Pete Kowalski

It’s spring time, so Pete’s finally done with slipping on ice!! …. Don’t bring up how soaked he is. He might’ve been pushed into a puddle.

A soft hum left him as he pondered how to answer her question. “It’s kinda like you wanna be his mom to somehow help him heal and realize that he’s actually worth something. But you always seem real on edge, lady. You don’t have much experience with teenagers, do you?”

“I know you do. And that’s not a comforting thought.”

“Damn, I guess not.”

Hey- Kids are smart- You actually find Gary deserving of maternal love and protection instead of just some bummy kid you took for. I’m the son of a librarian, I can read between lines. ….but Gary really is rabid sometimes. And that’s coming from his oldest friend.

“…. One could argue that I’m not smart enough to poison you, because you’re always one step ahead of me.”

Ohhhh… So, instead of a stray cat, you’re the type to see a rabid raccoon and take it in.

“I don’t have poison to poison them. And my parents aren’t smart enough to poison me.”

“Okay. I’ll trade you some of my good snacks for your poisoned ones.”

“Well, you can’t eat poisoned snacks.”

“You’re the one that needs snacks.”

“Okay and? It works, the snacks definitely help.”

Yeah I figured as much. You do look like the type to take in stray cats just like stray kids. Outta the kindness of your heart and shit.

“They like me enough to not let me be one of those idiot dropouts. And they send me snacks sometimes.”

It really is!! But hey, at least it’ll bring you some good karma!

“Hey man, at least I know my parents like me. And I could find some other friends, y’know, if I tried to.”

“Yeah right.”

“You picked a pretty thankless job. And I should know.”

“Bitch, this is the only time you’ll ever hear that in your life, fucking memorialize it.”