There's sometimes a hamster. You see it and think it's cute, so you keep it as a pet. You feed it, keep it clean, and even name it. Animals aren't named in nature; they have no use for them. But you name it because it makes you feel good. It feels good to have control over another being. Because no matter how hard you try, it seems like you don't have control over your own life.
A hamster doesn't worry about things like love or money.
I thought I was in love with Thompson. I wasn't. When it's just a crush, you can forget about that person in a few days and move on to the next one.
Thompson wasn't the person I thought he was. I couldn't believe he would actually pay for a woman like that. Suddenly, I'm over him and I'm comfortable around him. Being friends means forgiving his dumb mistakes. If we were a couple, I could never forgive him seeing a woman like that.
He's done more for me these past couple of days than he ever did being the object of my crush. Now I'm sitting here on a park bench waiting for him, without anxiety. It seems silly to have had a crush on him for so long. And I'm considering not having anymore crushes altogether.
"Hey Lor." he says, and makes me jump a little. He snuck up from behind me. "Is that a hamster?"
"Yeah." I say. "I thought he could use a little fresh air for a change. He must get bored being in his cage all the time."
"It must be, huh? But at least it's safe."
"I think he'd be willing to take the risk, to get out of his usual routine."
"Yeah, I would too."
"So, what did you come up with?"
"Well, with your 8,000 that you set aside and the 4,000 that I have in bonds, we have 12,000 dollars. I talked to my dad about investing–didn't mention you of course–and he said it's too risky in the short term. If we want to make any money in the market, it'll take years. We could also put it into a savings account, but we'd just be sitting there watching it grow slowly."
"And having fun is half the point."
"So the last thing we could is use that money to start a business. We'd be partners, of course you'd get two-thirds and I'd get one-third."
"But we're not old enough to even get a business license."
"Well, I know some people. We could get someone old enough to sign the papers, but we'd actually be running the show. Or we could always start the kind of business that doesn't require a license."
"What kind of business is that?
He laughs a hearty laugh. The bastard.
"An illegal one."
"Is it risky?"
"Nah, not really. We're still minors, so they can't do much, even if we were caught. But we'll be careful, so don't worry about it."
"You don't want to sell drugs do you? That's not my idea of fun."
"Of course not. If you want fun, how about a brothel? It's a place where hookers work, before you ask."
"Again with the hookers?"
"Well, I've had the idea in mind, I'll admit. They make great money in such a small amount of time. It's a great business if you can handle it."
"You're not suggesting I become a hooker are you?"
"Of course not, we'll hire our own girls."
"Well, to tell you the truth, ever since you talked to me about hookers, I've been curious. But we can't trust them. A woman like that will take us for everything we have."
"Well, we could hire younger girls. And I'll be there, so there's not really any danger from the girls. I just hope we can get some interested."
"Well, where could we do this? We can't exactly do this from our garage."
"There's some abandoned houses at the edge of town. We could use one of those and nobody would ever find us."
"It sounds like a nice fantasy, but could it really work?"
"It really could. We just have to be careful and discreet."
"If you're that sure, then I guess I'm in."
"Great! I know this is going to work. Don't worry about anything. I can start finding some girls right now, you wanna come?"
"I'll catch up with you."
Thompson runs off and stumbles on the curb. I don't know why I didn't want him to know how excited I am about this, but I hid my enthusiasm well, I think.
My little hamster. He keeps wanting to run off the bench, but I'm always there to stop him. But who am I to stop him? I place him on the floor and he scampers off into some bushes. He can go wherever he wants to go. I just hope he knows what to do when he gets there.