Chapter 7

As the sun rose the next morning it filled Lenny's room with its warm and glorious light, casting long shadows on the walls.

The young shark was still sound asleep in his cozy bed without a care in the world. Since he didn't have to go to work at the loud and annoying Whale Wash today, he decided to sleep in for the first time in a week and not wake up until whenever he pleased.

But then suddenly… RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!

"AH!"

Lenny was awoken by a loud, peace breaking alarm clock which he recognized as Victor's. He angrily shut his eyes and covered his ears with his pillow to try and cancel out the hideous ringing. He hoped Victor would wake up any second and turn the alarm off, but for some reason the stupid thing wouldn't shut up.

At last Lenny had had more than enough. He sat up and looked in the direction of Victor's sleeping bag to complain to him. "VICTOR FOR CRYIN' OUTLOUD, WOULD YA TURN THAT STUPID THING…" But Victor's sleeping bag was empty, as were Oscar's and Angie's. Apparently they didn't need the most obnoxious sound in the world to wake them up early. Lucky them.

Lenny snarled and got out of bed to stop the madness. Victor's alarm clock said that it was seven thirty. Lenny hadn't planned on waking up for at least four hours. After he'd figure out how to turn the alarm off, he was going to have one violent talk with Victor.

"UGH! HOW DO YA TURN THIS PIECE OF JUNK OFF?!" he yelled over the roar of the alarm.

When he couldn't figure out how to turn it off, he thought of a different way to shut it up. He stuck the little demon in his mouth, chewed it into little pieces with his strong teeth, and swallowed the remnants. "That settles that. Now to deal with pretty boy."

Lenny furiously left his room and started searching the hallway for Victor. Minutes later when he saw the bathroom door was closed, he figured Victor was in there.

He knocked impatiently on the door. "VICTOR?!" he snapped. "I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! YOUR STUPID ALARM CLOCK WOKE ME UP! YOU'D BETTER OPEN UP SO I CAN GIVE YOU A PIECE OF MY MIND!"

The door opened and out came Oscar, who was so busy dancing and singing to himself that he hadn't listened to Lenny's way of saying good morning.

"Hey Lenny," Oscar said perkily. "How ya doin'?"

Lenny glanced at him. "I was doin' just fine. Then I was woken up by the worst thing I've ever heard! Where's Victor?"

Oscar was no longer perky. "Uh… I dunno. He was up before I was."

Lenny scoffed. "Great. Just great!"

"Uh, Lenny? Are you feelin' okay?"

"Me? Oh of course I am! What makes you think otherwise?"

"Just wonderin'," said Oscar. "But as long as you're okay, I'm sure ya won't mind if I told you I used your toothbrush this mornin' 'cause I accidentally left mine at home."

For a few seconds Lenny's expression was blank. "You used my toothbrush?"

"Uh huh. And let me tell ya it's not easy to brush your teeth with a brush that's bigger than you. Anyway, you're okay with it, aren't ya?"

"You're okay with it, aren't ya?" Lenny mocked. "Oh yeah, I'm okay with it! Why wouldn't I be? You're my best friend after all! It ain't like I care if I get your old chewed food in my mouth the next time I brush my teeth! Tell ya what Oscar, maybe next time we have a sleepover I can get even with you by using your toothbrush! How's that sound, huh?!"

Oscar stared, apparently in shock. He didn't know how to reply. "Lenny…"

Just then Victor showed up wearing a sweatband around his temples and breathing deeply. "Hey guys," he said breathlessly. "How's it goin'?"

"It's about time I found you! Where've you been?" Lenny snapped.

"Lino and I went out for an early morning swim. Man, I feel great!"

Lenny pouted. "Well how nice for you! Ya know while you were out workin' up a sweat, I was woken up by your stupid alarm clock!"

"Oops, my bad Lenny," said Victor. "I was gonna turn it off before I went to bed last night but I was having such a good time with you guys that I just forgot. No hard feelings right?"

"No Victor, of course not. I couldn't care less about waking up at seven thirty to the most horrible sound in the world! Especially considering I planned to sleep in 'til at least eleven 'cause it's my first day off in a week!"

"Whoa, Lenny just take it easy," said Victor.

Lenny smiled deviously. "Oh don't you worry, pretty boy. Now I can take it easy 'cause that alarm clock of yours is no more."

"What are you talking about?" Victor asked.

"Well let's just say nothin' makes your morning better than breakfast in bed," Lenny chuckled.

Victor went wide-eyed. "You ate my alarm clock?"

"Yup, and believe me it tasted better than it sounded."

Victor and Oscar looked at each other in confusion. "Len, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Oscar asked again.

"UGH! For the sake of the good Lord above, yes I'm feeling okay! What's it to ya?!"

"Nothing really," Victor said nervously. "It's just that you're acting kinda…"

Lenny frowned. "Kinda what, Victor?!"

"Well… Uptight."

"Uptight?!" Lenny repeated furiously. "I'm not uptight! I'm just not a morning person is all! Is that so wrong?!"

Oscar wasn't buying this. He knew his best friend wasn't acting like this just because he wasn't a morning person. He crossed his fins and said, "Lenny, you're seriously in denial."

"I am not!"

"Yeah, ya kinda are," Oscar replied.

"I'M NOT UPTIGHT AND I'M NOT IN DENIAL! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" Lenny swam off in a huff leaving Victor and Oscar feeling both insulted and concerned about their friend.

Lenny was so furious that he hardly noticed his dad swimming towards him. Like Victor, Lino was wearing a sweatband and was a little short of breath because of his early morning swim. He patted his son on the shoulder and said, "Mornin' Lenny. Sleep well?"

"Don't touch me!" Lenny barked pushing his dad's fin off his shoulder.

Lino looked hurt and surprised as he watched Lenny swim off without looking behind. "Lenny?" Lenny didn't stop or turn around; he just kept swimming away until he was out of sight. Lino turned around and shot a questioning look at Victor and Oscar, who responded simply by shrugging.

Lenny spent most of the rest of the day trying to avoid everybody. Whenever someone would accidentally swim in his way, he would yell at them to get out of his way, insult them, or, in Oscar's case, even try to bite them. He didn't want to see them, talk to them, or even hear their voices. So he locked himself in his room for a few hours to escape them and their "screw ups".

Even when he was all alone in his room with no one around to get in his way or repeatedly ask him if he was feeling alright, he still felt angry. Once in a while, he would ask himself why he was feeling like this. Who or what was he so mad at and why? His memory went back to the previous day. Did something happen at work that made him mad? No it couldn't have been that. Victor had single-handedly made that one of the best workdays of his life. Maybe his parents did something to upset him? No, defiantly not. He didn't see Lino the whole day and he only saw Kathleen for a few minutes. Then what was it? It wasn't Victor and Oscar's hilarious battle at Metal Octopus 67, hearing his friends confess their lives to each other, or Victor and Oscar finally calling a truce.

Then it hit him. He remembered he had gotten mad at Oscar and Angie for getting into an argument. Okay so he'd figured out when his anger started, but how it started was still a mystery. As previously mentioned, those two had been arguing with each other around the clock since they became a couple but until last night Lenny had never gotten mad about it. What would suddenly make him turn his tolerance into frustration? There was defiantly something else behind this. But what?

Lenny sat down on his bed and thought. Hours passed until Kathleen came knocking on his bedroom door telling him dinner was ready.

Even at the dinner table he refused to socialize with his family and friends. While Lino, Kathleen, and Victor talked amongst themselves and while Angie talked to Oscar about typical girly stuff and Oscar only pretended to listen, Lenny savored his dinner quietly and kept thinking.

By the time everyone else had finished eating, Lenny still had food on his plate.

Kathleen was concerned that he didn't like her cooking anymore. "Lenny sweetie, you've barely touched your dinner. Is anything wrong?"

"Hmm," Lenny responded without looking up from his plate.

"That may be the sweetest thing he's said all day," Oscar whispered to Angie.

This finally caught Lenny's attention. "I heard that!"

"Good," Oscar replied. "Maybe that'll show you what a jerk you've been all day."

Lenny angrily dropped his fork on the table. "YOU WANNA SAY THAT TO MY FACE, OSCAR?!"

"Lenny, please," said Kathleen. "What's gotten into you?"

"None of your business!"

"Lenny, calm down," Angie pleaded. "We're just trying to help you."

"I don't need help from any of you!"

"See?" Oscar said to everyone else. "I told ya he was in denial."

Lenny snarled and furiously got out of his chair. "FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME, I'M NOT IN DENIAL! NOTHING'S WRONG WITH ME AND I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! EVERYBODY JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" And with that he immediately left the dining room.

Once everyone was sure he was gone, Lino spoke. "What is up with him?" he asked worriedly. "He's been acting like that all day."

"You think that's bad?" Oscar asked. "He almost bit me today, just 'casue I was standing in his way!"

"Okay, that really isn't like Lenny."

"None of this is like Lenny," said Angie. "Something must be bothering him."

Kathleen nodded in agreement. "You're right. Something is bothering him, and I have a feeling I know what it is."

"Oh?" Lino asked. "What is it then?"

"Lino, do you remember when you and Victor went out for coffee about a week ago?"

"Uh huh."

"Well it really hurt him when he found out that you two went and didn't include him," Kathleen continued.

Lino looked puzzled. "What are you saying, Katie?"

"I'm saying he felt left out. And since you've been with Victor so much all week he probably thinks you've forgotten all about him."

For a few long minutes, Lino said nothing. At last he got out of his chair. "I'm gonna go talk to him," he said as he left the dining room.

After Lino had left, Oscar, Angie, and Kathleen turned to Victor, who they noticed had been unusually quiet during this whole conversation. Victor looked petrified for some reason. As if he had turned into a zombie. His eyes were wide, his mouth was half open, and his body was holding still as a statue. He was either deep in thought or was suffering from something far worse than whatever Lenny was.

"Victor, are you alright?" Kathleen asked.

Victor didn't reply, let alone show any signs of having heard the question.

"I'll see if he's alright," Oscar volunteered. He slowly and nervously swam up to Victor's face and began waving his fin in front of his eyes. "Victor? Hello? Earth to Victor. Are ya still with us?" Victor still didn't respond. Oscar lost patience and lightly slapped Victor on the cheek. "Hey Victor! Snap out of it!"

Thankfully, Victor finally did snap out of it. "Wh – Wha? What?"

"Yay!" Oscar cheered. "He's with us again!"

Kathleen asked again, "Are you alright, Victor? We thought we'd lost you for a minute."

"Oh, yeah I'm fine," Victor insisted. "It's just… Well, I just… I gotta go." Before anyone could say a word, Victor left the dining room faster than a speeding dolphin.

"Jeez, is everyone goin' crazy today?" Oscar asked.

Lenny went straight to his room breathing deeply through his nostrils and his eyes practically flickering with evil. He was so upset with everyone that he completely forgot to close the door behind him.

"They're all insane," he said out loud to himself. "I don't need any help. They're the ones that are in denial, not me. I'm perfectly normal. I'm just…going through a phase is all. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow… Won't it?" Then he thought. What if this wasn't just a phase? What if this was the start of something way worse? What would happen if this just kept getting worse? Then Lenny asked himself the same question he'd been asking all day. Why was this happening?

A wave of depression suddenly washed over him. He held his head in his fins as a few tears fell from his eyes. "Who am I kidding?" he asked. "I really do need help! What's wrong with me?!"

"I was hoping you could tell me."

Lenny turned around to see Lino standing in his doorway. He tried to hide his tears by covering his red eyes. "Uh, hi Pop."

"Lenny, are you crying?" Lino asked sounding worried.

Lenny sniffed as quietly as possible. "No. No, I'm fine."

Lino of course wasn't buying this. "You sure didn't sound fine when I came in."

Lenny wiped his eyes and didn't say a word.

Lino sighed and put a fin on Lenny's shoulder. "We need to talk." The two of them sat down side by side on Lenny's bed.

"Lenny…"

"Look, Pop," Lenny interrupted. "I know what you're gonna ask but I honestly don't know why I'm acting like this. I just feel so angry about everything all the time."

"Well at least tell me who you're angry at," said Lino.

"I don't know who or why, Pop. I'm just angry."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, of course not," Lenny replied honestly.

"Victor?"

"No."

"Your mom?"

"No."

"Then who? Come on son, just tell me."

Lenny suddenly felt his random aggression returning to him. "I SAID I DON'T KNOW! NOW GET OFF MY BACK!"

Lino stared at his son taken aback by his outburst.

Then Lenny realized what he had just done. The look on his face changed from hate to hurt. He broke into tears and threw himself into his father's fins. "I'm sorry, Pop!" Lenny sobbed.

Lino could see he was being sincere so he hugged him back and tried his best to comfort him. "It's okay," he whispered.

Lenny buried his face into Lino's chest and fought for control of himself. After a few minutes, he settled down and the two sharks pulled away.

"You feel better?" Lino asked.

"A little bit," Lenny replied. "Pop, what's happening to me?"

"I wish I knew, Lenny. Guess there's nothing for you to do but sleep on it."

"I'll try, but I don't think I can sleep like this."

"Just try, okay? I'll check on you tomorrow. And if you need anything, just let me know."

Lenny nodded. "I will."

Lino kissed him on the forehead and headed to the door. "Goodnight, son."

"Night, Pop."

Lino left the room and closed the door behind him.

Lenny tucked himself into bed and found it surprisingly easy to fall asleep. While he slept innocently in his bed that night, a certain diabolical plan was continuing to take place.

End of chapter