, this is the most fantastic thing I have ever seen.”

“Wish I could say the same thing.  I just want to be normal again, but the doctors tell me there’s no chance of that ever happening in my lifetime.”

“So, you are seeking professional help?”

“Yea, but its kind of embarrassing in that I’ve got to see a normal doctor and a vet at the same time.”

“A vet?”

“Well, just look at me,” I said with a little laugh.

The reporter also laughed at my statement for a few moments before continuing, “So, just exactly how much of you is skunk?”

“Mmm… I’ve been told my DNA’s about a 50-50 mix.”

“Does that cause any special problems for you?”

“Other than what happens when people see me for the first time?”

“Other than that…”

“Um, how can I put this?  If what had happened to me didn’t stop where it did, I probably wouldn’t even have the abilities to walk upright or even speak.  Worst case scenario for me would have been that I would have become nothing more than a 200 pound pet for my roommate.”

“Could that still possibly happen?”

“Unfortunately… but, I’ve been undergoing treatment to hopefully stop any further changes.”

“Speaking of your roommate, how is he handling the situation?”

“Why don’t you ask his yourself?  Hey, Crash!  You’re wanted over here!”

Crash desperately tried to stay out of the spotlight, but when the cameraman caught him in the viewfinder, he had no choice but to join in the conversation.

“I’m going to get you for this,” Crash hissed as he sat down beside me.

“Now, Crash is it?  When was the first time you saw Justin like this?”

“Whoo…  now that’s a story in itself.  I was downstairs watching some TV when I heard fuzzy here screaming his head off upstairs.  He wasn’t feeling well earlier that night and was having a hard time standing, so I though he might have hurt himself by accident.  Well, to make a long story short, I went up to find him trying to hide under his quilt.  Imagine my surprise of what I saw when I yanked it off of him.”

“I could imagine.  How are you two getting along, considering the odd situation here?”

“Well, the both of us can’t stand that I’m shedding everywhere,” I replied with a laugh.

“I still get goosebumps every time I see his face for the fist time in the morning.  To have just woken up and then see this giant furball at the kitchen table is not my way to start the morning off right.”

“At least you don’t see this face in every mirror.  Hell, I still give *myself* the willies.”

“If that’s all, then you two seem to be taking it in stride fairly well,” the reporter said.

“Yea, I guess you could say that.  I’ve had a lot of support from my friends.”

“What about your family?”

“Well…  I kinda haven’t told them yet on the hope that this was reversible and it wouldn’t ever have to come up.  Guess the cat’s, or should that be skunk’s out of the bag now?  Hi, mom and dad!”  I said as I waved at the camera.

“You never told your family about what has happen to you??”

“Look at it from my point of view.  Just how do you go about explaining that you’re now half skunk?  Ouch… excuse me a second,” I said as I shifted about on my seat and pulled my tail out in front and rubbed it briskly, “My tail fell asleep.  Now, where were we?”

“Your family.”

“Oh, yea…”

“How do you think they’ll react?”

“I don’t have the slightest clue.  Hopefully, they won’t disown me or something.”

“Back to your body for a moment, besides how it now looks, have either of you noticed any changes in Justin’s personality or the start of odd habits?”

“Are you trying to ask “Does Justin act the way he looks?” asked Crash.

“You can put it that way.”

“Hmm… nothing comes to mind, no, wait.  I’ve noticed that you’ve started sleeping all curled up in a ball.”

“And how would you know??” I asked.

“Well, you were like that on the couch earlier today.”

“Oh.”

“Anything else?” the reporter asked.

“I think I’m becoming more nocturnal as I’ve been having a real hard time staying up in the mornings.  I like to thing I’m still the same person, only with a permanent fur coat.  It helps to keep me from becoming too depressed.”

“So, one could day that you’re a person with an extra fuzzy personality.”

Crash and I both groaned at that one.

     “Now, I understand you attend the local college.  Will you continue with your higher education?”

“I’ve been thinking about that.  The semester’s paid for and it would be a shame to waist all that money.  But, I’ve been thinking, depending on how things go, I may or may not stay.”

“Are you expecting that many problems?”

“If the grocery store this morning was any indication, yes.”

“What happened if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I was treated like a lost animal that wondered into their midst.  Something to gawk and stare at, but from a distance as it might be dangerous.”

“How did you think they were going to react?”

“I don’t know…  In the back of my mind, I knew it was going to happen, but I had hoped that it wouldn’t.”

     On and on the reporter went with his questions.  I don’t think there was a rock he didn’t leave unturned, like any true reporter should.  Eventually, he finally wrapped things up and true to his nature, Crash to that opportunity to disappear.

“Fine, just leave me to the wolves all alone,” I mumbled to myself.

As the cameraman was packing, the reporter came up to me.

“Off the record, why did you pick me for the interview?”

“No offense, but you seemed the most forgiving and straightforward in your questions out of everyone in the crowd out front.”

“None taken…  I think.  Though, its not really my place to say, maybe you should talk things over with your family now that things are in the open.”

“Mmm…  I know I should, but that’s one thing I’m not looking forward to.”

     As I let the NCS reporter and cameraman out the front door, I did a little wave to all of the rest of the crews as they began to rapid-fire off flashbulb after flashbulb.  I then quickly closed the door and leaned my back against it as I let out a long sigh of relief.

“I wonder how long that’s going to keep them at bay?”

“I’ve only got one question, Jus.  Why the hell did you drag me into this??” Crash asked me as he reappeared from nowhere.

“Because I can take this any longer by myself!  Why did this have to happen to me??”

“Fate?” Crash replied.

I didn’t answer as I slowly walked up the stairs and into my room.

      I sat down in front of my computer and stared at the blank screen for a few minutes, thinking about what the reporter said to me.  I finally made up my mind to call home and began to rummage through a box of computer parts and accessories.  I eventually came across what I was looking for and pulled out a huge tangle of wires and a desk microphone.  I untangle the microphone wire and a phone line from the ball and plugged them into their respected spots in the back of my computer and the wall jack.  The final step was for me to turn on my speakerphone option and then type in the number home.

     I laid down on my bed as the number was dialed by the computer and set the microphone on a little table next to me.

“Hello?” came from the speakers just as I found a comfortable position to lay in.

“Hi, mom.”

“Justin!  I keep hearing this news story about something happening in your town!  Are you alright??”

“Depends on how loose of a meaning you use with the word…”

“Then the skunk-man…?

“Is me.”

“Oh my God…  Why didn’t you call sooner?!?”

“Because there was still the chance of me getting back to normal and I could have just forgotten this whole mess.”

“What do you mean, “was?”

“I don’t know how to say this….  The final verdict is that I’m stuck as a skunk morph for the rest of my life.  They can’t undo the damage done with the technology available.”

 “How did this happen?  Why can’t anyone do anything??”

“It was a lab accident that caused it and no one can do anything because it is my DNA itself that’s been altered.”

“Justin…”

I could tell that my mother was on the verge of tears by how her voice was beginning to waver.

“Please, don’t cry, mom.  Things aren’t as bad as they could be.”

“I can’t help it.  It’s just all too much for me to handle…  How in the world could thing be worse??”

“I almost ended up as nothing more than a giant pet for Crash.  That’s how it could have been worse.”

I heard my mother gasp at that last statement.

“That’s the least of my worries right now,” I said with a long sigh, “Between the media and the animal rights groups, it’s a wonder I’m still in one piece.”

“Hold on a minute, animal rights groups??”

“Don’t ask…  Some group though I was a genetic experiment and tried to “liberate” me.  All they ended up with was a very musky reply.”

“You didn’t…”

“Fraid so…” I said with a smile.

“Justin, it’s not nice to go about and spraying people!  Why does you voice sound so muffled?”

“I’m on a speakerphone.  It’s easier for me to use than to fight with a receiver.”

“Lord… Is there anything you can do normally?”

“Um, watch TV.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“Leave me alone, it’s been a long week…”

“Have you thought about coming home, at least for a little bit?”

“Mmm, I don’t know.  I can’t even get out of my front door right now.”

“Things that bad?”

“Crash had nicknamed the mess outside “Camp Justin.”  I had to disconnect the phone last night to get any sleep.”

I just heard my mother sigh in response.

     I talked with my mother for a while longer until I heard Crash calling from downstairs.

“Hey, stinky!  Get your tail down here!”

“What is it?”

“Dinner’s ready and there’s a growing mod outside!”

“What?!?  Mom, I’ve got to go.”

“Alright, son.  Talk to you latter,” my mother said.

“Bye,” I then said as I turned off the speakerphone and shut down the computer, “Now, what are you babbling about, Crash?”

“You’ve better come see for yourself.”

     I went downstairs and was instantly greeted by the wonderful smell of beef drifting from the kitchen.  I tried to ignore it the best I could as I peeked out through the blinds.  Now added to the media mess were crowds of onlookers and whom I could best describe as “pro” and “anti” Justin demonstrators.  My eyes became as wide as saucers at the sight.

“Why can’t anything ever be simple??” I whined as I joined Crash at the dinner table.

“It’s a conspiracy I tell you.”

I sat down with a sigh and a whimper, “I though it was my night to cook?”

“Yea, well, I don’t need black and white hairs in my food.  I think I’ll handle the cooking from now on.”

“Hey, you never know, they may just add flavor.”

Crash had a nice disgusted look on his face, “I don’t think so…”

“Now you’ve gone and hurt my feelings…” I said with a sad puppy dog look on my face.

“Just eat your dinner and be glad I even made anything for you.”

“If you put it that way.”

     As Crash and I were having dinner, a sudden set of flashes caught our attention.  We looked over at the kitchen window to see a cameraman staring back at us.  I got to my feet with a very audible growl and a nasty look on my face.

“Do you mind??  I’m trying to have a quiet meal here!!” I yelled as I threw down the window blinds.

I sat back down with a second growl and some incoherent mumbling.

“Chill, Jus.  You know the next few days are going to be a madhouse.”

I just muttered a few things to myself and went back to eating.

“What is with you?  Ever since the accident, you’ve had a mean streak as wide as that white stripe down your front.”

“Just another wonderful gift from the DNA fusing.  Spotted skunks are well known for having a nasty disposition if threatened or angered.  Hell, some have even been documented taking on wolves if provoked.  Such a wonderful cycle I get to have:  I can’t get mad or bad things start to happen, but it’s now part of my nature to be easily provoked…”

“That’s news to me…  So, all those outlashes?”

“Were a natural response brought on by my skunk half.  Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“I had no idea.  Remind me not to get on you bad side.”

“I would suggest it,” I said with a smile that showed off all of my teeth.

 “Would you please not do that!  Makes me think I’m the blue plate special, geeze!”

“Aww, why not?  It’s so much fun!”

The look that came to Crash’s face was just priceless in my book.

     I went to bed that night and slept a little bit better knowing that at least some of the loose ends had been tied up.  I knew that a simple phone call wouldn’t be enough to solve every problem right now, but it was a much-needed start.  I dreamt of my friends and family that night and of the future and they painted a picture of everything turning out all right.  I prayed that they would come true, but I still knew in the back of my mind, that future was still a long, long road away.  I had better get to walking then if I ever want to achieve it…