The Early Days
"Can't I have one?" A young Linda said, her tone was soft spoken and pleading.
"Sorry sweetie, but you know your father would never allow It." her Mom; Kirsten replied. Honestly, she didn't see any problem with her daughter's request, but her husband just wouldn't deal with it.
Linda frowned. "But Mom, most of the other kids have one." She countered.
"I guess you're just not most kids Linda." Kirsten said sadly.
Linda lowered her head in sadness. Her mother walked over to her and kneeled down before she lifted her head with a hand.
"Hey don't be so down. Look, I'll try to convince your father one last time." Kirsten said trying to enlighten her only daughter.
Linda smiled, but she knew that this would be no different from their earlier attempts. "Thanks Mom."
Satisfied with Linda's appreciation Kirsten looked at the clock. "Speaking of which your father should be home soon and dinner will be ready soon too."
"Can I go outside and walk around while I wait?" Linda asked politely.
"Sure Linda, just do go where you know you aren't supposed to be." She warned.
"Don't worry; I won't." Linda reassured her mother.
"…and be back before dinner." She added.
Linda nodded towards her mother before she grabbed her coat. She then opened the door the outside world and walked out.
It was well into the winter in Moose Lake, Minnesota. The sun's bright shining rays failed to penetrate the thick clouds, but it was still bright enough outside to provide the usual daylight.
Linda walked among the snowy streets as she was engrossed in her thoughts. She was very intelligent for someone her age and she got good grades in school. However, she wasn't very social and therefore had very few people to really talk to. Linda also noticed something that many kids had that she didn't and that was what she'd always wanted for the whole year. A companion or in other words: a pet.
"Hey, four eyes!" A voice called out to Linda, snapping her out of her thoughts. Linda looked around to see a familiar face wave to her from across the street.
It was Cynthia, of course the daughter of the town's mayor as well as the most popular kid at the school they both attended. She was also of course a spoiled brat who liked talking to who she herself considered was below her though it was usually just to show off anything she had.
Linda rolled her eyes at the mention of her nickname. "Four Eyes" was just about as unoriginal as you could get and calling someone that name just because someone wore glasses was uncalled for. Linda tried to just ignore her but the spoiled girl was relentless as she walked across the street and stop right before her.
"What do you want now Cynthia?" Linda asked. From here she noticed the small cage Cynthia was carrying but it was covered.
Cynthia put on a devious smile before she replied. "Oh I just wanted to show you what my daddy got me just the other day." She said uncovering the cage she held
Linda looked on as she saw a small bird inside the cage which looked back at her upon the uncovering. She couldn't help but smile as it happily chirped.
"Oh wow its a Cyanocitta cristata." Linda said identifying it correctly by saying it's scientific name.
"No it's a Blue Jay" Cynthia corrected her confused by Linda's nerd talk.
"That's just it's scientific name." Linda said with matter-of-fact tone that Cynthia disliked.
"Blah blah blah" Cynthia teased with her hand. She should've expected the nerd to call it like that. "Anyway this pretty little bird was quite expensive and for what Daddy paid for it and it's all mine." She said greedily.
"What's the little guy's name?" Linda asked.
"Eh, I don't know I need to think of the perfect name." Cynthia explained. "It needs to be perfect like me." She boasted.
"Right….." Linda said rolling her eyes again.
"I think I'm going to use him as my show and tell project next week for school." Cynthia said "Maybe you could use a pet for your show and tell project too." She implored Linda as that's what most kids did.
Linda looked down for a second.
"Oh wait I forgot. You don't have one." Cynthia teased as she laughed making Linda feel a bit worse.
The conversation was broken up at the sound of a car horn. Cynthia looked up to see her dad in an expensive looking car. "Quit talking to your friend and get in the car Cynthia!" Her dad ordered. "We must get home for dinner." He said.
"Sorry to cut the conversation short four eyes, but I and my little birdie must leave." Cynthia said. "We're having Filet Mignon for dinner." She added as she climbed into the car and rolled down the window so she could finish her sentence. "It was quite the expensive meal" she said as the car drove off.
Linda shrugged off the statement as she didn't really care for the riches and expensive life Cynthia lived.
As Cynthia got in the car and left she once again went back into her thoughts. She wished she had someone or something that she could say anything to that wasn't a parent. She wanted something that wouldn't judge her and put her down like so many other people had. She wanted something she could actually care for and vice versa.
Suddenly a truck with the label "Exotic Pets" sped one past Linda and towards a nearby intersection. The light was red, but the driver of the huge truck wasn't paying attention and reacted late. The sudden stop of the truck caused the back to come open and from it a single crate was thrown right onto the sidewalk Linda was currently on. The truck then drove off not knowing it just left one of the crates it once carried.
Linda watched it all unfold surprised about what just happened and looked at the crate not too far from where she stood. She could hear a faint noise coming inside. Tempted by it; Linda walked over to it and examined it before she finally opened it.
There she laid eyes on a small blue baby sized bird that was all by its lonesome. Linda noted the fear in its eyes as it also bore a frightened look on its face. Linda carefully and slowly put her hands inside not wanting the leave the poor bird in the cold. As her hands grew closer to the animal; the bird grew even more frightened as it went into a corner and closed its eyes, making small noises Linda knew it meant it was really scared.
"It's okay." Linda said, her voice soft, but backed with confidence. "It's okay" she repeated along with a hush for extra effect. She finally had the bird in her hands and slowly, she pulled it up towards her face. She continued holding the bird in one hand and used the other to stroke the feathers on the back of its head. The bird seemed to be relaxed by both Linda's words and her stroking as it stopped making its frightened squawks.
Linda looked at it in the eyes as it looked back.
"I'll take care of you." Linda said as she drew it in by the side of her face near her ears and promptly nuzzled the baby bird.
The bird felt safe in the little girl's hands and realized she wasn't going to do any harm. It smiled back to her knowing it's comfortable.
Linda then walked on the way back to her house, where she knew there would be a small conflict.
Upon reaching her house; Linda saw her father's car parked outside so she knew that he was home by now. She took a deep breath before entering the home along with the bird she had just gotten.
"Mom…..Dad?" Linda called out to tell them it was her. "I'm home." She added.
The sound of voices coming from the living room caught Linda's attention and slowly, she walked in. There she saw her mom and her dad sitting by the active fire place which provided the bulk of the warmth inside the house.
"Linda! You're just in time for dinner." Her mom said before she noticed the small bird within her hand.
"What is that?" Linda's dad; Eric asked strongly. His voice was deep enough to almost make the bird frightened again.
Linda looked down at the bird that was concealed by her hands before looking back at her parents.
"Uh….it's a bird." Linda answered a bit nervously. She knew where this conversation would be headed.
"You know I don't like having wild animals in my house!" Eric said. "Now throw it out." He ordered her daughter. His mood was anything but positive.
Linda's smile instantly disappeared. "But Dad, it's just a baby." Linda argued. "I can't just throw it away." She added. The young girl didn't care what her dad told her at this point. She already told the bird that she'd take care of it so she would protest to the bitter end if she had to.
"I always wanted to have a pet anyway, so I think now it's the perfect time for me to get one." Linda explained. Eric however frowned at her insubordination.
Kirsten frowned at the situation. She then whispered something in her husband's ear in which he actually smiled at.
"Hmph! Fine!" Eric said gruffly. "You can keep the darn animal." He said. Those words made Linda smile greater than she ever had in her entire life so far.
"But you must keep it in check." Her dad warned. "I don't want to see any…..various messes on my floor." He added before he got up and headed into the kitchen.
"What did you tell him?" Linda asked her mom.
Kirsten smiled. "I just told him if he allowed you to keep a pet; I'd bake him a triple chocolate pound cake for dessert." She said adding a wink towards her. "It's my secret weapon." She whispered. "Now come on and eat dinner."
"Okay but what do I feed a bird?" Linda asked guessing the little thing must be hungry by now.
"Hmmm." Kirsten thought. "You can probably just feed it some fruit we have until I buy some proper bird food. Okay?"
"Okay." Linda said as she took placed the bird on a nearby flat table near the fruit bowl. Linda then took out an apple and cut it in multiple slices which she placed in front of it. The blue bird looked at the fruit and then back to Linda. It was a bit confused about what she wanted.
"Go on." Linda said softly. "Eat."
The bird then pecked at the fruit getting small bits of apple in its beak before it consumed it. It looked happy with its treat afterwards so Linda could tell it was satisfied.
She then left it alone nearby the fireplace while she ate dinner.
Later that evening; Linda came back to see that most of the apple was gone. She smiled warmly as she picked it up again. "Good birdie." She said softly.
"So what are you going to name it?" Her mom asked her coming in from behind. Her dad as usual was always the last one to finish eating.
"Hmmm well from what I can tell; I think it's a boy bird and since he has blue feathers, I'll name him Blu." Linda explained. At least it was a memorable name.
"That sounds like a nice name Linda." Her mom encouraged. "Now I think it's about your bed time. Remember, you have school tomorrow."
"Yeah I know." Linda replied looking at the bird in her hands.
The young girl then went to her room where she sat Blu down on her dresser before she begun to search for her night clothes.
"I can't believe I finally have a pet!" Linda said excitedly. Blu watched her as she went about the room frantically. She went into another small room and closed the door so Blu wouldn't have to see Linda without any clothes on. Shortly though Linda came out with her clothes she slept in.
She let Blu come into her hand again before she shut off the light; the only illumination was from the lava lamp that she had on top of her dresser at well. Linda got into her bed and placed Blu right beside her.
"We're going to have so much fun together and you'll get to see a lot of people at my school when I present you for my Show and Tell project." Linda said before she yawned and laid her head down a pillow.
Blu slowly went over near her head and placed himself comfortably next to her head. There he began to sleep peacefully alongside her.
To Be Continued
A/N: So there you have it guys. What do you think? This chapter is mostly exposition but things will get more interesting as this progresses. Please Review!