Revenge by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They have been created for the sole use of within this story and are not meant to resemble anyone else's characters. Additionally, some characters are depicted as underage and sometimes experience minor violence.. There is also some micro-macro content. You have been warned.
“The supreme art of conflict is
to subdue the enemy without a fight.”
Sun Tzu
Another time...another day...Isn't that what we constantly tell ourselves when something isn't going according to plan? When everything seems like it's falling apart and still we try to carry on like nothing ever happened. Perhaps in...another life...at least for those who trust in the concept. But such is not always the case and one shouldn't always trust in foolish notions. Rather we must overcome each trial with renewed strength and vigor. However, it doesn't always seem that easy. We must do what we can to overcome such negativity with optimism and positivity.
Watson was a young boy who lived in the small neighborhood of Lyons in the state of Colorado. The suburb was a town at the foot of the Rockies. It often got business as an extension of the ski season, however, the majority of the tourism it received was in the summer. It was very much were naturalists and other fans of the outdoors came to to hike and do tubing in the summer. He lived with his family in the city proper along with one of the long stretches of dirt road that jutted out from the city itself.
Watson's family was a nuclear family of three skunks. His father worked in the mountains as a ski instructor in the winter. During the spring and summer, he was an escort into the woods, so his livelihood very much depended on tourism itself. His mother, on the other hand, had a much more steady job and worked for Qwest diagnostics, doing all sorts of different tests. Her job was year-round and she often spent much more time at work than she would like. Often time her husband stayed at home to take care of the kid.
Watson wasn't quite old enough to take care of himself. At 10 years of age, he was your very typical boy who enjoyed all the things robots. He had a whole collection of little toys he had made from the time he was 7 until now. As such he had quite the collection of robots in which both made. Often times he battled them. But since they were rebuild-able, it didn't matter much. He was rather fond of seeming the limbs or various parts explode into tiny bits.
The cub was your typical skunk with black and white fur. A double strip of white fur lining his back and extending down to his fluffy and fat tail. Like all mephits, his tail curled a bit and bounced whenever he walked. Watson went to the local elementary school which was integrated for both scales and furs. He was in the final year of his primary school and wasn't looking forward to moving on to junior high. So he was enjoying the last few months he had left.
Watson was a very social kid who got along with most everyone he associated with. As such there were some kids who were jealous of him. Parker was one of the few kids who couldn't stand him. Opposite of him every way except being a fur and the same age. Parker was a beaver whom most couldn't stand. He was your typical bully who went out of his way to make other people's lives miserable. His most preferred target was Watson.
The reason being that he envied Watson. The skunk was well-liked and even considered to be a teacher's pet. Each and every day, his hatred for the boy seemed to grow. One day it all boiled over on the playground. The class was outside during recess. The event usually lasted an hour and sometimes rolled into lunch. It was one of the days where they were expected to eat outside since the cafeteria was overloaded with kids. So the teacher decided it was best to let the kids eat outside, minding her own business as the cubs did their thing.
Watson was sitting with some of his friends, all of which were crowded around him in one of the tables that were set up in the area. They were talking up the storm while Parker watched from behind. The brown and tan beaver, chattered his buckteeth on his chin as he began to feel angry. Slowly but surely the boy approached the table from behind. Soon he was able to overhear the conversation, which turned out to be nothing special. Still..he wanted to join them and decided to give asking a chance.
“Can I join you guys?” Parker asked, albeit very shyly and slowly.
“Uh...there isn't really space.” Watson looked around and the table was rather crowded.
The beaver got even madder than he already was, even if the statement was partially true. Parker leaned over and suddenly grabbed Watson's lunch bag. As quickly as he snatched it he ran away from the table. The skunk was pretty slow to react as there wasn't much room to move but he knew he needed to get back his lunch. His prized dessert was inside and he wasn't about to give that up without a fight. The skunk tripped over himself as he tried to get off the table.
“Haha! Stupid kid.” Parker couldn't help but laugh, once he saw the boy stumble over himself.
Watson felt a little saddened as the other boy pointed and laughed at him. One of the other kids got up and helped him up, looking sour over at the Beaver who raged on even more. Parker took out the small granola bar as the skunk looked on in fear. It wasn't long before he peeled back the wrapper and took a single bite before throwing it along with the bag on the floor. The skunk's eyes watered as he wasn't quite sure why the Beaver was picking on him, but it made him sad.
“Don't worry, you can have some of mine. He's just being a jerk.” The boy's friend helped him up and went back to the table.
Watson rejoined his friends and they shared their snacks with him. The teacher had recognized the issue but was glad it resolved itself. She decided she would have to talk with both boys about the conflict. It would have to wait since she didn't want to involve anyone else, wondering if the principle would be the best option for the beaver boy. She spent the rest of the recess thinking about the issue and decided to only deal with the bullied student.
When recess was over, the whole class filed inside and the woman pulled Watson to the side.
“You okay, buddy?” The tall leopard teacher knelt down to be closer to eye level with him.
“Yeah, why?” The skunk had almost forgotten about the issue.
“Well, Parker was picking on you and I just wanted to make sure you're alright.” She rested her paw on his shoulder in order to put him at ease around her.
“Oh, yeah. I'm ok...don't worry!” Despite what had happened, Watson seemed to be as chipper as usual.
“Alright...well if that ever happens again. Just give him this.” The woman handed him a small bar of chocolate.
“Chocolate?” The skunk looked at it rather curiously.
“You'll see when the time is right. Just trust me.” The teacher patted him on the back without another word and looked back at him to wave him inside.
“Okay!” Watson placed the bar of chocolate in his pocket and decided to ignore it for now.
Parker, on the other hand, was seen by the Principle who sternly reminded him that bullying was not an acceptable action in school. He warned him that if he did it again, he'd be suspended. But this was the first occasion, and he was being let off with just a warning.
The beaver knew better and sure he was angry but he had let his anger get the better of him. As he was let out of the office, Parker held his head down in shame feeling a bit bad for himself. He knew his behavior for the reason for his sadness. However, all he wanted to be a friend and it didn't seem like that was happening anytime soon and so for Parker, it was all doom and gloom. The beaver eventually returned to class without a word, sitting in his desk and finding it hard to focus.
The leopard paid him little attention as he returned, seeing the boy's tail between his legs. She assumed the Principal had done his job and that the issue wouldn't happen again. The leopard continued her lesson and went on with things as it was a normal day. She was teaching some math, assigning different problems after going through the steps of how to do it. Most of the kids were paying attention, Parker was the only one not doing what he was supposed to.
The rest of the day went like normal. Eventually, the bell rang and the whole school let out. The cubs all soared out of their seats and galloped into the Hallways. The end of the day was always the busiest as all of the kids wanted nothing more than to go home or do their own thing. Parker was one of the last ones to leave. His teacher ignoring him on the way out and not even bothering to say goodbye to him. To say that she was fed up with him was an understatement.
When the beaver finally got outside, he could see Watson and his friends in the distance. A sense of despair came over him, but he decided to be mature about it and just apologize for his actions. As he approached them, some of the other kids noticed him. Notably the same Doberman boy from earlier.
“What do you want? Go away...beaver boy.” The larger cub pushed Parker on the floor.
The smaller cub felt the rage rise in him once again. All he wanted to do was apologize and now the boy's makeshift guard was standing up for him.
“I just want to...” As the fallen boy tried to speak, the standing one stepped his shoe on him.
The sudden stepping made Parker even angrier. Now was not the time to be nice, it seemed. The beaver had taken self-defense lessons before and knew exactly what to do in this situation. In one quick swift movement of his left leg, he swept from underneath and all at once the Doberman was on the floor. The smaller cub wasted no time in getting back to his feet and looked down at him with a fierce annoyance.
“Stay put...or else.” Parker warned the Doberman as he wiped the dirt from his body.
The entire time the crowd, including Watson, had been watching. The skunk was a little bit afraid and even know he was not the one being targeted he was still afraid. Then it occurred to him, what about what the teacher gave him? But what good would a chocolate bar do? Suddenly Parker got closer to him and there was an awkward silence. Panic began to set in the mephits body as he was certain he was about to beat up.
“Look...I'm sorry. I was just...I don't know what I was alright?” The beaver wasn't really how to say what he wanted.
This caught Watson off guard who wasn't entirely sure what to think. Parker had picked on him for the better part of the entire school year. Now, all of a sudden the Beaver wanted to clean up his act? The skunk wasn't ready to believe him but decided to play along.
“Sure...I get you. Sorry, we kinda...alienated you?” Watson didn't realize the power of his own statement and only half meant what he said.
“No problem...I kinda deserved it.” Parker was genuine about his intent, even if the skunk was not.
“Here...you wanted my snacks so much earlier? I got an extra bar of chocolate if you want it?” The skunk pulled the bar from his bag. It seemed a bit mushy but overall it still seemed solid. He handed it to the bigger cub.
“Thanks...” Parker looked at the black and white wrapper as the contents shifted a bit in his paw.
“No problem, I'll see you tomorrow alright?” The skunk was still nervous and acted as if he had somewhere to be.
“Alright...” The beaver wasn't overly hungry and decided to freeze the bar at home so he could enjoy it later.
Parker thought about helping the Doberman up but passed him up as he went to the bike rack in order to head home. He was glad that he had made up with the other boy. Perhaps in the future, the beaver could finally make a friend. It wasn't something he was particularly good at but he hoped it was something he could improve in the future. The cub figured this was a good place as any to start. He was sorta glad to announce it to his parents when he got home.
The beaver's home was appropriately right near a fur-made lake. It was the biggest lake in the area and made specifically for the more aquatically inclined animals in the area. It was about a 10-minute bike ride from the school and his house was situated around the western side of the lake. Parker was pretty excited today so he wasted no time in getting home. His mother always reminded him that he needed to clean up his act and today was the beginning of the change for him.
When he got home, his mother was already waiting for him. The Principle had called her to inform her of the scuffle. But it didn't matter, the beaver was ready to impress his mother with his change of heart. She was outside the front door with her arms folded as if she was upset.
“You have some explaining to do...I thought I told you no more bullying that boy!” She screamed at him and stamped her feet as she approached him.
“Mom! I promise I can explain!” Parker wished to upend her before she had a fit.
“You better...” She stood there right next to his bike waiting for an answer.
“I know I did something bad today but I promise I made up to Watson...” The beaver boy looked rather sincere about his claim.
“You did...? What prompted that?” The woman wasn't sure she wanted to believe him but her maternal
“I just...felt bad...that's all. He even gave me a chocolate bar to prove we're friends now!” Parker pulled out the half-melted bar from his bag to show her.
“Well..alright. That's good...I don't want you to get suspended.” The mother was still a little bit upset but was glad the ordeal was done and over with.
“I won't mom, I promise!” The boy skipped inside past his mom seeming happier than normal.
The beaver cub put his bar of chocolate in the freezer, deciding to have it after dinner once it had resolidified. When his father came home, his wife explained the situation. He was equally glad that his son was seemingly over the whole bullying episode. However, the older male wasn't quite as sure as his she was. Even going as far as to warn her to wait and see. But both of them agreed to at least give the idea a chance.
When dinner rolled around the family had some stuffed peppers with a side of pasta. It was one of Parker's favorites so he gobbled it down quite quickly. It seemed like a celebration of sort and he wasn't one to complain. The boy even cleaned the table, which was a nice change of pace for the parents who were more than surprised. They weren't about com complain though and simply retired to their bedroom for the night to watch television.
Once Parker was done, he was keen on having some sweets and wondered if there was any ice cream. Opening the freezer, he saw a tub of vanilla but that didn't really entice him. Then he saw the bar of chocolate, which he had frankly forgotten about it. “Oh...this will be good. Better than nothing.” Picking it up it seemed to have re-solidified, though in a rather weird shape. He began unpeeling it by ripping off the wrapper since that didn't bother him much.
Indulging in chocolate was one of the cub's favorite past times. It was sweet and decadent as he began to nibble on it. Bit by bit the thing disappeared into his mouth. When he was done, he couldn't help but lick the wrapper a bit. He was a bit of a chocolate fiend and it didn't seem very weird to him. After disposing of the wrapper, he was ready to go to his room and game until sleep time. He knew he didn't have very long since it was a school night but he still wanted to enjoy a little bit of free time.
For the next hour or so he played his favorite game, which was by far Minecraft. He loved the customization of it and building as many different things as possible. His favorite project currently was a large castle, complete with a mote around it. In the center was a huge throne with a pixelated character that was supposed to be Watson. To the side of the little figure on a smaller throne was one which he thought resembled himself. A false representation of a relationship, which was nothing like what he wanted it to be.
Once he was done playing games, he decides it's time to retire to bed. He's rather tired even despite the sugar rush from the candy bar. Even despite that, he was feeling rather exhausted and quickly got into his pajamas. They were his favorite and quite soft and warm, normally reserved for colder nights. He didn't care much since it was like his favorite garment to wear to sleep. Surprisingly he wasn't hyper at all from the candy bar and went to sleep rather easily.
Parker slept rather soundly through the night, only having to get up once to urinate. Though when his morning alarm went off, the beaver was always pretty slow to get up. Morning definitely wasn't his favorite time of day, especially when it was a school day. He always was sluggish in the early hours and today was no different. The beaver moved lethargically through the room and overheard his mother calling him. He knew he never had enough time in the morning, no matter how early he got up.
The beaver also realized that he needed to hurry or his mother would yell at him. Parker began to rush downstairs and quickly stuffed his face with the oatmeal that was already prepared for him on the table. Since he was short on time, he grabbed a small bottle of juice and made his way back to his room to get dressed for school. He decided he would wear a graphic t-shirt with his favorite character, iron man, on it. He had always been fond of Tony Stark and his infinite knowledge for all things technology and found him to be relatable despite the
As he got out of his Pajamas and into his casual school clothes, he realized that the garments were somewhat loose on him. Parker thought it a bit strange but since it wasn't like draping over him, he decided it didn't really matter. Besides, he knew he had to rush to school and worrying about such things really wasn't his style. Once he put on his shoes, he was ready. He grabbed his book bag and hugged his mother before taking his lunch box from her.
Parker went about his morning bike ride like normal, avoiding as much traffic as possible. He hated the sound of cars rushing by him. It made him think he was going to get run over each and every time. Even though it never happened, the paranoia was enough to make him keep to the back roads each and every day. It took a little bit longer than the main roads but he didn't really care since he always left with more than enough time to get to school.
When the beaver boy finally arrived at school, his eyes lit up when he saw Watson hanging out with some of his friends. The Doberman nowhere to be seen now, which made him feel a bit better about the situation. Parker flashed his buck teeth at him in an effort to impress the boy, feeling it was an appropriate thing to do. The skunk wasn't really paying attention so the boy decided to just approach him and see how it went. Today was the start of a new relationship, he thought.
Once he was close enough to Watson, Parker realized something was off. Even though he was turned around, the skunk seemed taller than he was now. More worrying was the fact everyone else around him looked bigger too...The beaver began to feel uncertain of himself, but he still wanted to at least say hi to his prospective new friend. Parker poked the boy playfully in the back, making sure to not catch him off guard.
“Oh...hi? The skunk wasn't entirely sure who it was but it was made obvious when he turned around.
When Watson turned around, he was surprised to find Parker behind him. Even more of a shock was the fact that the Beaver was now basically eye level to him. Had he had a growth spurt? He couldn't be sure and was used to the former bully being bigger than him. Though this was certainly a nice change of pace and made the cub feel more at ease around his former tormentor.
“How are you, Watson?” Parker wasn't sure why he was so nervous around the suddenly bigger boy now.
“Fine, I guess. What do you want?” Watson was still suspicious of the other boy even if the
“Just wanted to say hi?” The beaver wasn't particularly good at socializing so this was a bit awkward for him.
“Uh...hi? The skunk thought it was odd that the other boy was suddenly trying to be friendly.
The two shared an awkward moment of silence for a moment, Eventually, the beaver could take it no more and just walked away. Watson turned back to his friends and pretended as if it had never happened. Parker was a whirlwind of mixed feelings. For one he was glad that he was nice to Watson for a change. On the other hand, it was sort of bothering him that the boy was bigger than him. I mean...growth spurts were a thing but it was a bit much for him to absorb all at once. He decided to ignore it and let it be, going about his day like normal.
Parker was much more attentive in class today than he had been yesterday. His teacher even was surprised he was participating as much as he was. What she didn't know was the fact that the beaver was trying to impress his new friend. Watson wasn't really noticing though, the skunk was much too worried about doing his own stuff and only really picked up a few of the other boy's answers. Still, he didn't really care enough to actually think about it.
When lunch finally rolled around, Parker was pretty hungry. The beaver wondered if Watson would mind him sitting at the same table. But first things came first, he needed to grab his lunch from the serving line. So he made his way to the long and winding line, which was always quite the wait regardless of when one got there. The 4th and 5th-grade lunch was especially trying since it was the last one of the day and any latecomers were expected to join them.
The cub made his way to the line, filing into the very back of it behind some other cubs. Looking around he couldn't see Watson anymore. Looking in front of him and behind him, something seemed off. Everyone around him was taller than him. Now...this was most alarming since he was in the final year of his primary academic life. He was used to being one of the tallest ones in the school and now all of a sudden even the 4th graders seemed taller than he. Parker began to feel concerned, thinking maybe he should see a doctor.
But for now, none of that mattered. Parker was way too hungry and just wanted to get food. The line filed down bit by bit as he made his way through it. Eventually, he got up front and took a tray. Parker preferred his greens and took the salad supreme with a side of fruit. He especially liked the fruit-filled granola bars the school offered. They were optional but weren't really that expensive. Sometimes he asked his parents to buy one, but today he had forgotten.
When he was done paying, Parker made his way into the lunchroom proper. It was loud and bustling with activity. Many of the other kids had already sat down since the 5th grade was the last one to get their food. Only a few other cubs were up and about trying to get something to eat. The beaver looked around to find somewhere to sit. He didn't have many friends and so his gut impulse was to look for Watson and hope he wouldn't mind him joining the table.
It wasn't hard to find the bigger boy since Watson was one of the few skunks in the school. His black and white fur coat was pretty distinguishable even in a crowd of mostly furs. Parker made his way over to the table and joined them. The skunk looked at him awkwardly for a moment but said nothing. The bigger boy stared for a moment, Parker's shirt looked somewhat baggy on him and he began to want to know why the cub was wearing oversized stuff.
Parker was just glad to have not to have been kicked from the table. Even if Watson was mostly ignoring him and talking to the other kids. The beaver just focused on his meal and minded his own business. When lunch was over, he decided to take a quick trip to the clinic. He had realized his clothes were baggy and all this sudden change in perspective. Besides he could always get a pass to class. It wasn't like students go to the clinic quite regularly.
The beaver made his way to the infirmary after disposing of the remainder of his meal. When it was in distance, Parker could see there was no line in front waiting in the chairs by the door. This means he could likely be seen first. So he approached the door and knocked on it. It wasn't long before the nurse came to the door and welcomed him in.
“Afternoon, how can I help you?” The nurse was a lanky and lithe brown bear man.
“I just...don't feel right. I feel like I'm getting smaller...” Parker was rather forward about his complaint.
The bear took a clipboard and took down some notes, he had heard this complaint before especially from boys who were small for their age.
“I see. We'll let's do a check-up then. Up on the table please.” The man pointed to a flat medical examination table.
Parker was eager to find out what was wrong with him and wasted no time in hopping up on the table. He watched as the older man pulled out a thermometer and stuck it in the side of his maw, making a tapping sound as it touched his teeth. He waited a few seconds before the reading on the device showed.
“Normal temperature. Shirt up.” The nurse requested for his patient's compliance.
The beaver remained cooperative and showed his lithe and thin stomach. The makeshift doctor continued his examination pushing the diaphragm of his stethoscope against the boy's chest.
“Normal heart rate. Stand up and go to the scale.” The bear pointed to the wall where a weighing machine was situated with a measuring stick overtop.
The cub did as he was told and went to the scale and stood on it.
“Name?” The nurse went to a file cabinet to fetch the kid's medical information.
“Parker Gibbons.” The beaver continued to wait patiently on the scale.
He fetched the cubs file and began to thumb through it looking at his medical history then left a single page open, making a few notes.
“Alright. Last thing.” The man re-approached the kid on the scale and extended out the height stick and adjusted the weights a bit back and forth.
“So...?” Parker wanted answers and clarity more than anything.
“Give me a minute...just relax.” The bear went back to the file to write down the information he had just collected.
The bear wrote down a few scribbles and suddenly his face turned into disbelief. The nurse knew not what to say. Parker looked over at him. The look on his face was obvious enough. He was getting smaller...
