Two Different Animals, One Close Bond
Chapter 3: Coming over for the Night
That night, Maurice had just finished getting all his things. He looked up to see that Julien was asleep to his relief and so was Mort. "I wouldn't want them to find out where I've been." Maurice said to himself. Making sure they didn't hear him, he headed out of the Lemur Habitat and was off straight away to Marlene's place.
There, Marlene was waiting for him. "I'm sure he can't be taking too long." Marlene said to herself. She looked over at the entrance and smiled when she saw Maurice. "There you are, Maurice. I was wondering why you were taking so long." Marlene explained as Maurice came inside.
"Sorry, Marlene. I had to make sure that Julien didn't see me." Maurice explained. Marlene crossed her arms and smiled. "Didn't want him to get suspicious, huh?" she asked. Maurice nodded in agreement, which Marlene found very understandable. "That's him, all right." Maurice commented.
"Did you get everything?" Marlene asked. "Yes, I did. I wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything behind." Maurice explained. Marlene had to admit, she had no idea that Maurice was so organized. It was refreshing for her when compared to her past experiences having roommates stay with her.
"Have you had roommates over before, Marlene?" Maurice asked. "Yeah, but they haven't really gone too well. You heard about Rhonda, didn't you?" Marlene asked. Maurice nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I did. Skipper told me all about it." Maurice explained. Rhonda was a roommate that Marlene had stay with her earlier on. However, it became clear that Rhonda was not a suitable roommate.
And for good reason, Rhonda was not someone that used manners. On top of her rude and obnoxious behaviour, she also insulted Marlene by calling her 'Rat-face' when as a matter of fact, Marlene was quite the opposite of that.
Maurice watched as Marlene sat down nearby, looking very upset. Confused, Maurice came over and sat down next to her. "What's wrong, Marlene?" he asked, concerned. Marlene looked up at him and sighed.
"Maurice, I haven't been able to tell anyone before. But even though I normally show that I'm okay with my social life and I don't show any interest in boys, that's actually not true." Marlene explained. Maurice was surprised; he didn't expect to hear that Marlene really had a sensitive side to her but was never able to show it.
"You mean, you don't let the rest see the real you? Why not?" Maurice asked, alarmed. Marlene felt upset, but nonetheless decided to explain why she always did this. "It's because I don't want to make myself look like I don't matter to anyone. I don't want anyone to think that I'm not who they think I am; I never want to feel like I'm nobody to them." Marlene explained. Maurice could understand; he had been through that experience once before and didn't enjoy it. But he didn't see any reason as to why Marlene would think something like that; it just didn't seem like her.
"Marlene, if that were ever to happen to you, I think you would still matter to someone who thinks of you as the one person they live for. That someone would do anything to make you happy, because it makes them happy in return." Maurice explained. Marlene was amazed; she had no idea that Maurice was so familiar with all of this that she thought he wouldn't be able to understand.
"Do you really mean that, Maurice?" she asked, wordless. Maurice looked over at Marlene. "If there's something I know about this, it's that to the world you may be one person, but to one person you're the world." Maurice explained in response to Marlene's question.
Marlene smiled; she was so amazed by how much Maurice really knew. She had to wonder why she didn't see him before; it was actually so amazing to listen to what he had to say, because it made her feel incredible inside even though she didn't know why.
"Thanks, Maurice. I'm glad to know that you understand; it makes me feel happy to know that there's one person I can turn to. And it's also relieving to know that they understand." Marlene said. Maurice smiled; he was really happy to see that Marlene was a lot happier now. He wasn't sure why, but there was nothing he liked more than knowing that Marlene was happy.
"I think we should get some sleep now." Maurice said. "Yeah, good idea. I could use some rest after today." Marlene agreed. With that, she turned the lamp that was near her bed off. They were both unaware of how difficult things were going to get soon, but it was going to result in a change for the better for them.