Long time Gone
Chapter two
Flaky
"Flaky? What's with that grin on your face?" My friend Cuddles asks. I put the phone down to face Cuddles who was watching some show on my TV set. "Yeah, what is it?" Asks my other friend, Nutty, who is digging into a bag of caramel corn. "It's Flippy! H-he's coming home, f-from the war!" My eyes are sparkling, and I feel like I'm going to burst from happiness. Nutty and Cuddles exchange glances. "Er, that's great, Flaky." Cuddles says, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, that's great." Nutty says, rather uneasily. I raise a brow. "Hey? You guys don't seem so excited like you usually are..."
Their silent for a moment, and Cuddles speaks up again. "Er, well, Flippy is a little scary. Don't you think...?" "Wha...? No!" "Being in the war might have changed him." Cuddles continues. I roll my eyes. "Y-you're just being paranoid...Flippy is the same old Flippy!" "How do you know...?"
"Flaky?"
I hear a muffled voice, his voice. I can feel the heat rise to my cheeks. "Yeah! I'm here!" I say, a little loudly. He chuckles. "Good. Thought you hung up on me." I shake my head. "N-no! Uh, Cuddles just wanted me to tell you something." I watch as Cuddles turns from the tv, his eyes wide. Nutty is shovelling caramel corn into his mouth, no longer paying attention to us. "Oh, really? What is it?" Cuddles is mouthing the word "No" and shaking his hands in front of him, as if to say stop. I only giggle lightly. "He says hi! And wants to know how you're doing."
I hear him chuckle. "Well tell him I said hi, and that I'm doing well." I watch as Cuddles slaps his forehead, and shakes his head. "Will do." I say. I don't really understand why Cuddles is so frightened of Flippy. He's such a nice person!
"Well, Flaky. I have to go now." Flippy says. "Oh! So, then, I'll see you at school tomorrow." "Yeah. I have to get re-registered, and buy a new school uniform, since my other one is to tight." I giggle. "I'll see you, then." "Yeah. See you." "Bye." He hung up. Sighing, I put the phone down, and look over to my two friends.
Cuddles still has that look of fear in his eyes. "Flippy says hi, and that he's doing well." I grin. "That's good to know, Flaky." He says, shaking his head. He glances over to Nutty, who is now tipping the bag above his mouth, trying to find the crumbs. "Dude, there's nothing left. Leave it." Cuddles seems to have something against Nutty, which I fail to understand. Nutty may have on obsession with candy, and is a little loud, but he isn't really a bad guy. Most of the time, I know Nutty just ignores Cuddles, but there is always that one time when he'd backfire, or purposely pick a fight. "Sure there is!" He backfires. Cuddles rolls his eyes. Ignoring the current situation, I sigh. "I don't see what you have against Flippy...he really is nice." I say. "As said before: The war may have changed him." This time, even Nutty joins in. "Yeah. He may try to kill you...or all of us!" "Y'see?" Cuddles makes a motion with his hands, signalling over to Nutty. "Even Nutty agrees!" "Hey! What's that supposed to mean!" Nutty furrows his brows, sucking in his cheeks. "It means you understand what I'm saying, sugar breath." "Be nice." I say with another sigh.
"And he isn't going to kill us." "How do you know...?" Nutty and Cuddles ask at the same time. "Well, he was fighting against Tiger General. Remember? He told us his mission, right before he left for the war." I explain. And seeing as he's back, that must mean he succeeded. He's a hero. He's my hero. "I don't remember." Cuddles says. I smile. He may have been trying to be rude, but I can tell he really does remember.
"Well, if you really have something against him, you're going to hate what I'm about to say." I giggle a little. Cuddles eyes widen again. "Oh, geez..." "If you hadn't heard me before, Flippy is re-entering high school! Our high school!" Cuddles is silent for a moment, and Nutty glances up from the bag, both have that look of fear in their eyes.
"You're kidding, right?" Cuddles asks. "Nope!" I shake my head, causing white flakes to fall to the ground. I wasn't called Flaky for nothing. "He'll be at school tomorrow!" I continue, and I feel the heat rise in my cheeks once more. Cuddles face pales, and Nutty goes limp, leaning against the couch for support. Cuddles pulls out his cell-phone, making a ringing noise. I can tell it's fake.
"Uh! G-Giggles is calling me. I gotta go! Bye!" He stands up, and makes a run for the door, almost tripping over his own two feet, but makes it out of the house in one piece. I sigh and stand up, glancing over to Nutty who is still limp against the couch. "You okay...? Want me to make some tea?" He nods slowly. "That would be nice." I smile gently, and walk off into the kitchen.
While I prepare the tea, I have to wonder if what Cuddles was saying is true. Would the war have changed Flippy at all?