Zach makes it into work despite being a few minutes late. He usually arrives about ten minutes early than his starting shift. However, today is different.
“Ah, good to see you, Zach,” says Josh at his and Zach’s station. “Good God, you look out of breath. What happened?”
“Ralph wasn’t around this morning,” Zach tells him. “He usually brings me to work, but when I woke up, he wasn’t there! No note, no text, nothing… I assumed he went out to the store to get stuff for breakfast. I waited for him, but he didn’t show… So, I had to leg it to get here…”
“Oh, sorry to hear…”
“Hey!” The two boys turn to see the rabbit in the red bandana standing before them. “How’s it going?”
“Where the hell were you?!” Zach asks. “I texted you, but you didn’t answer!”
Ralph lets out an awkward chuckle. “Sorry, Zachy… I was busy picking something up…” He holds up a bag of food. “I went out to buy breakfast. Hope you don’t mind…”
Zach lets out a sigh. “Not at all… Smells delicious. I can’t wait-” Just as he motions over for it, Ralph moves the bag away.
“Uh, sorry, Zachy… These aren’t for you… I bought them for Josh and I.”
Zach stands still, staring at him. “W-what…?”
Josh steps forward. “You bought breakfast for you and me…?”
“I was hoping we’d eat together,” Ralph says to the bear. “Unless, you’re busy…”
“No, I’ve got time. Wouldn’t mind sitting with you.” His answer is enough to make Ralph giggle. He follows the rabbit away from the fox.
“Wait!” Zach spurts. “What about-” By the time he utters a word, they have already distanced themselves from him. “Oh, God damnit…”
Rachael appears by the fox’s side to see. “What’s up with Josh? Who is that rabbit with him?”
“My friend, Ralph,” Zach tells her. “He’s infatuated with Josh…” The fox then goes over to the table with the laptop and starts getting ready for the day. “Ralph’s been non-stop talking about him ever since we ran into him… It’s like I suddenly don’t exist…”
“How long have they been ‘together?’”
“It’s been two weeks…”
“Sounds like your friend loves Josh,” Rachael tells him.
“No kidding… Now, he’s ignoring me for him…”
“He’s not intentionally ignoring you, Zach… He’s just obsessed with Josh. Hey…” She gets closer to him and puts her paw on his arm for assurance. “Don’t let it bother you all day, all right?”
“Ralph isn’t the only one ignoring me, however… Winnie and Emma are doing the same… Emma won’t stop talking about this ‘cool’ warthog we randomly met at the mall, and Winnie’s ‘been busy’ with Kenny, Josh’s cousin…”
“Really? That’s rather strange… Then again, sounds like love is in the air.” The raccoon turns to see the director signaling to her. “Oh, the director needs me…” She faces the fox. “Sorry, Zach, I have to get going.”
“Talk to you later,” Zach says. Rachael heads off to the direction of the director. Zach sits back into his chair, working away at the laptop. While waiting for a program to load, he takes out his cell phone and sees a group text where he’s invited to a hangout from his friends. Not hesitating, he gladly presses for his response.
***
Later on, after the work day ends, Zach arrives at the designated location from his text; neon lights pulsate against the dark carpet and walls of the place. Other people fix their attentions to the cabinet screens, controlling various characters with sticks and buttons. The fox meets up with his friends inside at one of the tables. “Interesting place you guys chose,” Zach remarks.
“Everyone thought it would be fun,” Winnie tells him. “We figured it was best if we came here.”
“Tonight, we’re going to have so much fun,” states Emma.
“So, what should we do first?” asks the fox with a smile. “Fancy a racing game? Maybe some robot blasters?”
“You can go ahead if you want to, Zach,” Ralph tells him. “We’re waiting, still.”
“Waiting? For what? Aren’t we going to have fun as a group?”
“We are,” Emma utters. “But, we’re waiting on a few more.”
“Who…?”
Winnie smiles. “Ah, there you are!” Both Emma and Ralph mirror her expression as the three look on.
Zach turns around to see where they are looking, and his smile quickly dissipates. He stares as the three boys walk up to the group and exchange greetings with them. “Hello, Alec, Josh, and Kenny… Wasn’t expecting you guys here.”
“Your friends thought it would be a good idea if we all got together for a triple date,” Josh tells him. “Can’t wait to have a lot of fun.”
“Emma and I are going to own you losers,” states Alec.
“Not if Winnie and I can, first,” claims Kenny.
“Let’s get this night started, shall we?” Ralph suggests. The three push past Zach to meet up with their dates, leaving the fox standing there in awe.
As the night progresses, things turn out to be as exactly as Zach had expected; neglect from his friends and feelings of being left out. What do I mean by this? Well, Zach had gone to challenge Ralph, Emma, and Winnie to some games like the shooters, basketball, skee-ball, and dancing games. Every time he would ask either one of them to play, they ignore his requests and instead, go against their ‘lover’ or have them rival each other as they cheer on. In other instances, he sees prizes being presented to his friends after their crush had won them. I think you can tell where I am going with this; Zach being outcasted by his friends in favor for the ones they like most. This becomes too much for the fox to bear, so he decides to push past the double doors and step out into the fresh night air.
Zach makes his way into the park and takes a seat down on one of the benches. His head tilted downward at his feet and the paved path.
“I know that look,” says a familiar voice. Zach turns to the source and notices the red fox standing before him. “What’s on your mind, Zach?”
“Hi, Amina…” Zach turns his head back to the original position. “It’s about Ralph, Emma, and Winnie… They are ghosting me…”
“Ghosting you?”
“You know, when someone ignores you and focuses on something else?”
“Do tell…”
“It all started a couple of weeks ago, when we met Alec… Emma wouldn’t stop talking to him, as well as talking about him… Then, Josh approached us with his cousin, Kenny Koala, while showing him around the city. That’s when Ralph started to have heart-eyes for him. Then the koala… After he asked Winnie out, those two started hitting things off from there… Now, my friends aren’t too talkative with me… They are only talking with their crushes… It’s like I don’t exist to them, now…”
“Oh, I see… Since your friends started focusing more on their crushes, they’ve stopped paying attention to you… They are blinded by love and infatuation…”
“You already know where I’m going with this…?”
“Yes… You’re upset because you’re being the ‘third wheel.’”
“What am I going to do, Amina…? I don’t want to lose my friends… Man, Igor was right…”
“Oh, don’t pay much attention to the imp. You know he likes to stir up trouble. Give your friends time, and they’ll go back to talking with you. Love works in mysterious ways, after all…”
“Funny… It happened to my friends, and yet it did not happen to me… Why hasn’t it…?”
“Love is not always instant magic, Zach; it takes time, commitment, will, and strong bonds to be with someone. That’s something both you and the other person need to have. Weren’t you in love before…?”
“I don’t know if I count Cindy… That sheep had a very different perspective about me; never saw me as perfect, or her type… If she felt the same way about me, she would’ve been in my arms…”
“I thought you didn’t want to date anymore after that.”
He turns to her. “That was when I was still hurting from Cindy… I felt like no one would love me for who I was… Then again, seeing my friends happy with a partner, makes me feel dead inside… Perhaps… I should try and find someone myself as well…”
“That’s up to you… Are you certain about it?”
“Not exactly… But, if it means talking with my friends again...”
“You shouldn’t just use someone to get back with your friends, Zach.”
“I’m not going to… I also feel like I could use a little love in my life… I should definitely look for someone…”
“Do you even know where to look?”
“I have some ideas… A few social media pages I could try… How hard can finding someone be?”
