The Story of a Lonely Wolf Chapter 9: All in a Day's Work

"I can't believe I'm doing all this for that Runt," Hige mumbled as he mopped Cassi's kitchen floor. Cassi had a house, but it was really small. It had a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and 2 bedrooms that was all. The kitchen was the second biggest room and it had a reddish brown tile floor and was painted an ugly pale yellow. A black oven in the corner with a counter next to it that stretched all the way down to the other wall. In the counter was a sink for doing dishes. Above the counter were a few cabinets for plates and other dishes. On the opposite side of the room was a pantry and a fridge. In the middle of the room was a small table that sat four. There was also a window and a back door on the back wall.

"Hey, you got the easy job!" Josh yelled from down the hall, "I'm the one scrubbing the toilet!"

"Yeah I know, and you're using way too much toilet bowl cleaner. The smell is making my nose sting."

"Would you like to trade him then, Hige? You can flush out the cleaner and put in as much as you want. I bet if you did it yourself then you'd put in just enough to get the job done, but little enough so your nose won't smell it as much," Cassi said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Oh uh, no thanks. I'm fine right here," Hige replied and continued mopping.

"Alright then," she said and walked over to the counter. "Ok let's see," she said as she opened the brown top shelf and looked in it. "Ahh, here we go," she said as she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. "Hige, can you tell me what it is your friend needs?"

"Oh sure," Hige said and looked up at her. "Ummm… I believe it was bandages, water, disinfectant, and some rags to clean the wounds."

"Rags?" Cassi asked and looked up from her paper, "Wouldn't baby wipes be better?"

"Baby wipes?" Hige replied with a confused expression.

"Well yes, they would be better to clean the wounds with," she said.

"Well, ok I guess…that and it fits him just fine. He is a big baby after all," Hige said under his breath and began mopping again.

"Alright I'm off to the store then. I'll be back soon with your things," Cassi said then left. "Josh, you be good and listen to Hige!" she yelled just as she was going out the front door.

"Ok, Mom!" Josh replied as he heard the door close.

Man, this stinks, Hige thought to himself as he moped under the kitchen table, "Well I guess I should be glad I'm getting the stuff…"

"Is she gone?" Josh asked as he peeked around the kitchen door corner.

"Uh… yeah," Hige replied.

"Finally," Josh said happily.

"What are you doing?" Hige asked as he watched Josh walk over to the fridge and open it.

"What else?" Josh said and got out a soda. "It's break time. Here." Josh said and threw Hige a can of Mountain Dew.

"Wait a minute, you didn't finish the bathroom yet," Hige said as Josh walked into the living room and sat down on the brown couch.

"So what? Mom left. That means we get to stop," he said as he turned on the TV and started flipping through the channels.

"Hey, just because she left doesn't mean we stop. We have to finish this then we can stop," Hige protested.

"Yeah right…" Josh replied as he continued flipping channels. "Where in the world are you from? You're the first person I've ever met who actually works when your mom isn't home. Everyone knows you don't do chores when parents leave… it's just wrong if you do."

"Yeah well, it's not like I want too. My friend is really sick I have to get this done," Hige replied from the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about your friend…." Josh said his eyes glued to the TV.

"You forgot?" Hige asked. "…How could you forget something this serious?"

"I dunno," Josh replied as he watched TV.

"…. Humans…." Hige said in an annoyed voice under his breath.

"What?" Josh asked.

"Oh nothing…" Hige said and walked over to the couch. "What are you watching anyway?"

"Hmm… I'm not really watching anything. There is nothing on," Josh replied.

"Well then, how about getting back to work?" Hige asked in a hopeful voice.

"Nah…. I think I'll stay here until mom gets home," Josh replied.

"Awww come on. Help me out, would ya?" Hige whined.

"Well…. I guess I could. I mean you saved my butt earlier so…." Josh began.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Now come on, we still have lots to do."

"Alright…" Josh replied with a sigh as he followed Hige into the kitchen. "Hey, can I at least put some music on?"

"Uhhh…. Yeah, sure I guess," Hige said as he began mopping again.

"Cool, I'll be right back," Josh said as he went to his room to get his cds. "Ok," Josh said as he returned with his cds, "Here, I think this would be good," Josh said as he pulled out a cd and put it in the CD player. "This is a good song," Josh said as the song started playing.

"Ok…" Hige replied, as the song began to play. He really didn't care about the music; he just wanted to get the job done.

Hey dad look at me

Think back and talk to me

Did I go up according to plan?

And do you think I'm wasting me time doing things I wanna do?

But it hurts when you disapprove along

And now I try hard to make it

I just want to make you proud

I'm never gonna be good enough for you

I can't pretend that

I'm alright

And you can't change me

'Cuz we lost it all

Nothing lasts forever

I'm sorry

I can't be perfect

"What is this?" Hige asked himself as he cleaned, "It's ok I guess…"

I try not to think

About the pain I feel inside

Did you know you used to be my hero?

All the days you spend with me

Now seem so far away

And it feels like you don't care anymore

And now I try hard to make it

I just want to make you proud

I'm never gonna be good enough for you

I can't stand another fight

And nothing's all right

'Cuz we lost it all

Nothing lasts forever

I'm sorry

I can't be perfect

Nothing's gonna change the things that you said

Nothing's gonna make this right again

Please don't turn your back

I can't believe it's hard

Just to talk to you

But you don't understand

'Cuz we lost it all

Nothing lasts forever

I'm sorry

I can't be perfect

'Cuz we lost it all

Nothing lasts forever

I'm sorry

I can't be perfect

Now it's just to late

And we can't go back

I'm sorry

I can't be perfect

"Hey, Hige," Josh called just as the song was ending.

"Yeah?" Hige replied.

"Can you come in here? I need a little help with this. I'm too short."

Too short? Hige asked himself as he walked back to the bathroom.

"Hey, can you wash the top of this?" Josh asked as Hige entered the room.

"Uhhh…" Hige said as he saw Josh standing on the toilet trying to reach the top of the shelf that hung on the wall above the toilet.

"See, I'm too short."

"Well, here first of all put the lid down so you don't fall in," Hige said as he lefted Josh off the toilet and put him on the floor.

"Oh yeah… I was gonna do that…" Josh replied rubbing the back of his head with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Uh huh…." Hige said as he put down the lid, "Now it's safe to stand on."

"Yeah, but I'm still to short."

"I know, I'm just saying," Hige replied as he got up on the toilet and washed the shelf.

"Wow, you're really tall when you stand on there," Josh said.

"Yeah, yeah…. Now go finish the kitchen floor while I do this," Hige replied.

"Ok," Josh replied and left to do the kitchen.

20 minutes later….

"Hi, I'm home," Cassi said as she walked in.

"Hi Mom," Josh said as he and Hige sat on the couch.

"Hey, I thought you guys were going to clean the bathroom and the kitchen, not sit here and watch TV," Cassi said in a disappointed voice as she walked over to them.

"We did, it's all done," Josh said.

"Really?" Cassi asked.

"Yeah, we did it all," Hige replied.

"I have got to see this…" Cassi said and went to the kitchen.

"Boy is she gonna be surprised," Hige said.

"How do you know?" Josh asked as he looked from the TV screen to Hige.

"Because, didn't you see the look on her face? I don't think she believed us."

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right…" Josh replied.

"Wow, you guys did a wonderful job," Cassi said with a smile as she looked around the kitchen and bathroom.

"Told ya," Hige said.

"Yeah," Josh said with a laugh.

"You guys did a great job wow…" Cassi said happily as she reentered the living room.

"It wasn't easy let me tell you," Josh said, "Why, if it wasn't for Hige I could of died."

"What?" Cassi asked very concerned.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for Hige I would have fallen in the toilet," Josh said with a laugh.

"Oh I see," Cassi replied with a laugh. "Well, Hige, it looks like you paid your debt in full. Here are your things," Cassi said as she handed Hige a bag.

"Thanks very much," Hige said as he took the bag, which felt heavy for only having things to take care of wounds in it. "Whoa hey, what's all this?" Hige asked as he looked in the bag and saw lots of food along with the bandages and things.

"That's all for you and you're friends. I figured you didn't leave him alone in that condition. So I got some extra food for whoever is watching him," Cassi replied.

"Really? Wow, thanks so much!" Hige said happily.

"No problem, you earned it," Cassi replied. "Well, I'm sure your friend really needs those things. How about I give you a lift."

"Really? You'd give me a ride too?" Hige asked surprised.

"Yeah, I said I would before remember?" Cassi replied.

"Oh yeah… I remember…. I guess," Hige said.

"Well, do you want to go then?" she asked as she walked over to the door.

"Yeah, I guess I'd better," Hige replied and followed her. The sound of their footsteps was absorbed by the brown carpet making it silent except for the TV.

"Josh, I'll be back in a little while, be good," Cassi said.

"I will," Josh replied.

"See ya later," Hige said and gave a little wave to Josh.

"See ya," Josh replied as Hige left.

"Hey thanks a lot for helping today," Cassi said as they got in her car. "To tell you the truth, I never thought Josh would work while I was gone."

"Hey, no problem. It's you who deserves the thanks, especially for all this food," Hige replied as he looked through the bag.

"It's no trouble really," Cassi replied, "Josh always tells me I buy too much anyway."

"But still…" Hige said.

"So where are we going?" Cassi asked.

"Oh sorry… remember where I met you today? It's not far from there," Hige replied.

"Ok, I'll go over there then you tell me where to go next."

"Sure," Hige said as Cassi drove him back to where Kiba and Toboe were waiting.