And the present shall be reveiled! The moment of truth has arrived. So far, one person guessed it and a few of you guys are really close. You can see just how close as you read this chapter. Enjoy and I hope you like (or dislike) the present that has been torturing poor Chazz.
Banner walked into Chazz's room and headed for the bed. Chazz was resting in his arms and Pharaoh was sitting on the teacher's head. Banner set Chazz on the bed and covered him with his blanket. He kissed him lightly on the head and smiled. It was then that Pharaoh started to hiss. Banner took the cat off his head and looked at him. Pharaoh was trying to get around him so he could get whatever it was he was hissing at. Banner turned around and saw it.
It was a bird.
A parrot to be exact. But Banner remembered Chazz telling him that he hated birds. It was after he recited the counting crows poem. He said he hated birds. What was he doing with one in his room? Banner walked over to the bird and looked in his cage. Pharaoh started to hiss even more as he got closer to the bird.
"Be quiet, Pharaoh. He isn't bothering you. Stop it." Banner said.
"Die, you ugly boy! Die!"
Banner yelled and jumped back as the bird screamed at him. "What!" he yelled. He stared at the bird. It didn't say what he just thought it said...did it? Banner clutched Pharaoh to his chest. The cat had started to hiss uncontrollably. Banner tried to quiet him down, but it was futile. Banner slowly walked back to the bird and stared at it.
"I wish you would just disappear." it said slowly. Then it chirped.
Banner stumbled back and fell on the edge of the bed. He sat staring at the bird. It was saying those things. This was it. This was the thing that was upsetting Chazz so much. How did he get it? His brothers? Did his brothers give it to him?
"Die. Die, you ugly boy. Die." the parrot said.
Banner started to remember. It just happened that day. That morning Chazz said he wasn't beautiful. Now Banner knew where he got that terrible idea. It was this bird. And he tried to commit suicide. It wasn't because he left Banner. Well, that was part of the reason. But it was mostly because this bird was telling him to die. Banner couldn't hold on to Pharaoh anymore. He was about to leap out of his arms. Banner had no choice but to take him outside. He left the cat clawing on the outside on Chazz's room. Eventually he would leave.
"Die. Die. Die." the parrot kept repeating.
Banner shook his head and nearly started to cry. He stared at his sleeping lover and finally did cry. This stupid bird was killing him! No...it wasn't the bird. It was the people who taught the bird to say these things. It was the people who sent this bird to Chazz. It was his brothers. Who else could it be?
"I wish you would just disappear."
Apparently those were the only things the bird knew how to say. But still, it was enough. It was enough to make his poor Chazz miserable. Banner wiped his eyes but that didn't stop the tears from flowing. He crawled into bed next to his lover and held him tightly. He took Chazz's place in listening to the bird's depressing messages. The question now was what would he do? Would Chazz let him get rid of the bird? How long had the bird been here? It must have been a while. Enough to make Chazz want to actually kill himself.
"Oh, Chazz." Banner whispered.
Eventually, the bird put his head under his wing and fell asleep. It was then that Chazz awoke. He looked at Banner's tear stained face and knew...his secret was revealed.