A Pinstriped Finger's My Only Friend by Robert T. Jeschonek Page A
Authors: Robert T. Jeschonek
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Plus lose my pinstripes ?)
( Negatory , good buddy.)
But my immediate concern is just helping Judd keep from falling apart. He clenches his fists against his chest, and I wriggle my way free and pop up to stare at him. "So we're on the same page?" I ask. "We'll get through this together?"
Judd closes his eyes and doesn't answer.
I wait a moment, and the silence continues. "Dude? You awake?"
He doesn't open his eyes, but he does talk. "Of course I am. There's no freakin' way I'm going to sleep tonight."
"What?" I frown, which involves scrunching up the skin on my tip so I look like a striped prune. "Why?"
He opens his eyes and stares at the wall. "Because everything changes every time I wake up. And you said it yourself, this current version is pretty tame. What if the next one's a thousand times worse ? A million times worse?"
I think about it, and I can't deny he's right. Who knows what nightmares could engulf us on the next wakeup... kill us, even? "But you've gotta sleep sooner or later, don't you?"
"Maybe not." Judd shrugs. "Everything else keeps changing, right? Maybe anything's possible."
I hook myself over the next finger in line, considering the idea. "Okay." I tap his palm twice, approvingly. "It's worth a shot. I'll do what I can to keep you awake."
"No more jabbing ."
"Only in emergencies." I angle myself forty-five degrees, pointing up at his face. "So what do you wanna talk about?"
He gives me a cold stare. "I'm not feeling talkative."
"Well how else do you plan to stay awake all night?" Something occurs to me, and I snap myself back away from him. "Wait, you're not thinking of..."
"Shh!" Judd cocks his head, listening. "What's that?"
I hear it, too--a loud hissing sound. "Beats me, man."
Judd rolls over to face the door-thing, and we both see the source of the noise. The center section of the glittering pink velvet covering has dissolved to reveal a pale yellow puffball creature, its red maw gaping as if in a yawn.
But that sure ain't no ordinary, everyday yawn. Clouds of sparkling silver mist are wafting out of the creature's mouth and into the room, drifting toward us.
(What now ? I thought this place was supposed to be Easy Street .)
Judd wrinkles his nose. "Smells like candy ...like chocolate ...mixed with farts ?"
(Got it in one, bruh!)
"Maybe now's a good time to get outta here, dude." I watch as the mist keeps coming, one big puff after another. "Getting gassed is not usually a good sign ."
Judd coughs and swings his legs off the bed. He starts flapping his hands in front of his face...
(Have I mentioned how much I am not a big fan of that?)
...but that doesn't do much to dispel the sparkling mist. It just keeps clinging and building up around us.
"Get its attention, dude!" I shout out the words between hand-flaps. "Maybe you can get it to stop!"
Judd does what I say.
(Just like that! Can you say Killdigit dominates ?)
"Hey!" He keeps flapping as he calls out to the puffball creature. "Cut it out!"
Voilà . No sooner does he say it than the mist-puffer stops its bombardment. The red maw clamps shut, leaving a pastel yellow head-puff with black dot eyes staring in at us.
"What is this stuff?" Judd coughs hard. "It's so thick ."
The creature's head puff squeezes inward along the left-right axis, making some kind of expression I don't understand. Then it unsqueezes and talks in Judd's mom's voice. "It will help you sleep, honey."
As soon as she says it, Judd yawns. Little wisps of sparkling mist trickle out of his mouth; he's full of it.
"Don't worry," says puffball Mom. "It's the same sleepy steam I give you every night. Your favorite."
Judd yawns again, then coughs. He covers his mouth with his hand, his left hand...
(So I get cough slobber all over me, thanks a spitload! )
...and then he shakes his head hard. "I have a favorite sleepy steam ?"
"Of course you do, honey." Mom rearranges her puffballs so her body forms the shape of a heart. "It's our very special nightly
( Negatory , good buddy.)
But my immediate concern is just helping Judd keep from falling apart. He clenches his fists against his chest, and I wriggle my way free and pop up to stare at him. "So we're on the same page?" I ask. "We'll get through this together?"
Judd closes his eyes and doesn't answer.
I wait a moment, and the silence continues. "Dude? You awake?"
He doesn't open his eyes, but he does talk. "Of course I am. There's no freakin' way I'm going to sleep tonight."
"What?" I frown, which involves scrunching up the skin on my tip so I look like a striped prune. "Why?"
He opens his eyes and stares at the wall. "Because everything changes every time I wake up. And you said it yourself, this current version is pretty tame. What if the next one's a thousand times worse ? A million times worse?"
I think about it, and I can't deny he's right. Who knows what nightmares could engulf us on the next wakeup... kill us, even? "But you've gotta sleep sooner or later, don't you?"
"Maybe not." Judd shrugs. "Everything else keeps changing, right? Maybe anything's possible."
I hook myself over the next finger in line, considering the idea. "Okay." I tap his palm twice, approvingly. "It's worth a shot. I'll do what I can to keep you awake."
"No more jabbing ."
"Only in emergencies." I angle myself forty-five degrees, pointing up at his face. "So what do you wanna talk about?"
He gives me a cold stare. "I'm not feeling talkative."
"Well how else do you plan to stay awake all night?" Something occurs to me, and I snap myself back away from him. "Wait, you're not thinking of..."
"Shh!" Judd cocks his head, listening. "What's that?"
I hear it, too--a loud hissing sound. "Beats me, man."
Judd rolls over to face the door-thing, and we both see the source of the noise. The center section of the glittering pink velvet covering has dissolved to reveal a pale yellow puffball creature, its red maw gaping as if in a yawn.
But that sure ain't no ordinary, everyday yawn. Clouds of sparkling silver mist are wafting out of the creature's mouth and into the room, drifting toward us.
(What now ? I thought this place was supposed to be Easy Street .)
Judd wrinkles his nose. "Smells like candy ...like chocolate ...mixed with farts ?"
(Got it in one, bruh!)
"Maybe now's a good time to get outta here, dude." I watch as the mist keeps coming, one big puff after another. "Getting gassed is not usually a good sign ."
Judd coughs and swings his legs off the bed. He starts flapping his hands in front of his face...
(Have I mentioned how much I am not a big fan of that?)
...but that doesn't do much to dispel the sparkling mist. It just keeps clinging and building up around us.
"Get its attention, dude!" I shout out the words between hand-flaps. "Maybe you can get it to stop!"
Judd does what I say.
(Just like that! Can you say Killdigit dominates ?)
"Hey!" He keeps flapping as he calls out to the puffball creature. "Cut it out!"
Voilà . No sooner does he say it than the mist-puffer stops its bombardment. The red maw clamps shut, leaving a pastel yellow head-puff with black dot eyes staring in at us.
"What is this stuff?" Judd coughs hard. "It's so thick ."
The creature's head puff squeezes inward along the left-right axis, making some kind of expression I don't understand. Then it unsqueezes and talks in Judd's mom's voice. "It will help you sleep, honey."
As soon as she says it, Judd yawns. Little wisps of sparkling mist trickle out of his mouth; he's full of it.
"Don't worry," says puffball Mom. "It's the same sleepy steam I give you every night. Your favorite."
Judd yawns again, then coughs. He covers his mouth with his hand, his left hand...
(So I get cough slobber all over me, thanks a spitload! )
...and then he shakes his head hard. "I have a favorite sleepy steam ?"
"Of course you do, honey." Mom rearranges her puffballs so her body forms the shape of a heart. "It's our very special nightly
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