Alright readers, here is the fourth chapter of this story!
Now, everything that was written out in this chapter was stuff that came to mind. I had to think a lot just to figure out what to write for this chapter. And while it took me a bit to write, I finally have gotten it written out.
Anyway, with this chapter, we focus back on CDMS, Adam manages to get the aggravation on his chest with someone important, and a few other things will happen. How will this go? Find out now!
AT CHARLES DARWIN MIDDLE SCHOOL - 7:12
It was a brand new day in the city of Glendale. And for Adam, it meant another not-so-fun-filled day at Charles Darwin Middle School, since it was Tuesday. So he had to get out of bed and get ready for the school day.
Despite not feeling excited about going to CDMS today, he did seem quite fond of last night when Kerry came over to visit, and they talked. He felt a good amount of stress was let off of his chest, and he was happy that Kerry was there for him. If only things at his animal school could be resolved, especially with Jake.
Nonetheless, Adam decided to maintain a good amount of optimism today, while thinking about what Kerry told him, and wondering if he should ever come out with telling her how he feels about her.
I wonder if I should tell Kerry at one point how I 'really' feel about her... Adam thought. Eh, I'll do it later on at some point. Maybe I'll tell her on a later day if I can muster up enough courage...
With that thought fresh on his mind, Adam headed straight to CDMS to get another crazy day there done and over with. The minute he stepped into the school, he could hear several students talking amongst each other. Adam didn't pay any attention to them as he kept walking straight for his locker.
He also had to wonder what sort of trouble Jake was going to get him into today. He was afraid to find out for himself. He had approached his locker when he heard Jake call out for him.
"Hey Adam," Jake hollered as he swing from vine to vine until he landed right next to the human student, getting his attention. "How's it going, buddy?"
"Alright, I guess," Adam shrugged with a straight expression on his face while opening his locker. "Nothing unusual."
"Oh," Jake then decided to ask. "So, looking forward to another day at CDMS?"
"I dunno," Adam sighed. "It's the same thing as every other day at this school. I just want this day to be done and over with."
"Well not to worry Adam," Jake assured him. "Today's looking to be a fantabulous day here at old CDMS. You can take my word for it."
"The thing is every time you tell me that, you end up getting us into all sorts of trouble, Jake," Adam pointed out dryly.
"Well it won't be like any of those other times," Jake remarked. "This time it'll be different. Trust me."
"How do you know it'll be different this time?" Adam asked with a deadpan tone in his voice.
"You'll see," Jake said before laughing to himself.
He then stopped laughing when the morning announcements were heard on the intercom.
"Attention students. This is Principal Pixiefrog with the morning announcement," Pixiefrog started the announcements. "Due to an incident regarding a member of our student body, I hereby issue a new school rule, that all students are prohibited from throwing animal droppings of any kind at any of our students, regardless of their species and their appearance."
Needless to say, several students were heard complaining about that new rule being set, including Jake.
"Aw nuts," Jake griped. "I always wanted to see what it'd be like if I threw my 'own' animal droppings at someone."
"Well that's too bad Jake," Adam had a smile on his face. "Pixiefrog just made it official. Now there will be no more getting pelted by animal droppings at this school."
"Oh, sure. Rub it in, why don't ya," Jake complained as the announcements continued.
"Now I know all of you are complaining. But just know that this new rule is being placed to satisfy all within our student body," Pixiefrog continued. "We sure would love to avoid any lawsu-errr I mean, any growing conflicts that could occur amongst any of the students in ol' CDMS. That is all for the morning announcements."
After that was done, the students stopped looking at the speaker and went back to doing what they were doing. Several students were heard complaining about the new rule that Pixiefrog had enforced on the school, regarding animal droppings. By contrast, Adam was pretty relieved about that.
"Well, I guess that's been settled," Adam said in satisfaction as he opened his locker and grabbed a couple of books, on top of putting his backpack in there.
"Oh come on Adam!" Jake yelled in shock. "Aren't you even a little upset about this!?"
"To be honest Jake, no. I'm not upset," Adam answered in a nonchalant tone. "We humans don't go and throw our 'own' droppings regularly."
"Well you should try it," Jake attempted to encourage him. "You don't know what you're missing out on."
"I'll pass, thanks Jake," Adam told him sharply. "And I know what I'm missing out on. And frankly, I don't care. I'm not going to stoop to the level that most of the students here are at."
"Including me, I suppose," Jake frowned deeply.
"Gee Jake, what do you think," Adam retorted as he grabbed his books and slammed his locker. "I don't see what's so great about it anyway. And besides, I could get in so much trouble for doing it."
"Hmph! So I guess that's that," Jake huffed as he crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows at him. "You're never willing to have any fun around here. And I thought our friendship established the two of us being on the same page."
"Jake..." Adam warned, giving him a glare of his own. "Don't even start..."
"Okay fine! Sheesh!" Jake yelled, throwing his arms up. "What more do you want, Mr. Insensitive Boring Buzzkill of a Human?!"
Adam looked like he was about to give another retort in response as he rolled his eyes. However, before he did so, the rest of the pack approached them, apparently hearing Jake's screeching from nearby.
"Uh, we heard some screaming coming from nearby," Windsor was the first to speak. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Oh, Adam here is just glad about how PF banned us from throwing our droppings at other students since he doesn't know how to have fun," Jake exclaimed, pointing an accusation finger at Adam, causing the redhead boy to glare at him in response.
"Ah yes. The new school regulation forbidding us from using our various messes as projectiles," Windsor seemed to understand. "Frankly, I've been wondering if something would be done with the constant scent of other various messes on so many of the students here. I 'personally' feel that hurling our messes should be saved for special occasions."
"I dunno about that one, man," Slips commented. "Frankly, I only enjoy the scent of some of the droppings that are left behind. That and it makes a great choice for redecorating these halls dude."
"Ick. Gross! You boys are 'horribly' sick in the cabeza," Lupe griped. "Everyone knows that our droppings are used for proclaiming territory!"
"Well, that is true," Ingrid said shyly. "I have heard that the droppings of certain animals can make great fertilizer."
"So I've heard as well, precisely if you have any relations to the bovine," Windsor stated.
"And I just like throwing the stuff at people," Jake declared. "It's not any different than how humans behave in public."
"What's that supposed to mean, Jake?" Adam was offended by that.
"Oh, don't pretend like you don't know Adam," Jake told him sharply, poking Adam in the chest. "I've seen plenty of humans come to the zoo, where they throw trash, drinks, popcorn, cans, bottles, and even corndogs at us. So don't act like other humans are civilized."
"Okay, but that doesn't go for all humans," Adam argued. "Some of us prefer to maintain manners, class, formality, and even act dignified. On top of being civil."
"Whatever you say, Adam," Jake yawned in boredom and waved him off. "Whatever you say."
"Right," Adam rolled his eyes at this as he walked off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna head to class. And I suggest you guys do the same...unless you want to be late again."
"Fair enough," Windsor shrugged. "Shall we make our way to our first-period class?"
Slips, Lupe, and Ingrid all gave their 'own' comments in agreement at that before they all turned around to face Jake and see what he has to say about it.
"Okay, fine," Jake sighed. "If you say so. Let's just get to class..."
Without saying anything else, the pack all followed Adam to their first-period class. They could only wonder what today would bring for them at CDMS, especially Adam. All he could do was wait and see for himself...
Quite some time had passed since then. And now Adam was in Ms. Chameleon's Drama Class for his third-period class, along with Jake and the rest of the pack. As her last name implies, Ms. Chameleon was a chameleon with green-colored skin, and she was sitting on a branch, under a heating lamp, meant to keep her warm, and is occasionally used as a spotlight.
And judging from the looks of things, she was wrapping up the lecture that she was giving to the rest of the class.
"And in conclusion, class, that is precisely why Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is by far, the most tragic tale of love that has ever been told if I do say so, myself," Ms. Chameleon said in a rather slow manner with a faux-British accent. "You can take it from Mr. Armadillo. His life has been...one tragic tale of loneliness and isolation."
Everyone's attention was turned toward Henry. Henry was shown as a little, grayish-tan armadillo, who wears thick, unframed glasses which magnify his eyes so that they're seen as giant black pupils. It's also worth noting that this happens to be his only clothing garment on. Noticing the attention he was getting, Henry decided to get his word out.
"Oh, ya got that right Ms. Chameleon. And might I say that I'm mighty honored that y'all think of me that way," Henry said with his usual Texan accent. "Why, just knowin' this makes me feel as jittery as a rattlesnake in a pickle barrel."
"You know, I've always wondered what it'd be like to be in a pickle barrel dude," Slips remarked.
"Hmmm...Rattlesnake in a pickle barrel?" Jake rubbed his chin in curiosity. "Now where have I heard of that one from?"
"Uh, clearly you're thinking of a cartoon that I've heard about before," Windsor told him dryly.
"Yeah, man," Slips commented in a chill kind of tone before he realized something. "Uh wait, what's a cartoon?"
"Well Slips, you're sitting in one," Windsor answered. "Technically, we're all sitting in one."
"No way dude. We're in a cartoon?" Slips sounded surprised. "Wow. That's like...wicked cool and stuff."
"Oh my goodness! You boys are loco!" Lupe gave her input. "Everyone knows that cartoons are just ficción! Isn't that right Ingrid?"
"Uhhh, yeah. You're so right Lupe," Ingrid shyly agreed. "Cartoons are fiction."
"Bah, says you," Jake waved off. "It is every boy's dream to star in their 'own' cartoon show!"
"Yes, Mr. Spidermonkey," Ms. Chameleon said. "Everyone has lived in a cartoon once before, in some shape or form."
"Well, that explains everything," Jake commented with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Adam was shown minding his own business as he was writing down some notes. While he was doing that, he's been thinking a lot about the predicament he's been in since he's been transferred to Charles Darwin Middle School.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized his life has been a tragedy; just in a different sense. Before the transfer to CDMS, some of the bad things that happened to him were occasional and merely minor, such as wetting his pants in the first grade. It just became more noticeable when he was banished to CDMS, especially after the exchange program he took part in where he saw that CAMS wasn't any better.
And to think I thought my whole life before the transfer was perfect. Adam thought with a frown. I guess it wasn't. It only got worst after the fact.
With that thought in mind, Adam kept writing as Ms. Chameleon decided to speak again.
"Now class, which one of you would like to share with us what tragic misfortune, and great downfall you had to experience?" she instructed, wondering who'd go first. "Except for Mr. Armadillo."
"Well shoot," Henry snapped his fingers. "I was hopin' to share my whole life story for the whole class."
"Well?! Who'd like to go first?!" Ms. Chameleon ignored Henry as she saw someone raise their fin. "Yes, Mr. Sharkowski?!"
Bull Sharkowski was identified as a giant, blue shark with sharp, pointy teeth and silver braces. He was also wearing a pair of blue headphones with water flowing through them. The headphones are strapped over his gills, so that he can breathe when he's out of water, being a shark and all. He has a bit of mustache stubble above his mouth. And finally, he was wearing a black shirt with a picture of a frowning shark mouth on it. Bull put his fin down as he decided to share with Ms. Chameleon.
"Well Ms. C, one tragic event that has affected me was when only 10% of the students were available for me to bully, beat up, take their lunch money, and eat their lunches at school," Bull shared. "The horror. It was so horrifying, that I still can't sleep when I think about it."
"Terrific Mr. Sharkowski," Ms. Chameleon deadpanned before shouting. "NEXT!"
It was then Jake's hand shot up, getting Ms. Chameleon's attention. "Mr. Spidermonkey?!"
"Ms. Chameleon, I would just like to share that one tragic mishap that happened to me, was that I ran out of stuff to wax my butt, and I couldn't get any for three weeks," Jake exclaimed, showing his butt. "I had to go three weeks without staring at my butt because of it."
"Very interesting, Mr. Spidermonkey," Ms. Chameleon proclaimed slowly. "Who else would like to share their tragic mishap with the rest of the class?!"
"I have one," Windsor had his hand up. "A personal tragic experience that I have endured is the sad revelation and harsh truth that any 'and' all donations being held by corporations, including the space program, only hold these charity events for commercialization and materialism that infest many greedy companies out there."
"Very good Mr. Gorilla. NEXT!"
"Mine happens to be the fact that I didn't know of cartoons sooner man," Slips shared with the class.
"Hearing insults about how my beak is stupid, and having people compare it to that of Kiki Von Beaky!" Lupe yelled.
"Uh, finding out that there are not enough acacia trees growing where I live," Ingrid called out.
"Getting stepped on by everyone in the school," said James Ant, who was shown to be a tiny red fire ant with a yellow cap worn backward.
"My whole life's been a tragedy," Henry hollered out, trying to get their attention.
It was at this moment that everyone in the class (except Adam) started speaking all at once, wanting Ms. Chameleon to hear what tragic mishaps that they went through. Ms. Chameleon realized this and decided to get their attention.
"Okay, class! Settle down! Settle down," she proclaimed, getting them to quiet down. "Now, you all have shared some marvelous tragic mishaps today amongst the rest of the class."
Adam, meanwhile, was staying silent as he felt that his problems wouldn't 'really' fit the mold of what Ms. Chameleon was referring to as tragic; at least according to all the times when the animal students were judgmental about Adam's lifestyle and the way he does things. Ms. Chameleon took notice of Adam's silence and frown, and she decided to get his attention.
"Ahem! Excuse me, Mr. Lyon," Ms. Chameleon started. "Perhaps you have a tragic mishap that you'd like to share with the class. If you wouldn't mind."
Adam wasn't expecting her to ask him that at all, as all the attention was turned to him. He started sweating and shaking before he gulped and reluctantly responded.
"Uh, I'd rather not talk about it," Adam told her. "All I can say is it's difficult being the only human who attends this all-animal school."
"Oh, brother. Like we haven't heard this one before," Jake sounded annoyed that Adam brought that up.
"I see," Ms. Chameleon was intrigued as she moved her front-clawed legs on the branch she was standing on. "Would you care to elaborate a bit on that, Mr. Lyon?"
"Well, let me ask you this Ms. C; how many humans do you know that attend Charles Darwin Middle School?" Adam asked her.
The rest of the class was unable to say anything in response to that. They truly knew no other human who went to CDMS aside from Adam himself. So it wasn't a surprise that they couldn't think of something as a response to his question.
"Once again, Adam here has us on a technicality," Windsor said after a few moments of silence.
"Tell me about it," Jake grumbled. "We don't know any other human that goes to our school besides Adam."
"I see," Ms. Chameleon blinked and stared at Adam. "Then I assume that your tragic mishap is more on a personal level, regarding your transfer to CDMS. Is that correct?"
"Uh, I guess," Adam said while shrugging. "I mean, that is a good way to put it."
"Yes," Ms. Chameleon nodded slowly. "Well, my child, I shall admit that what you are experiencing isn't something that I can provide help for."
"Not like anyone could do anything about it anyway," Adam muttered with a rather cynical tone.
"But the way you worded it out to everyone was simply...divine, in a way," she told him. "I've never heard anything quite as astonishing from anyone else..."
"Well, I suppose that's a good thing," Adam tugged on his collar awkwardly. "But I think it's a better idea to talk with Mr. Mandrill about this."
"Sí. That is always a good idea," Lupe remarked. "Mr. Mandrill may help you. Or he may not!"
"And even if he doesn't, it wouldn't have hurt to try," Ingrid said. "I-I mean, it's the thought that counts, right?"
"Yeah. Well, he's probably going through those human phases he's always yapping about," Jake dismissed. "He'll feel better in the morning."
The rest of the students (bar Adam) talked in unison about what Jake just said, and that Adam was going through one of those human phases. They continued the discussion until Ms. Chameleon intervened and got their attention.
"QUIET STUDENTS! QUIET!" Ms. Chameleon yelled, getting them to stop yapping and sit back in their seats. "Now, let's get back to today's lesson, shall we?"
And so Ms. Chameleon went back to teaching her drama class to the rest of the students, as Adam was in deep thought and 'really' was considering seeing Mr. Mandrill for help. After all, this wasn't a phase that he was going through as Jake puts it. He was 'really' upset about his experiences at CDMS, and just how much of a poor friend Jake has been to him. He could only hope that talking with Mandrill would help him get through everything okay...
Sometime later, after drama class was over, Adam decided to go to the guidance counselor's room since he wasn't missing anything necessarily important. He told the pack that he'll catch up later, as this was something that he needed to take care of.
The guidance counselor's room wasn't anything too particular. Aside from a single red couch, the room was set up like most of the other rooms at the school, with some pond water, rocks, some trees, and even a couple of vines, plus a tire swing. Also worth noting was the mud splashes on the brick wall above the red couch, and there was a big tree stump with a hole in the center, and it had some branches with leaves. This was all made to fit Mr. Mandrill's particular needs.
Speaking of whom, Mr. Mandrill was in fact, a mandrill. There were two distinct traits present in Mr. Mandrill. The first was the red ponytail holder that was in his hair, which was used to keep part of his hair pulled back into a ponytail.
The second one was the blue t-shirt he wore, in which the edges of both sleeves were red with a zig-zag pattern going down the center, with a dot in between the edge of the zig-zags; the top part was a lighter shade of red. And what was also noticeable was the necklace that was present, with some lines shown going through the necklace, giving it an appearance similar to a bead necklace.
As Adam sat comfortably on the couch, Mr. Mandrill made himself comfortable by remaining perched on the big tree stump in the center of the room. He gave the human student his full attention, took a deep breath, and decided to break the silence.
"Alright, Mr. Lyon, what brings you to my office of guidance for lost souls?" Mr. Mandrill questioned with his usual calm hippie tone.
"Well Mr. Mandrill," Adam started. "I have this problem that I need to get off of my chest that's been bothering me for a while."
"Yes. 'Clearly', everyone who has something to get off their chest needs to come to my place for relaxation, and to be free of stress," Mandrill proclaimed. "And what may I ask, is the dilemma that's got you to your breaking point?"
"Well, as everyone here knows, I've been attending CDMS for quite some time," Adam told him. "And well, it has been struggling, knowing that I'm the only human here who got sent here because of the mixup with my last name being Lyon."
"Wait, are you trying to tell me that you aren't a lion?" Mr. Mandrill had to ask.
"Of course not! I've always been a human. But that's not the only problem," Adam continued. "I also have a hard time fitting into this school since I'm nothing like everyone else here. I don't have fur, feathers, scales, or fins like all the others. All I have is pale skin, human clothes, and the hair on my head. And most of the students have bullied me because of that."
"Hmmm, that's true. I think I'm starting to get the picture," Mr. Mandrill rubbed his chin. "'Clearly' you have been suffering from withdrawals of being able to live amongst your 'own' kind at the human school, all because the 'man' refuses to correct one clerical error made with your last name which got you sent to this school in the first place."
"Uh, yeah. That sounds about right. Students have bullied and pummeled me daily. And I do feel like I nearly get eaten almost every day," Adam nodded and exclaimed. "But even then, I would be able to at least tolerate being at this school if it wasn't for one thing that's been making me feel miserable."
"Oh? Do tell," Mr. Mandrill raised an eyebrow curiously. "What is it about this school that has been making you experience misery to the point where you aren't even able to tolerate this particular education system?"
"Well, Mr. Mandrill, just between us," Adam leaned forward. "It's Jake."
"Mr. Spidermonkey?" Mandrill blinked in surprise. "What does he have to do with your misery?"
"Uh, everything, I guess," Adam started. "I can tolerate being seen as an outcast since I've dealt with it for a while. But I can't stand how much of a bad friend Jake can be towards me, and how I always get in trouble for his antics."
"I see," Mandrill then encouraged. "Please continue Mr. Lyon."
"Right," Adam did so as he started. "Every time Jake does something by causing trouble to anyone in the school, such as messing with Principal Pixiefrog's scooter and dumping a bucket of chum on his head, I always get the full blame for it, even though I had no role in it. There were many instances that I felt put a strain on our one-sided friendship, such as the time he sabotage my chance at bringing my friend Kerry to the school dance. There was that time when he stole all the glass door knobs from my house. The egg assignment we had in Mr. Hornbills' class was where the eggs hatched into birds. And Jake acted like a complete hypocrite about being responsible! And I can't forget the fact that he wrote lies about me in the school's newspaper while throwing me under the bus. And yet I get scolded for writing an article that turned out to be true, which I knew nothing about. Not to mention I was this close to getting that Princess Ballerina snowglobe when Jake won it and refused to give it to me. He then put it on an online auction and I didn't get it."
Adam took a deep breath as he felt anger creeping into his voice, as he continued. "There was the time I created the United Species to help bring peace to all the animals here, to prevent conflicts and lawsuits like Pixiefrog wanted. And then Jake decides to ruin all the hard work I put into it by inviting Kiki Von Beaky, forcing the United Species Organization to shut down permanently. All because I kicked him out for his unruly behavior. There was the time I had to pay a bill for Sloppy Trough that cost $596.78, in which Jake deserted me. And when I was in charge of the lookout tower, he destroyed the telescope and the emergency siren, in addition to filling the macadamia can with filberts and other nuts nobody likes, forcing me to pay another bill for Principal Pixiefrog. No matter what he gets me into, he usually (if always) throws me under the bus and leaves me to fix the mess he made!"
"Whoa, Mr. Lyon. Slow down. Seems to me that you have a lot on your chest that has put a massive strain on your friendship with Mr. Spidermonkey," Mr. Mandrill held his hands up. "And it has been building up for quite a while to the point where you wanted to freak out, as I quote. But what exactly was the straw that broke the camel's back in regards to you two?"
"What happened that drove me to finally take action? I'll tell you," Adam then decided to ask him. "Remember what happened on Saturday?"
"The mandatory charity drive that ol' PF wanted all the students to take part in? Yes," Mr. Mandrill was curious. "What about it?"
"Well Mr. Mandrill, in case you didn't know, but as usual, Jake was my partner. And when we took part in the drive, that's where things went 'horribly' wrong," Adam told him sharply. "Turns out Jake decided to sabotage our items and made several messes with three different groups of people! Resulting in us getting three days of detention, where I had to fix the messes Jake caused. The first one involved blowing bubblegum in the face of a pair of customers, in which they both got covered in wads of gums."
"Hmmm, I've heard about what happened. And I was curious about that too," Mr. Mandrill admitted. "What about the bubblegum incident?"
"Well, I should let you know that it took me at least 14 hours to remove all those wads of gum from the faces of that married couple," Adam continued. "And that included getting their hair shaved since it was impossible to remove the wads from their hair. That man beat me up for making his wife cry from being bald and ugly, and for ruining her life, which was all started by Jake. I got pummeled for something I didn't do!"
"Yeah. That does sound painful, and was an unfair circumstance that you were placed into," Mandrill proclaimed. "What about the second one, that involved a can?"
"Yes. Jake replaced a can of vegetables with a can of live snakes," Adam remarked. "And he gave the can to that woman who was revealed to have Ophidiophobia. She was scarred from seeing snakes come out of that can."
"Uh-huh. I believe you had told me about the Ophidiophobia case previously," Mr. Mandrill recalled. "Tell me, how did she turn out?"
"Well, with any amount of luck I could get, I managed to get through to her with your help, since psychology is something I know nothing about."
"That's true. It takes years of experience to be able to understand one's psyche, as well as digging into the deeper section of the dilemma."
"Tell me about it," Adam nodded. "She still got scared occasionally, but I gave her plenty of comfort and assurance regarding that. I just hope that it helps."
"Yeah," Mandrill understood where he was going. "With plenty of therapy and guidance, that woman should eventually find herself on the road to recovery, and no longer feeling a massive fear of snakes."
"Pretty much," Adam said simply.
"Anywho, there was one person left, right?" Mr. Mandrill got them back on track. "What happened to the last customer exactly."
"Well, Jake had forced this man to look at, admire and stare at his 'own' butt, which was sickening," Adam cringed upon remembering that. "I also had to spend countless hours doing everything that he wanted me to do for him. And I attempted every possible method to get him to stop seeing those horrible images of Jake's butt. I even puked five times because of it."
"Five times? My, that must've been a new record," Mandrill admitted. "Anyway, were you able to help him from that dilemma?"
"Thankfully, yes. I did," Adam sighed. "But it was still frustrating to be put through that, on top of how it was all done just to keep the school from getting sued when Jake should have taken care of the mess that he made, instead of having me do it. I became a laughingstock yesterday because I was blamed for it."
"So I've heard," Mr. Mandrill rubbed his chin, as he got down from his tree stump. "It would also explain why PF issued a mandate banning all students at this school from throwing animal droppings at other students. I suppose this was because you were pelted by their droppings, correct?"
"Ugh, I 'really' don't want to talk about that," Adam groaned and let out a sad sigh. "It's bad enough I was made fun of and I had my lunch taken from me from Bull, who also pummeled me afterwards."
"Fair enough," Mandrill approached the red couch. "Okay, it's all 'perfectly' clear to me now. Just about everything about your friendship with Jake has left said friendship in the pits."
"Just about," Adam nodded.
"Well Mr. Lyon, I want you to know that I can understand where you getting at with your friendship with Jake, which I can assume, is toxic to the core," Mr. Mandrill explained to him. "We've all been in that position where we made friends with someone who isn't all that he or she seems to be, and is 'actually' a bad influence."
"Uh huh," Adam agreed. "And I think Jake is obsessed with me, which is already creepy. And yet, he has no problem throwing me under the bus, and he doesn't 'really' care about my feelings, or about what I like to have or what I want to get out of life."
"Hmmm...that does prove to be an issue in your friendship with him," Mr. Mandrill proclaimed. "Well, I'm certainly glad that you brought this matter to my attention."
"Right. But please don't tell Jake about this," Adam begged. "I don't want him to know about it, and then have everyone else be mad at me because I feel that way."
"Sure. You're secret is safe with me," Mr. Mandrill assured him. "But what I want to ask is, are you going to tell him about it eventually?"
"Honestly, I don't know right now. I just don't feel comfortable with telling him about it, knowing how he'll act about it," Adam frowned. "He already overreacted when I told him one time that Bull went ape on me, which he claimed wasn't an insult. And he was jealous that I didn't give him that compliment instead."
"Yeah, that does make plenty of sense," said Mr. Mandrill. "Well, Mr. Lyon, all I can suggest to you is that you can find other ways to express your inner feelings and how all this has been affecting you personally."
"Like what?" Adam raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying, Mr. Mandrill?"
"I'm saying that you can always find creative ways of expressing your inner demons," Mandrill explained. "Nothing is telling you that you can be creative about getting by these trials that Mr. Spidermonkey puts you through. Not even the man can be able to stop you from doing so. After all, there's nothing better than putting it in your own words on paper about what you go through every day at our education system."
"Wait, you mean like writing in a journal about my problems?" Adam wondered.
"I mean put those inner struggles you're dealing with into your 'own personal' story," Mr. Mandrill told him.
"In other words, write in a journal," Adam deadpanned.
"Okay, fine. Yes," Mr. Mandrill sighed. "I was trying to be poetic."
"That's what I thought," Adam said. "I guess I can start writing in a journal about how I feel about my so-called friendship with Jake."
"Exactly," Mr. Mandrill went along with it. "And remember, it's your journal. You don't have to share what you write with anybody, no matter what the man tells you otherwise."
"Right," Adam nodded. "It's sorta like a diary, which is what you write something personal in and never allow anyone else to read what you wrote in it."
"I see," Mr. Mandrill proclaimed. "Well anyway, it's entirely up to you whether you want to tell Jake about your...problem."
"Right. I think I'm gonna hold off on that," Adam remarked. "Besides, I think it's better if I write my feelings in a journal."
"Yeah, that reminds me," Mr. Mandrill decided to ask. "Do you have an empty notebook on you?"
"I believe so," Adam shrugged. "I got a couple of blank ones in my locker."
"Oh. You sure?" Mr. Mandrill raised an eyebrow. "I have a couple of spares if you need any."
"I'm sure I do. But I appreciate the offer," Adam proclaimed. "'In fact', I'm thinking about starting to write in one today."
"Now that's a pretty good start. You seem to know the path of which you are planning to take," Mr. Mandrill said. "But Mr. Lyon, I must remind you; do you remember what I told you that time when you got your aptitude test results, which told you were to be a zoo animal?"
"That I should find a different career?" Adam was confused by this.
"I said that your test results don't mean the end of the world, and it's just the man telling you what you can and can't do," Mandrill reminded him. "Well, the same is true for your predicament. Not to mention your strained friendship with Mr. Spidermonkey. You just gotta go and prove the man wrong!"
"Alright. I'll write in my journal how I shouldn't be an outcast at this school. And write down all the struggles that exist in my friendship with Jake," Adam declared.
"That's the spirit, Mr. Lyon," Mandrill seemed impressed. "Don't think of your time here as a banishment for one mistake involving your last name. Think of it as a tiring experience; one of several trials that you must be able to empower and fight your way through. Along with your friendship with Mr. Spidermonkey."
"You know what? You 'actually' make sense Mr. Mandrill," Adam stood up and stated. "I have been put through worse. And there shouldn't be anything keeping me from writing in a journal all my personal experiences that I've gone through here."
"Now that's what I wanted to hear," said Mr. Mandrill proudly.
"Well sir, I'm glad that I had this talk with you," Adam approached him. "I feel a whole lot had come off of my chest from telling you about this."
"And I'm glad that you came here to visit," Mr. Mandrill remarked as he reached his hand out to him. "Now one more thing Mr. Lyon. If you have any more problems or complaints that you don't feel like sharing with anyone else, feel free to stop by to visit. Okay?"
"Right. I'll keep that in mind," Adam nodded as he shook his hand before heading for the door. "Thanks, Mr. Mandrill."
"No problem-o Mr. Lyon. That's what I'm here for," he told him as he watched him open the door.
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you," Adam walked out. "See ya."
"Take care," Mandrill said one last time before the human student closed the door on the way out. "Wow. There goes one determined student, ready to write his personal feelings in a journal. I'm sure there's a possibility that he's going to be successful after today."
It was then Mr. Mandrill stood there, thinking about how Adam was going to go about writing in a journal, and if he'll have any success with it or not. Only time would tell for sure...
Out in the hallway, we see Adam Lyon heading straight for his locker. He knew that everyone was still attending class, so this was the perfect chance for him to get a blank notebook out of his locker. He didn't care about missing class, since it was probably something that he wouldn't be good at anyway. Besides, what he had to do with Mr. Mandrill was far more important.
I just hope the others don't find out about my journal. Adam thought as he stood in front of his locker and opened it. I do not need them trying to be nosy and find out what I'm feeling. If word gets out, the school will make fun of me, and I'll be publicly humiliated...
As soon as he opened the locker, Adam dug through his backpack to find a spare notebook that he could use as a journal. It only took him a few moments before he found one that he was looking for.
It looked no different than any other notebook. The front cover was golden-yellow. And all of the pages in it were blank. Adam smiled in satisfaction as he got out a pen from his pocket.
After giving it some thought for a few moments, Adam decided what to write on the front cover. It took no time for him to write out the title for his 'personal' journal. The title said 'ADAM M. LYON'S JOURNAL OF PERSONAL THOUGHTS', and after reading it, the human student was satisfied with it.
Well, that's all straightened out. Adam smiled as he thought. Now I have a journal that I can write things in. But I must never write in it when the guys are around, especially Jake. I have to keep it hidden and only use it when I'm at home. So I'll have to keep it in here when I'm around them.
Adam continued to muse about how nice it was going to be to have a journal to write in when he was away from all the craziness that goes on at CDMS. And he didn't have to hold back on how he felt about it either, whether it was on his experience at the school or his friendship with Jake. No one else was going to find out about it.
At that moment, the bell rang, which meant it was time for the students to transcend into the hallway. And that meant Adam had to hide his journal. Without wasting a second, Adam put his new journal into his backpack, zipped it up, and then closed his locker as he prepared to get to his next class. He had to wonder how the rest of the school day was going to go for him. He could only wait and see for himself...
END OF CHAPTER 4...
Alright, that's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, even with how long it took for me to come up with this idea.
Now, for the remainder of this story, I am going to attempt to come up with stuff to incorporate in this story; stuff that would work here and that would help flow out this story. It'll take a while, but I should have stuff for the next chapter in no time.
So if you're wondering what'll happen in the next chapter, you'll have to wait until next time, folks.
For now, if you like to leave a review for this chapter, please feel free to do so. There's nothing else that I have to say about that.
With that said, that's all for now. So until next time, I hope you tune in again for the next chapter. And on that note, thanks again for reading guys!