Chicken Lesson

The next morning I wake up and I'm confused by my surroundings. After blinking my eyes a few times I remember where I was. Mirabelle and Julia had let me sleep in the spare room of their house. All the events of yesterday come back to me as I sit up in the bed.

I stretch my back and pull on a shirt. Almost groggily, I head to the kitchen for breakfast. As I reach the kitchen I hear someone enter the store. The kitchen was right beside the main room, so I couldn't enter without being spotted.

I sigh gently. I'm about to steel myself and head in there, but then I hear the conversation going on.

"Morning Jules" Chelsea says.

Julia was up at six in the morning? Wow things have changed.

"Morning Chelsea. How're you?"

"Fine. A little tired though."

"Oh? How come?"

It takes her a second to respond. I guess that she had shrugged, but I can't see her. "I don't know. It's a lot of work. I'm not used to doing this much physical exercise."

Julia laughs. "Better not tell Vaughn that. He'll chew you out for not being tough."

I frown. Did I really do that? I did yell at Julia once when she was lying on the couch after doing only two push ups, but she deserved it.

Chelsea doesn't say anything to that. Julia speaks up. "So what do you think of him? Did he actually say something to you while you were showing him around yesterday?"

My interest perks. I'm not entirely sure why. Chelsea doesn't say anything and I wish I could see her expression.

Finally she does speak. "He can be nice when he wants."

Julia gasps and in my mind I can see her shocked expression. "He was actually nice to you?"

I scowl again. I didn't think I was that mean. Maybe my words messed up more often than I thought.

"Well he was mean too." Chelsea adds. "But he was very gracious."

"My cousin. Gracious?" Julia laughs. "You must introduce me to this person you seem to think is my cousin."

Julia laughs again. I scowl behind the wall. I was just about ready to grab breakfast and head back to my room when Julia says something that catches my attention.

"Did you really mean what you said at the beach yesterday?"

"What part?" Chelsea asks.

"Don't play dumb with me." Julia sighs. "You said that he was hot."

The colour on my face would have rivaled a tomato. I can't help but wonder what colour Chelsea's face was.

"Yeah I meant it." Chelsea says nervously.

Julia makes puking sounds. "That's really gross."

There's a sound of a chair scrapping the floor. I assume that Chelsea pulled out a chair to sit next to Julia.

"I'm serious though!" Her voice sounds excited. "Have you ever really looked at your cousin?"

Julia makes more puking sounds. "No and I don't intend on it."

"What does he do for a job?" Chelsea asks suddenly.

"He works with animals."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?" Julia asks in confusion.

"His build." Chelsea says as Julia groans.

"Chelsea please stop. You're going to permanently scar me." Julia begs.

"How did he get that kind of colour in his eyes?"

"I don't know. I'm not a genetics expert."

"They're very-"Chelsea stops in the middle of her sentence. I desperately wish I could see them.

Julia speaks up. "I don't want to hear it."

I swear I could feel Chelsea roll her eyes. "I have to listen to you talk about Elliot all the time."

Well that confirmed my suspicion that they had a thing. Weird though. I would have to have a serious talk with Elliot later about it.

Julia sighs. "Fine. Go on."

"Nah, I'm good." I could hear the laughter in her tone.

"What?" Julia replies shocked. "So now you won't tell me? That's not cool Chelsea."

She laughs and I smile at the sound. "His hair reminds me of snow."

"That's creepy." Julia says.

"Don't interrupt! His eyes…"She trails off and sighs.

"What? What about his eyes? You can barely see them beneath his hat." Julia laughs.

Speaking of, I didn't have that on. I almost start to panic. If I walked out there without my hat on, how would I hide?

"His eyes…"Chelsea starts. "Nah, I can't tell you."

Julia groans. "Come one! You have to tell me now!"

"Nope." Chelsea says punctuating the p in the word.

"Come on, please tell me!"

My stomach growls at me, and I realize that I need food badly. This was as good a time as any. Before I can talk myself out of it, I enter the room.

Both girls fall silent. I glance over at them and find Chelsea blushing furiously, avoiding my gaze. Julia was avoiding my look too.

Quickly I take some leftover porridge and milk out of the fridge. As soon as I have them I walk back to my room, wishing I could have run.

Once I'm in my room, I shut the door behind me and release breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I place my food down on a table and quickly put on the rest of my clothes.

Lastly I place my hat on my head, and I feel instantly better. I grab my food and sit down at a desk. Then I remember I forgot my spoon on the counter.

Silently I curse myself. Resigning myself to the inevitable, I get up to go get a spoon. I open the door and run smack into Chelsea.

We both fall back, startled. I pull my hat down over my eyes, glad I had put it on. She's blushing furiously as she hands me a spoon.

"I noticed you forgot this." She whispers.

I take it from her and retreat backwards a few steps. I close the door, but a breeze picks it up and slams it shut instead.

I wince slightly and then sigh. Now she would think I was a jerk. I head back to my desk and begin to eat my porridge.

Suddenly I hear a knocking at the door. I'm surprised so I don't answer. The door opens slowly and Chelsea appears in my doorway. She sees me and walks over.

She sits down on my bed. I have to admit that my heart rate picked up a notch when she did that. It reminded me of the last time a girl sat on my bed. I shake my head, clearing the thought from my head.

Chelsea gives me a puzzled look and then she rises off of my bed and leans against he wall instead. I feel like kicking myself again. Why was it that I had to make motions to my subconscious?

"You can sit on the bed." I tell her gruffly.

She gives me another puzzled look but she sits back down. I take another spoonful of porridge, and turn from her. I could feel my face heating from her staring.

"Porridge?" She asks.

"I like porridge." I reply.

"Isn't that old fashioned?"

I shrug. "It tastes good. That's why I eat it."

"Milk?" She asks again.

I turn and narrow my eyes at her, but she was smiling. "It tastes good."

"But together?" She smiles as she asks the question.

I was annoyed. What gave her the right to ask me all these questions? "None of your business."

Her smile falters. "It's just a question."

"That's the point." I mutter.

She tilts her head and gives me a slight smile. I pull my hat tighter over my head as I finish my breakfast. I drown the milk once I'm done with the porridge.

I gather my dishes and she walks ahead of me back to the main room. After taking a deep breath, I follow. When I arrive, Julia is gone and Chelsea is deep in conversation with Mirabelle. Warily, I place my dishes in the washing machine.

"Oh, Vaughn. You're going to teach Chelsea how to look after chickens today?" Mirabelle looks over at me her blue eyes shining.

I nod. "Yes Mirabelle."

She smiles at me, flipping her short blond hair. "That's very nice of you. Chelsea came here this morning to buy a chicken. Would you go into the back with her and help her pick one out?"

"Sure." I say. Chelsea smiles at me as I head to the back with her following.

We reach the back where Mirabelle keeps the animals. I walk over to the chicken pen with Chelsea gazing in admiration at all the animals.

I open the pen and motion for her to go first. She smiles at me slightly and enters. I follow her and close the pen behind us.

Looking down at all the chickens, I smile slightly. As I watch the chickens, I forget that Chelsea is right behind me. I get down on my stomach and the chickens come over to me. I pick up some feed in my hand and hold it in front of my face. The chickens come over and start pecking my hand.

It tickles my palm and I chuckle. One of the baby chicks comes over to me. It rubs against my hand, and I pick it up with my free hand. I give the chick priority over the full grown chickens, and the little chick pecks my hand. It chirps and ruffles its fluff. I smile at the chick.

"I want that one." Chelsea says behind me and I remember that she was behind me.

I drop the feed on the ground and scramble to my feet. The chick was still in my hand and it chirps at me. Chelsea holds her hands out to me.

I place the chick in her hands, but as I do my fingertips graze her hands. The chick is in her hands and mine are still touching hers. Was it just me or were my hands tingling from her touch? She looks up at me with wide eyes and I quickly snatch my hands away.

My hands are stuffed deep into my pockets and her face is slightly blushing. The chick chirps again and she turns her attention to it.

Chelsea smiles at the little chick and holds it to her face. She rubs the chick against her face, and the chick seemed to really enjoy it. For a second, I'm jealous of the chick. I quickly boot the thought from my head.

She looks up at me with the chick still in her hands. "May I buy this one?"

I nod at her, unable to say anything. She smiles at me, and I gesture for her to go first. With the chicken safely in her hands, Chelsea begins to walk back to the front of the store. After pulling my hat down again, I follow her.

When I enter the room, Chelsea is paying Mirabelle for the chick.

"Thank you so much." She says. "Vaughn was really helpful."

Mirabelle cocks an eyebrow at me, and Chelsea blushes. I pull my hat tighter over my head.

"So what are you going to name it honey?" Mirabelle asks her.

Chelsea cuddles with the chick for a minute. Her face was vibrant and she smiled as the chick's fluff brushed her cheek. "I think I'll name it Amour."

"Amour?" I choke out in horror. "That's an awful name for a chicken."

She frowns and her eyes look misty. Mirabella glares at me for a minute and then turns to comfort her. "It's okay Chelsea. It's a wonderful name."

Chelsea sniffles. "It's French."

"For what? Barf?" I can't help it. I had suspected she'd pick something stupid like Fluff or Fuzz, but she didn't even pick something in her own language. Although deep down I was impressed. It was far more original than anything I could come up with.

She glares at me and cuddles the chick as if to protect its hearing. "It means love. I'm going to love this chick like no chick has ever been loved before."

She looks at me straight in the eye. "The chick seemed to love you too."

I'm instantly ashamed. I pull my hat down, but I can't pull it down far enough to hide the pain in my heart. I'm glad she can't see the pain crossing my face.

Chelsea passes some money to Mirabelle. "Thanks again. I really appreciate it."

"No problem dear." Mirabelle answers. "Vaughn, help Chelsea take the fodder back to her farm."

I take the fodder from Mirabelle that Chelsea had just bought. Chelsea carries the chick in her hands. She thanks Mirabelle again and then leaves the store. I'm just about to follow her when a hand falls on my shoulder.

"Vaughn." Mirabelle starts.

"I know." I grumble at her, shaking her hand off of my shoulder. I nudge the door open with my foot and then I follow Chelsea.

When I catch up to her, she's talking to Taro. He has a chick in his hands and I notice that it's not the same chick Chelsea just bought.

"Oh, Taro. I just bought a chick. You didn't have to get one for me." Chelsea says to him.

"Nonsense." The old man waves his hand like it was nothing. "Now you have two chickens."

He hands her the chick and she holds it in her hands with Amour. Chelsea giggles as the chicks chirp at her.

Taro harrumphs. "So what are you going to name it?"

She looks at me nervously. I keep my face neutral as I can't pull my hat down with my hands full of fodder. Chelsea looks back to Taro with a thoughtful expression.

With a tilt of her head to the side, she purses her lips. Then she looks at me. "Vaughn, I can't think of anything. You want to pick a name?"

I hide my face behind the fodder. I knew very well she could think of at least a dozen names for the chick, but she was letting me pick because of how I had acted before. Now I felt even worse.

Taro looks between the two of us. It might have just been me, but I think I saw understanding cross the old man's face. "It's okay. You can name it later."

Chelsea smiles at him. "Thanks Taro. I'll see you later."

Taro looks at her. "Alright missy." Then he walks off.

She sighs and continues walking. I follow behind her quietly. We walk the same way I saw her going yesterday until we reach a farm.

I look around. Right now, it wasn't much to sneeze at. The house was old and rickety and looked like it would have an awful draft. My eyes narrow at that. I didn't like the idea. She might get sick.

The field itself was a horror to behold. Weeds were strewn everywhere and there were huge boulders and stumps. Although little twigs and stone were absent from the field, and there was a whole section of the field that was plowed and had crops growing.

Turnips and potatoes, I note. They looked like they would be ready to harvest in a few days.

Chelsea observes her own farm with me. She sighs. "I know it's not much to look at right now, but eventually I hope to have this farm back in its prime."

I look down at her, and see her eyes light up. "I'll have crops all on one side of the field, of all varieties. The other side of the field I'll plant grass for all my animals to graze on." She points to the far end of the plot of land. "Over there, I'll have a huge barn to hold sheep and cows." She points to a tiny coop house. "I'll expand the chicken coop so it'll hold a bunch of chickens. They'll all roam free on sunny days." Her eyes light up even brighter. "It'll be beautiful."

I couldn't help but see what she meant. The passion in her voice when she spoke about it left me nearly breathless. She really seemed to love this farm. Maybe she would do a good job.

She sighs. "I have a lot of work to do until then though." She looks up at me and smiles. "You ready?"

I nod my head at her from behind the fodder. She smiles at me slightly and then leads the way to the chicken coop.

Once inside I put the fodder down in the fodder bucket provided. Then I turn to her. She still had the chicks in her hands and she was looking at me expectantly.

I pull my hat down to cover my eyes and then I begin. "Raising chickens is really simple. One chicken needs only one bushel of fodder."

I reach down to where I'd placed the fodder. I remove a piece and show her. "This is how big one bushel is. You place it here."

With her eyes on me, I walk over to the feeding spaces. I bend down and place the fodder in one of the spaces. "A chick only eats about half a bushel, so until they're fully grown you only have to place one piece here a day."

Then I stand and look at her. "Other than that, there's not much to do. You spend time with them, cuddle them a bit and let them out when it's sunny. They'll find their own food."

I lower my hat darkly and purposely speak deeper to try and scare her a bit. "But make sure you put them back before nightfall. There are wild dogs around here and they will kill and eat your chickens if given the chance."

She clutches the chickens a little tighter to her chest. I nearly chuckle. "But if you get a dog and he becomes loyal to you, he will chase off the dogs."

"That's it?" Chelsea asks.

I nod my head. She kneels down on her knees and puts the chicks on the ground. They jump from her hands and run around like children hyped up on chocolate. After a minute they calm down and peck at the ground like normal chickens.

"They're so cute." Chelsea sighs.

Then she stands back up and walks over to me. "You sure you don't want to name the other chick?"

I nod my head. She could name the chick whatever she wanted. I wouldn't comment on it again.

She nods and watches the chicks. While she watched them, her face became really calm and gentle. Was that how I looked around animals? Maybe I should ask her…

No. I couldn't ask her something like that. It was too weird for me.

"Popcorn." She says suddenly. "I'll name it Popcorn."

I blink a few times. "Popcorn?" Had I head that correctly?

She nods her head. "Yep. Love Popcorn. Get it?"

I don't laugh. "Name it something else. Yellow if you have to. Just not popcorn."

Chelsea smiles. "Yellow it is."

I pause. What had just happened? She laughs at the confusion that must have shown on my face. I would have to remember not show so much emotion around this girl. It was a little hard though. She was nice to be around.

"See, I wanted you to name it. So in order for you to do that, I said something really ridiculous. And it worked." Chelsea gives me a smug look.

I had to hand it to her. It was pretty clever. I did fall for it. She looks down at the chicks again and I smile slightly. Although I make it disappear when she turns around.

"Thanks for teaching me about the chickens. I really appreciate it." Chelsea smiles again.

I nod. She seemed way too comfortable around me. It was beginning to unnerve me. Without another word, I leave the chicken coop.

Wow. That was longer than I thought. I guess this will be the usual length then. Sorry about the abrupt ending, but I couldn't think of anything else to add on that seemed to fit. Well, please review and if you have any ideas please send them in!