Chapter 11: A Day for Us
Tristo woke up the next morning, ready for the day at Jacqueline's farm. He knew that it was unlikely to be like actual farms he was accustomed too, but felt prepared nonetheless. Zoe had agreed to meet him at the bus stop in Monstropolis, luckily Jaqueline's Farm was the last stop on the route. Having a job Tristo could get to by public transit would be a huge boon in him surviving in this world. Tristo was the first to arrive, and was sitting on a bench next to a few monsters. One was concealed completely by a large newspaper that reported on some political fiasco. The figure was scribbling however, filling out the crossword puzzle. Tristo decided it would be better to not try to peek on the figure, as he could anger some monster that might easily kill him. He would not be lucky enough to avoid the little gremlin's gaze however, as the tiny figure lowered the newspaper and glared at him.
"Hey… you're the guy that's in a situationship with that fake fan Z'gord."
The thoughts of Tristo's brain went from a discordant string of thoughts, to an instant stop with a similar intensity to a shattering of glass. Tristo turned to face the small kappa that was Leonard Kovacs. The only monster up to this point that Tristo would consider an enemy, and Leonard had already done a good job to cement that relationship with his comment.
Though the thought of grabbing him and holding him upside down appealed to Tristo heavily, he tried to calm himself before responding.
"Her name is Zoe. You've got a lot of nerve coming off like that just having met me."
"Oh I didn't realize that our human exchange student was also such a loser pleb. No wonder you two are perfect for each other."
Insults weren't usually something that got under Tristo's skin, he'd already dealt with many growing up and was able to move past them. There was something about Leonard that really irked him though, almost like someone being a traitor to their own kind. Nerds should watch out for each other, and support each other's interests. Leonard was being a gatekeeping jerk, and that was putting it lightly.
"Look, I don't know what I can really say here, other than you need to reevaluate how you treat people. Zoe is a really kind person, so kind I'm sure she'd even be your friend if you at least tried to be decent. I would too, if you hadn't royally pissed me off just now."
"Oh so you think you're better than me do you?"
"Right now? I really do."
"You know it's people like you that make the fan space so unbearable, movies used to be really good before the woke-" Leonard began ranting, but was cut off as another voice entered the picture.
"Tristo!" Zoe yelled out, waving her hand as she ran up to meet him. Tristo let out a sigh and turned away from Leonard to greet Zoe. She was in some shorts and a red tank top. She was also running much faster than he thought she should be, almost sprinting. Tristo then realized immediately what she was about to do.
"Catch me!" Zoe said, jumping as she got to him, and Tristo had just enough reaction time to do so. He held her with one leg still dangling in a partial bridal carry. As she hooked her arm and tentacle around his neck.
"That was almost the perfect catch, honeytrap." She continued. Tristo looked at her with a soft smile, which came with a small huff of exhausted breath.
"We could just practice this instead of you surprising me by doing it… also honeytrap? Where did that come from?" Tristo asked, wrapping his arms more tightly to keep her in his grip.
"Because of the flies that like to follow you around. Plus my tentacles stick to your skin." She replied, snickering at him. She gently stuck one of her suction cups to his face, and pulled it off with a plop. She did this repeatedly, staring up at him with cute expression. He chuckled back, but shook his head.
"Ok you have to choose a different nickname…"
Leonard fumed as the two did their cute little back and forth, stomping onto the bus with his little webbed feet. Tristo gently sat Zoe back down onto her feet, and she brushed her hand across his face as he did so. Zoe catches a glimpse of Leonard departing, and gives Tristo a concerned look.
"Did that crusty hypotenuse-face give you a hard time? You looked a little angry when I first came up. If I'm being honest it was pretty attractive."
"He was being a bit obtuse." Tristo said, crossing his arms and a bit flustered at her compliment.
"With Leonard I can imagine it was more than a bit."
"I shouldn't let it get to me though."
"Anger is a valid emotion. One that we all feel, that we just need to work through in healthy ways." Zoe said, mimicking Tristo's southern accent. Tristo looked at her with a smile.
"That supposed to be me?"
"I think I'm getting better at it, although it's much better when I use the mouth on my leg. I'm just saying, the things you say also extend to you honeytrap."
"When you're right… you're right." Tristo concluded, deciding not to argue with the eldritch cutie and her beautiful green eyes.
The two step onto the bus, getting seats close to the back since they'd be riding to the very end of the line. As they passed by Leonard, Zoe gave a subtle brightening of her red eyes at him. It causes Leonard to recoil a bit in his seat, and let out a whiny groan. As they sat down, Zoe pulled out her sketchbook and began to show off her latest projects with Tristo. There was a warmth that overtook Tristo, as he listened to Zoe go on about her art. A feeling that this was right where he wanted to be.
After a while they watched as Leonard departed at the convention center here in Monstropolis, for a con that was happening. Tristo did a double take, and looked back at Zoe.
"There was a con happening today? Zoe, why didn't you say anything?"
"Today I wanted to go with you, that's why."
"But-"
Zoe gently placed the tip of her tentacle to his lip, effectively shushing him.
"I go to literally every con, but it's not everyday I get to go out with my boyfriend to a farm. I'm all about new experiences, which you know." Zoe said, offering him a tiny smile that barely showed her teeth. A smile to say that she cares. Tristo was silent for a moment, but returned the smile and gently took her tentacle in his hand. She curled it around his, not unlike how a constrictor snake would squeeze its quarry.
"You called me your boyfriend." Tristo said, almost in disbelief.
"Oh I guess I did… unless you like situationship better?"
"No, I really would prefer being your boyfriend."
"Good. I know we've got like this weird void connection thing, but I don't know I just also really like you. Like a lot." Zoe said, becoming more embarrassed at just how much she was revealing. Tristo let out a small giggle in response.
"Well I've had a crush on you longer than I thought you were real… so don't be too embarrassed."
When they arrived at the farm, they were met with an almost immediate sound that Tristo began to recognize. The sound of a tractor bearing across the field, while roosters called in the distance. Jacqueline was currently towing one of the fields and had not taken note of Tristo and Zoe's arrival. The two walked up to the gate and watched on for a few moments. It was peaceful, very unlike Monstropolis, though there was certainly an aspect to it Tristo was wary of. The field of what looked to be vegetables representing disembodied heads was striking, but he expected this. What he did not expect was the scarecrow that was moving around the field. The scarecrow had a red glow to its only eye, and looked at Tristo with a sinister smile, before carrying on with whatever task it had out there.
When the tractor finally turned around, Tristo waved to get Jacqueline's attention. There was an almost immediate reaction, where the tractor came to a full and sudden stop and Jacqueline gleefully hopped down. Bounding over excitedly, Jacqueline draped her arms over the fence and wiped some sweat from her brow. Though Tristo couldn't smell much, he knew that it wasn't normal sweat she wiped away, but what was likely pumpkin juice. He had another thought at this moment, turning to Zoe briefly.
Does Zoe ever sweat? Maybe I've seen her sweat a little when she's nervous. I don't have a strong sense of smell though, so I don't even know what she smells like really.
Through these intermittent thoughts, Tristo was called back to attention by Jacqueline's voice. It rang with an accent very similar to his, so much so you could assume they had grown up in the same place.
"Hey there! You must be Tristo? Look at you, come dressed the part and everything!" Jacqueline said, gesturing to Tristo's green denim overalls. Jacquelin waves over to Zoe too. "It's good to make your acquaintance outside camp too Zoe!" She continued. Zoe returned the friendly gesture, waving with a bright and goofy smile.
"Yeah to be completely honest with you, I don't know how ready I am for a Monster Farm, but I have worked with animals in the past. So long as I'm not like butchering or anything."
"Oh no we don't do that here, the animals are kinda just like pets for the most part. The only thing we really farm out of here are eggs and crops. And only eggs I don't think could be future chickens. No, we mostly rake in the dough from tourists who want to have a taste of farm life. You'll kinda be like a guide and otherwise help me keep things tidy."
"That honestly sounds perfect."
"Well you haven't seen the void eggs yet, those are something you got to look out for. We also get salmonsnakes in here from time to time, but I've the necessary weaponry to repel them." Jacqueline said, placing her hands on her hips. "I'll give you a little tour. Zoe, you're welcome to come along too!"
Zoe nods, following along as Jacqueline shows Tristo all the ins and outs of the farm. She finds a good vantage on a stack of hay bales, and decides to sit down and sketch Tristo doing his various tasks with Jacqueline.
The first of which is at the chicken coops, where Jacqueline shows Tristo the process of removing a void egg from the cluster of regular eggs. The swirling black cosmic energy that radiates from them is a dead giveaway, and the two collect them using a special pair of tongs.
Second, Jacqueline shows how salmonsnake watch duty goes, and arms him with a laser rifle. Taking the form of giant carnivorous axolotls, the salmonsnakes raid the farm at a very certain time of day. Alongside Jacqueline and Tristo, several scarecrows of various shapes and sizes take aim and fire at the creatures.
Third, Tristo is introduced to the rest of the staff here at the farm. Aside from Jacqueline's immediate family, there are the Scarecrow Sextuplets which are her cousins. They all take an immediate liking to Tristo, each offering to shake his hand. As it turns out the vision of the scarecrows are based on fear, and Tristo is so full of fear that they can see him quite clearly.
Finally, they conclude the tour with an actual guided tour around the farm, like Jacqueline would give guests to the farm. Zoe does join for this one, and shares her sketches of Tristo's various activities today with him. He's very embarrassed by how nervous he looks in all the sketches, but Jacqueline assured him that he actually did far better than most monsters that try to work here.
As the two stand at the edge of the farm, Tristo packs all of his equipment into his new Jacqueline Farm's duffel bag, and turns to Zoe ready for their journey home. He looks for the bus, but the road is quite bare and empty in the dimming evening sun.
"You think the bus will be much longer?" Tristo asked, looking over towards Zoe with a look of exhaustion. She walks over and rubs his back gently with a soft smile.
"It's not coming back, it only does the one route through here unfortunately. But there are little shortcuts we can take back to Monstropolis, using my void powers, so don't fret." She explained, booping his nose with her tentacle.
He smiled, but couldn't help but worry how he'd get here and back when the time for summer work did come. They walked along a short distance into the nearby treeline, where Zoe found one such tear in reality.
"Do we have a destination in mind?" Zoe asked, looking at him before opening the tear, her limbs shimmering with green energy.
"Do you wanna have dinner before we go home?"
"Sure! What're you thinking?"
"If I'm being honest I could eat a whole pizza right now…" Tristo said, grabbing his stomach as it churned. Zoe giggled at him, her laugh echoing as the green energy swirled around her.
"Pizza it is, the closest tears are at either Big Caesar's or ZiZi's Pizza."
"Let's go to ZiZi's, if they're like the pizza places back home, I think I'm gonna prefer there."
"Alright to ZiZi's pizza we go!"
It was then another thought occurred to Tristo…
Why did we take the bus here if Zoe can just basically fast travel us around?
When she grabbed his arm with her tentacle, one reason why quickly became apparent. Stepping through the tear in reality brought a rush to his head almost immediately as the space began to move rapidly around him. Both their forms became more amorphous as Tristo's eyes blurred heavily, not even his enchanted eyewear could help him keep up. He tried to close his eyes, but couldn't find the strength to do so. It was almost like a rush of wind, keeping his eyes open as he began to tear up. The tears were stripped away almost as quickly as they were shed however, and then suddenly it all stopped.
Suddenly they were in a parking lot, street lamps overhead just starting to light up. A big neon ZiZi's pizza sign flashed just ahead of them. Tristo's long brown hair was even more ruffled, and Zoe's tentacles all pointed back behind her. Zoe turned to him with a goofy smile.
"You did good! Most people vomit when traveling through the void."
Tristo just sat in stunned silence for a moment as his mind tried to catch up to where he was at. Zoe read his expression, and gently walked Tristo inside guiding him to a booth in the pizza place. She sat across from him, running her thumb over the back of his hand as she read the menu. Eventually, Tristo manages to form a sentence.
"I think I might have thrown up."
"Nah, I would've noticed if you did. Your body seems more accustomed to the void then you might think."
"Oh… okay. Is there a reason you don't travel that way often? It was very convenient despite losing myself a little."
"I just prefer to do things the mortal way. I like being around people. Take riding the bus for instance, I love seeing and being around other people just living their lives. It inspires me some. But my skills at interdimensional travel do come in handy when they're needed."
"That's really sweet actually. Thank you for sharing that with me."
"I guess you don't know everything about me then huh?"
"Well I think it would be impossible for me to know everything about you Zoe. But I do love learning more about you.
"Now who's the one being sweet?"
Tristo blushes heavily as they continue their pizza date. Zoe is very effectively teasing him, and he's very flustered by the attention he's getting. Though he enjoys it, part of him knows he's going to have to have a real conversation about his sexuality later, and it makes him nervous.
What if she's less interested in me once she knows that I've got problems with intimacy? She may want someone who is more sexually charged…
"You did really well at the farm today, tell me more about that? Were you a country music loving farm boy back home?"
"Well kind of. Definitely not on the scale of Jacqeline's operation. And I really can't stand most country music. As far as the salmonsnake fighting goes, I was a hunter for a while but really only did it to fit in with everyone else around me. I couldn't really bear killing any more animals. Jacqueline assured me that at best we were warding them off, because the creatures are almost unkillable."
"I like to hear those things about you too, you know. We should have just a huge blab session about each other's worlds. I think we'd both benefit. In fact… you could maybe walk me home tonight? You could share my void with me for a while…"
Tristo remains flushed and looks for the words to say in response. He's saved as Sadie, the Pizza Girl, arrives to talk to them about their payment.
"Hi… so if you want to pay normally you can… but there's a couple's deal going on right now. If you can slay the pizza demon in the kitchen, your meal is free." Sadie explained, her hair hanging far over her eyes and her expression unreadable. Zoe turned to Tristo with a cheerful grin.
"Slaying a pizza demon sounds like fun, what do you say honeytrap?"
I think I'm dreading telling her how much I really don't like that nickname more than anything else. It sounds too much like a certain serial killer animatronic.
"Yeah… I mean, Jacqueline did give me a standard-issue laser pistol to train with as part of my work kit. A pizza demon is just as good as any targeting dummy I'm sure." Tristo said, the absolute unsurety laden in his voice at the end of that sentence.
The two jumped up from their booth, and accepted the terms of battle. Sadie even joined them, armed with a trash can lid and mop handle. All in all it wasn't an epic fight as compared to their more recent bouts. When Tristo finally did land a blow against the creature with his laser pistol, the creature's cheesy exterior melted in an instant. The meal was free, but Tristo became more concerned with the fact that Sadie wasn't taking the body to the garbage.
Those troubling perceptions would not haunt him long however, as Zoe hooked her arm in his. The two of them walked out into the chill night air, and off towards the direction of Zoe's little slice of void.
