What does it mean to be good enough? How does one determine their worth has exceeded the necessary parameters to be of quality? So many people through thousands of years have struggled with this question. Most of the time, that question was determined by someone else. A teacher, a coach, a boss, or even a parent. So much time and effort and money has been spent by so many people to gain the approval of others. All for the sake of achieving some sort of standard.
But what about you?
What if you are the one that you need to be good enough for? How do you know that you have gained your own approval? At what point do you consider your actions good enough for yourself? This is the hardest performance standard to achieve. We are all our own worst critic, and we are all our harshest judge. So many of us never feel like we are good enough, and we feel like we let ourselves down. On many occasions, we set unreasonable goals for ourselves, then we get discouraged and depressed when we cannot meet those goals. We create a narrative in our minds that we are not good enough, and we are failures.
Metaphorically and literally, it's all in your head.
Learn to accept yourself. Learn to be proud of yourself. You have worked so hard and spent so much time and money to get where you are today. You have grown so much, and you can still go so much further. The only thing stopping you is yourself. Stop being your own worst critic and start being your own biggest fan. Cheer yourself on, and celebrate your victories, no matter how small they may be. You are doing a good job. Believe in yourself. That is the difference between being good and being great.
Speaking of great, tonight is going to be a great night. Here at the Casey house, I have been hard at work in the kitchen all afternoon, and the whole place smells like yummy goodness.
"Mmmm what is that heavenly smell?" Olga asked as she wheeled herself from her bedroom and into the hallway.
"Hey Olga! Go wash up. Dinner is almost ready, and I think you're gonna love it!"
Her eyes lit up as she saw me hard at work in the kitchen. "COOOOLE! I can't wait to try your yummy yummy super good food tonight" She wheeled herself in her wheelchair towards the living room right as Priya was getting home from work.
"Whats up Olga? You need someth~mmmmm oh I know that smell. Don't tell me, we're having that for dinner tonight?" Priya's tone did a 180 once the smell hit her forked tongue.
"Thats right snake, we're having Coley Woley's super yummy yummy food, and i'm getting the first plate!" Olga glared at her lamia housemate, doing her best to intimidate her.
"Ha! Go ahead and try. We're on land, and you're just a fish out of water" Priya glared back at her and struck a playful grin.
"Bom Dia Peixes. What's with all the noise so early?" Sida emerged from her bedroom and joined the girls downstairs. They both looked at her with a confused expression.
"Good morning? Sida, it's almost 6:00pm. Are you just now waking up?" Priya asked.
"Si, don't you know we arachne are nocturnal? Besides, I work nights. ***sniff sniff*** ohhh something smells muito bom! Is Cole making his famous~"
***BANG***
"~Good evening ya sick cunts! How the fuck are ya? Mmmm something smells peachy mate!" Ellie barged in from the window. Since she usually flies around, I made a habit of keeping the upstairs window open. It makes things much easier. Now I don't have to keep calling FIRE to have someone install new glass.
Yes, even eagle harpy's still fly into glass windows. Imagine that windex commercial, but like 10x worse. Ellie still gets embarrassed about it. It's so adorable.
"Hey Ellie, go wash up and take a seat at the table. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Priya, would you be a dear and help set the table?"
Priya made a salute with her lamia claws. "You got it!" She expertly laid out all of the plates and silverware at each of the seats at the table.
A few minutes later, everyone was seated at the table. I came into the dining room with a nice hot plate of my most famous dish. All of the girls were served a nice generous helping of the food.
"Hey where is Liz?" Sida asked. "Oh don't worry about her mate. That big cunt will be here in 5…4…3….2….1…"
As Ellie did the countdown, we all heard loud rumbling from the basement, and then the basement door slammed open.
"ITS CHICKEN CHOW MEIN NIGHT!" Liz screamed as she ran into the dining room and inhaled all of the remaining chow mein from the serving bowl. All of the girls rolled their eyes as they quietly ate their food.
"H-hi Liz. How was your day?" I gently asked the giant grizzly bear. She stopped mauling her food and turned to me.
"Cole, I have no idea how you do it, but this chicken chow mein is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten in my entire life!" She then resumed inhaling her meal. I blushed as the rest of the girls complimented the food.
"Hahaha you girls are too kind. As I have said many times before, this chicken chow mein is my special dish. Made from an old recipe I learned from this chinese guy I met while in the marines. I saved his ass from a firefight, and in return, he told me the recipe. Including the special secret ingredient that makes it so yummy." I winked at Liz. This drove her mad.
"Ahhhhh what is it? My nose can smell a turd in a landfill over 3 miles away. Yet I can't for the life of me figure out what it is that you put in here that makes it taste so good." Liz was moaning in agony.
"Haha, poor Liz. You have the best nose I've ever seen, but you still can't figure it out. And you never will, because it's a secret."
Liz was getting desperate now. "Please Cole, I have to know! I'll do anything." She started lowering her shirt to expose her huge breasts. "I'll let you do anything you want to me. Just please tell me what the secret ingredient is!"
Before I could respond, the phone rang.
I walked into the living room and answered it. "Casey residence"
"Hello Mr. Casey, this is Agent Jones. Is now a good time?"
"No, not really. The girls and I are eating dinner and~"
"~excellent. Anyway I wanted to tell you that you're getting a new girl. Her name is Mei, and she is transferring from Hong Kong to the Federal Interspecies Residential Exchange. She will be at your house tomorrow morning. Please make sure you are prepared for her arrival. Thanks!"
***click***
"Vida, who was that on the phone?" Sida asked me.
"That was agent Jones. She wanted me to tell you all that the new girl is coming tomorrow".
"WHAAAAT?!" They all shouted in unison.
X
The next day
It was autumn in our little city, and the leaves in the trees were starting to change colors. Summer was over, and there is now a chill in the air. It's not quite cold yet, but the warm days were long gone. Most people love autumn because of the fun fall activities, and others like it because literally EVERYTHING tastes like pumpkin spice. Me? I enjoy being able to wear my hoodies and sweatpants without looking like a slob.
The girls however, they HATE autumn. Sida and Priya especially. Their species are poikilothermic, or cold blooded. That means that they have to live in warmer climates because their body does not produce any heat. Ellie doesn't seem to mind the colder weather too much, but she complains about how her jackets and sweaters make her fly slower. Something about extra drag and aerodynamics. I don't really get it.
Surprisingly, Olga loves the cold weather. I guess since Orcas live in the ocean, they are used to swimming in cold waters. At least that's what she told me. I think she just likes wearing my hoodies around the house. That damn sneaky fish. I need to start locking my bedroom door during the day.
Now Liz, on the other hand, has been sort of a mixed bag lately. On the one hand, she does not get bothered by the cold at all. In fact, she seems to be even more lively than normal. On the other hand, her appetite has tripled. Seriously, I can't keep up with this girl. It's like every day she cleans out the fridge. Thank goodness FIRE is increasing my monthly stipend for taking in this new girl. We're gonna need it in order to keep Liz fed.
Speaking of the new girl, she should be arriving any minute now. Olga and I were waiting outside in the driveway when Ms. Jones pulled up in her normal black sedan.
"Olga, you know you don't have to stand out here with me to meet Ms. Jones"
"Coleeeee! We're on a super secret spy mission! I told you to use my code name"
I rolled my eyes. "Ugh… fine. Agent Deep Sea, are you ready?"
Olga saluted me. "Affirmative, Big Boss. Agent Deep Sea is ready for action!"
Ms. Jones got out of the car, and walked up to greet me and Olga.
"Hello Mr. Casey. Hello Olga. It's nice to see you both."
"Hey Ms. Jones. So, where is the new girl? Since you came alone, I assume she is not that dangerous?"
"Oh no, she is still very dangerous, but we don't have any evidence of her committing violence towards anyone, FIRE or otherwise, so my superiors decided that minimal escort was needed."
"I see. Well then, bring her out."
Ms. Jones walked back to the car and opened the back seat door. When she walked out of the car, my first thought was how short she was. This girl was tiny! Even by human standards, she was pretty short. I myself am only like 5'10", but this girl must have been barely 5'4". The next thing I noticed about her was how fluffy she was! Good lord, that fur looks so freaking soft. It was like a gray-white with little black spots all over. She had little ears on top of her head, and giant paws on her hands and feet. They were smaller than Liz's paws, but on Mei's small body, they looked huge. Finally, the last thing I noticed about her was her tail. It was so damn long, I would guess that her tail was the same length as her whole body!
"Mr. Casey, this is Mei. She is a snow leopard from Hong Kong, and she is going to be living with you and your girls starting today." Ms. Jones introduced me.
Mei stared blankly at me. Making no expression whatsoever. Not even a blink. There was a tense moment between us where we both looked at eachother. I knew what she was doing. As the caretaker of 5 apex predators, I knew how to act when someone was trying to assert their dominance over me. This time was pretty easy since I was bigger than her.
"Hi, my name is Cole Casey, it's nice to meet you!" I smiled and offered her my hand to shake.
"..."
She just stood there. Not a word was spoken. Ms. Jones spoke for her. "Excuse her, she is shy, and her english is not very good."
Now it was Olga's turn to introduce herself. Staying true to her character, she exclaimed "Hiiiiiiiiii my name is Olga. I'm an Orca. It's nice to meet youuuuu! I hope you like living here. This place is super fun. Come on, let's go meet the girls!"
Olga wheeled herself inside the house, and Mei followed. Leaving me and Ms. Jones standing outside in the chilly autumn morning.
"Mr. Casey, I want you to keep an eye on her. We have every reason to believe that she is a Chinese spy."
"How was she when she was with you during the exchange intake process?"
Ms. Jones looked confused. "To be honest, she was perfect. Mei was very well behaved, she got along well with everyone, including other monster girls. She never broke any rules, and cleaned up after herself. However, I thought it was weird that she never once said a single word to anyone. We even had a Chinese translator, and she didn't even talk to him! He had to help her with reading english, and he spoke to her in chinese when we talked to her, but I think it's so odd that she never spoke to anyone."
"Maybe she is a mute?"
"Perhaps. Although she can read and write very well. At least in chinese. Her english still needs some work, but she can at least understand you when you talk to her. Just don't recite any Shakespeare and expect her to follow along."
Ms. Jones handed me a manila folder with a bunch of papers inside.
"Here, this is her file. We included everything we could find from the Hong Kong government and the CCP. Most of it is just information on snow leopards in general, and all of it is in chinese. Don't worry, we had one of our translators make copies of it in english. Take a look over it tonight and report back to me next week."
Ms. Jones got back into her car and drove off. I walked back inside to see Olga in the living room showing off her new friend to the group.
"Look everyone! Look look look! This is Mei. She is my new friend, and she is going to be living here with all of us!"
Priya and Sida were watching TV in the living room when they turned around and saw the little snow leopard girl standing there.
"Aww how cute! She is just so adorable! Hi Mei, my name is Priya, i'm a King Cobra lamia. Nice to meet you!" Priya extended a hand to Mei.
"..."
"Umm.. So where are you from? I'm from India!"
"..."
Priya started getting nervous because Mei did not say a single word back to her. She just stood there, looking at her.
"Ola Gata, meu nome e Aparecida. Eu sou Brasileira!"
"..."
"Uhhh Peixes, your friend does not talk much huh?" Sida looked awkwardly at Olga.
"That's okay, she's probably just shy." Olga tried to cover for Mei before she saw me walk in.
"Hey girls, I see you've met your new roommate Mei".
"Vida, this girl is weird. She hasn't said a single word to any of us." Sida whispered into my ear.
"Don't be so quick to judge her. Mei is from China, so her english is not very good. She is probably just shy. Besides, she is a snow leopard, and from my experience, cats don't talk very much."
Priya and Sida gave Mei a confused look, then turned back to the TV.
"Whatever, Dia de Nossas Vidas is on, so we'll talk later"
Olga and I gave Mei a tour of the house. We showed her the kitchen, the dining room, my room, Olga's room, and just before we made it upstairs, we ran into Ellie.
"G'day mate! G'day Olga! And who is this little pussy?" Ellie smiled at Mei. The snow leopard stared awkwardly at her.
"Hey Ellie, meet Mei. She is a snow leopard from China, and she is going to be living here with us from now on."
"Aww well aint that just fuckin' peachy. Welcome to the nut house Mei. Watch your step around here. This shitter is crawling with cunts ready to fuck yer head six ways from sunday".
"..."
"Uhhh mate, I don't think this little pussy cat knows what i'm saying"
"Well to be fair, I have no idea what you're saying either" Olga clapped back. Ellie gave her a mean glare before turning back to me.
"Where is she going to be sleeping?"
"I was thinking about the empty room upstairs next to Priya".
"Bloody hell, you mean the one underneath the attic stairs?" Ellie started freaking out.
"Yeah. Why? Is that a problem?"
Ellie started blushing hard. "Fuck yeah it's a problem. I don't want someone that close to me. I like my privacy!"
"Ellie, you live in a house with 5 other girls. There is no privacy around here."
Olga leaned in to me and whispered in my ear "She means that she doesn't want anyone listening to her at night when she slaps the flaps".
Ellie's face turned redder than Texas on election day.
"F-F-Fuck off you cunts!" She stormed off and flew out the window. I was going to chase after her, but Olga stopped me. "Let her go Cole. She'll be fine after a nice long flight."
With that, I showed Mei her new room. It was just a standard room, nothing fancy. A twin size bed, an empty closet, and a small dresser. Mei didn't say a word, but gave me a little bow.
X
The following is the previous scene, but from Mei's perspective
Ms. Jones was very quiet on the car ride there. We passed through the city along the interstate highway before turning off into a quiet neighborhood. It seemed peaceful enough. There were lots of houses with people going about their daily lives. The air was chilly, and the trees were changing colors. Soon we pulled up to a big house. There was a man and a woman in a wheelchair waiting out front. Ms. Jones stopped the car and got out to talk to him. All I could do was sit in the car and wait. This was it. This was my new home now. I hope they like me.
Ms. Jones came back to the car and opened my door. I got out and slowly walked over to the man.
Oh goodness, he sure is handsome. Wow, if they told me I was going to be staying with a total hottie, I would have worn something nicer.
"Hi, my name is Cole Casey, it's nice to meet you!"
Cole Casey? Gotta remember that. Oh no, what should I say? None of these people know chinese. Shit, what was the english word for hello? Dammit, I can't remember.
"Excuse her, she is shy, and her english is not very good."
Geez way to rub it in Ms. Jones! Now this guy is going to think i'm some kind of weirdo. Way to make a first impression on my total hunk of a caretaker.
"Hiiiiiiiiii my name is Olga. I'm an Orca. It's nice to meet youuuuu! I hope you like living here. This place is super fun. Come on, let's go meet the girls!"
Ahh I see she is a mermaid. That explains the wheelchair. But an Orca? Wow, I guess I should be careful around her. She seems nice though. I guess I'll follow her inside.
Wow, this is a sweet house! It's so huge. Looks like there are other girls besides the mermaid living here too. I wonder what they look like.
"Look everyone! Look look look! This is Mei. She is my new friend, and she is going to be living here with all of us!"
Hmmmm it looks like a lamia and an arachne. This place seems very dangerous. No matter, my kung fu training will be more than enough to handle any attacks from them.
"Aww how cute! She is just so adorable! Hi Mei, my name is Priya, i'm a King Cobra lamia. Nice to meet you!"
A King Cobra?! Holy shit, this is bad. That girl must be the deadliest lamia on the planet. She seems nice, but don't forget what Shifu taught you. I can't let her intimidate me. I need to stay strong and maintain my composure.
"Umm.. So where are you from? I'm from India!"
Yeah so what? Does that mean you work in tech support or something? Don't try to play nice to me Cobra. I know what you are. You make any move against me, i'll have your tail twisted like a carnival balloon animal.
"Ola Gata, meu nome e Aparecida. Eu sou Brasileira."
What the fuck is this stupid spider saying? English is hard enough. Now I have to learn spanish too? Sorry I don't speak Taco you eight legged bitch.
"Uhhh Peixes, your friend does not talk much huh?"
Don't worry, when I need my lawn mowed, I'll let you know.
"That's okay, she's probably just shy."
"Hey girls, I see you've met your new roommate Mei".
"Vida, this girl is weird. She hasn't said a single word to any of us."
Hmmm, looks like the wetback spider has the hots for him too. I might need to watch my back around her.
"Don't be so quick to judge her. Mei is from China, so her english is not very good. She is probably just shy. Besides, she is a snow leopard, and from my experience, cats don't talk very much."
Aww thanks for sticking up for me. You seem like a nice guy. Don't worry, if that wetback tries to make a move on you, i'll fuck her up worse than the immigration department.
Thank god that conversation is over. Let's see the rest of the house.
Wow, this place is amazing! This kitchen is so modern. The dining room is massive. Looks like there are two other girls living here. I wonder what kind of species they are.
Here comes one of them now. A Harpy. She's a big one too. Damn, look at those talons! I bet she could cut through steel with those things.
"G'day mate! G'day Olga! And who is this little pussy?"
"Hey Ellie, meet Mei. She is a snow leopard from China, and she is going to be living here with us from now on."
"Aww well aint that just fuckin' peachy. Welcome to the nut house Mei. Watch your step around here. This shithouse is crawling with cunts ready to fuck yer head six ways from sunday"
An Australian eh? Interesting. I wonder what kind of harpy she is. It must be some kind of falcon or eagle. But I didn't know those kinds of birds existed in Australia. God damn, what in the world is this girl saying? English is hard enough, but Australians are a different breed entirely.
"Uhhh mate, I don't think this little pussy cat knows what i'm saying"
"Well to be fair, I have no idea what you're daying either"
"Where is she going to be sleeping?"
"I was thinking about the empty room upstairs next to Priya".
"Bloody hell, you mean the one underneath the attic stairs?"
"Yeah. Why? Is that a problem?"
"Fuck yeah it'sa problem. I don't want someone that close to me. I like my privacy!"
"Ellie, you live in a house with 5 other girls. There is no privacy around here."
"She means that she doesn't want anyone listening to her at night when she slaps the flaps".
Hmmmm based on the harpy's blush, I think it's safe to assume that she also has the hots for my new master too. Still, why would the American government let 5 dangerous monster girls live in a house with one man? Is this some kind of social experiment? Either way, I need to observe them some more. Remember your mission Mei. You need to kill this man. Although, with all these deadly monster girls living here, that's going to be a lot harder than I thought.
So this is my room eh? Seems simple enough. Thank god, they're finally leaving me alone. Well, I guess I'll snoop around a little bit. See if I can learn anything about Cole and the others.
X
Later that day
I was in the kitchen preparing dinner like I always do at this time of day. Priya and Sida were still in the living room watching TV, and Olga was in her room playing video games. I had no idea where Liz was, but the fact that she was not currently devouring everything in the pantry was good news.
The pot was boiling some noodles when I stepped away to get some minced meat from the fridge. As I closed the door, I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Mei standing there.
"Ahhhh Jesus Christ…. Don't scare me like that Mei." The little snow leopard girl stood there with her usual blank expression.
"Umm… do you need something?"
"..."
"Ok well I am cooking dinner right now. If you're hungry, please wait until it's ready. Oh, but if you have any specific kind of food allergy or dietary needs, please let me know! I would hate to have to take you to the hospital on your first day."
Mei looked like she was trying to say something. "M~m~m~"
"Yes? What is it?"
"M~m~"
"Milk? Do you want some milk? Is it Meat?"
I saw Liz had woken up and was making her way up the basement stairs into the living room. I guess the smell of dinner was too much for her nose.
"Mmmm that smells so good! Hey Cole what's~whats this? Did we adopt a cat or something?" Liz pointed at Mei. The snow leopard girl was so terrified of the giant grizzly bear towering over her that she squeaked out a loud word.
"M~MEOWWWW"
Everyone in the house froze. We all heard it, but nobody said a single word. After a few seconds, Liz and the rest of the girls burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA! Oh my fucking god, that is the funniest shit I have ever heard! HAHAHAHAHA"
Poor Mei. She looked so embarrassed. I saw her stone cold face turn bright red, and tears well in her eyes. She ran out of the kitchen so quickly I only saw her tail go through the door.
"Mei wait~oh damn it. I'll have to talk with her later." The girls were on the floor laughing so hard. At least I was able to finish making dinner without any of them trying to interrupt me.
When the table was made, I served all of the girls, and the empty seat where Mei was supposed to sit.
"What happened to the little kitty? She's not coming?" Priya asked.
Liz chuckled. "She probably doesn't eat this stuff. Maybe Cole should go to the store and buy some fancy feast."
The girls started laughing again. Ellie interrupted to make another joke. "Haha yeah the little pussy is probably out hunting mice or something"
The girls erupted in laughter again.
"Thats enough girls! Mei is our new housemate, and I wont sit here and listen to you all make fun of her." I stood up and grabbed the plate of dinner I had set for Mei. Priya stopped laughing and tried to keep me at the table. "Awww come on Cole, we're just having a little fun!"
I didn't say anything. Instead, I walked upstairs and knocked on Mei's door.
"Mei, it's Cole. Are you okay?"
….
"Look, i'm sorry the girls were making fun of you. I'll have a talk with them, but I want you to know that you are a part of this house, and It's my job to make sure you feel at home here."
…
"Are you hungry? I made you some dinner. Can I come in?"
….
The door is locked
"Okay, I understand you want to be alone right now. I'll just leave your dinner out here. I'm going back downstairs now. Please bring the plate back to the kitchen when you're done."
Later that night, I woke up to go grab a glass of water from the kitchen around midnight. Everyone had gone to sleep, so the house was dark. When I turned on the lights to the kitchen, I saw a plate on the counter. It was spotless, including the fork, spoon, and glass. Next to the plate, there was a note. When I read the note, it was blank.
"Huh? What's this?" I turned the note over to see a beautiful picture drawn on the back of the paper. It was a small cat, cowering in a corner, and a knight in shining armor, holding a shield against a horde of monsters. Hang on, these monsters look familiar. It looks like a…. King Cobra, a Grizzly bear, a Spider, and an Eagle.
X
The following is the previous scene, but from Mei's perspective
This house is so huge, I have plenty of hiding places. You would think that since these girls are so big, they would notice something moving around above them. I guess thats one advantage of being a snow leopard. We live for climbing high places.
Oh yeah this is perfect! From up here atop this ceiling fan, I can watch everyone without anyone suspecting a thing. Hmmm… It looks like that wetback spider is really interested in these spanish TV drama shows. Wait, where is she going? It's night time. Why is she going out? I should follow her.
Oh it looks like the Harpy is back. She seems to be in a better mood. Speaking of better mood, I have not seen that Orca girl around in a while. She must be a shut in. I've heard of those. It's a big thing in Japan. I think they're called "Hikkikomori?" Still, she seems really smart. I bet if I go in her room, I could learn a lot.
Ah-ha! Cole is all alone in the kitchen, completely defenseless! Now is my chance to take him out! Let me just jump off this ceiling fan and hide behind the refrigerator.
"Ahhhh Jesus Christ…. Don't scare me like that Mei."
Shit! My cover has been blown!
"Umm… do you need something?"
Come on Mei, you can do this! Just say something! Anything!
"Ok well I am cooking dinner right now. If you're hungry, please wait until it's ready. Oh, but if you have any specific kind of food allergy or dietary needs, please let me know! I would hate to have to take you to the hospital on your first day."
Thats it! He is making food! I bet I can recover if I just tell him I'm hungry. That way, he will think I just wanted some food, and he won't suspect anything is up. Come on Mei, say it in English.
Mei is Hungry!
"M~M~M~"
"Yes? What is it?"
Come on Mei, you can do it! Just say it like you practiced. Mei is Hungry!
"Milk? Do you want some milk? Is it Meat?"
Dammit Mei you're running out of time! Just say the fucking words already! MEI…IS.. HUNGRY
"Mmmm that smells so good! Hey Cole what's~whats this? Did we adopt a cat or something?"
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST THIS GIRL IS HUGE! Are those her claws? Oh my god they're bigger than my head! AHHHHH I'm gonna die!
"M-MEOWWW"
Meow? MEOW? What the fuck was that Mei? Meow? Did you seriously just say that out loud?
Oh god, they're laughing at me. God dammit, they're LAUGHING at me! This is terrible, my life is over. Mission failed. Wahhhhhh!
I just want to go hide in my room
***BEDROOM DOOR SLAMS***
Fuck this house, fuck these girls, fuck this mission. I can't believe I screwed up so badly. I want to go home!
(sniff) (sob)(sniff)
"Mei, it's Cole. Are you okay?"
Cole? Is he knocking on the door? What is he doing here?
"Look, i'm sorry the girls were making fun of you. I'll have a talk with them, but I want you to know that you are a part of this house, and It's my job to make sure you feel at home here."
Good! Tell those stupid bitches they can all go to hell.
"Are you hungry? I made you some dinner. Can I come in?"
No, I don't want you to see me like this. I've been crying for like 2 hours. Just leave me alone.
"Okay, I understand you want to be alone right now. I'll just leave your dinner out here. I'm going back downstairs now. Please bring the plate back to the kitchen when you're done."
Wait, he really brought me food? Yeah, he did. I can smell it. Maybe he is not so bad after all. Let me open the door and see if the coast is clear. Yup, all clear. Wow, it's beef stew! Mmmm and it's delicious! Perhaps he really is a nice guy after all.
Where are my drawing pencils? I need to sketch something. My fur is standing on edge again.
Ahhh finished! I hope he likes it. It's pretty late, I bet all the girls went to sleep by now. Didn't Cole say I needed to return the dishes to the kitchen? Okay, let's go wash them.
X
Things continued like this for a while. Everyday when the girls would be hanging around the house, Mei would be hidden in the background. Watching them. Analyzing their movements. Their mannerisms. Their behavior patterns.
She couldn't bear to confront any of them after the "meow" incident. After enough time passed, some of them forgot she was even living there.
Despite all of that, I would still set a place for her at the dinner table. Each night, she would not show up. Each night, I would bring her dinner upstairs and lay it outside of her bedroom door. Each morning, I would wake up to see one set of dirty dishes in the sink.
One night, I was eating dinner with the girls, when we noticed a shadow in the other room.
"Mei? Is that you? Would you like to come join us?"
The girls were surprisingly silent. After a few seconds, Mei slowly walked into the light of the dining room.
"Crikey mate, I aint seen ya since your first day!" Ellie gazed in wonder at her new roommate.
"Ellie hush! It must have taken Mei a lot of courage to join us for dinner. We don't want to say anything to make her upset again." I whispered to her.
All of us watched as Mei slowly sat down at the table and started eating. Once she put the first bite into her mouth, her eyes grew wide and she started eating faster.
"Ha I knew it!" Priya boasted. "Nobody can resist Cole's famous Chow Mein!"
Mei stopped eating and stared at me. Olga bragged a little bit "Thats riiiiiiiight! Coley Woley is the greatest cook in the whole wide world. His chow mein is world famous!"
Priya commented "That's because he makes it with his super secret ingredient".
Once we all resumed eating, Liz woke up, and ran upstairs to devour the rest. She didn't even notice that Mei was here.
The next morning, I woke up to see a beautiful painting left outside of my bedroom door. It was a portrait of all of us eating dinner together.
X
The following is the previous scene, but from Mei's perspective
Uggghhhh I'm so hungry! When is Cole going to come by and deliver my dinner?
Hang on, something smells delicious. Even better than usual. Maybe if I go outside and take a look…
Oh, they're all eating together. Damn. I guess he wont deliver my food until later. But my god does that smell amazing! I need to get a closer look to see what it is.
Hold on…. Is that Chow Mein? Holy shit! I haven't had any chinese food since I came to this country. Oh my god, this is going to be so good.
"Mei? Is that you? Would you like to come join us?"
Shit, he saw me! Is it too late to run? No. I need to stand my ground. I live here too. Cole welcomed me into his home, and I need to start trying to get along with everyone else.
"Crikey mate, I aint seen ya since your first day!"
Good, that means my stealth skills have surpassed an eagle harpy like you. Master would be pleased.
"Ellie hush! It must have taken Mei a lot of courage to join us for dinner. We don't want to say anything to make her upset again."
Cole you really are the best.
Wow, it really is chow mein! Oh my god this looks so fucking good! Everyone is staring at me…
Just ignore them Mei. You came here to eat, and that's what you're gonna do.
OH MY GOD! This is the best chow mein I have ever eaten in my whole life! How the hell did some American learn how to make it this good?
"Ha I knew it! Nobody can resist Cole's famous Chow Mein!"
Thats riiiiiiiight! Coley Woley is the greatest cook in the whole wide world. His chow mein is world famous!"
"That's because he makes it with his super secret ingredient"
A secret ingredient?! Of course! There is no way some random American guy can make chow mein that rivals the finest restaurants in Hong Kong. He must be using some kind of secret ingredient. It's the only explanation for this incredible flavor.
You know, eating at the table with everyone is actually kind of fun.
Maybe I was wrong about these girls.
I think I'll make a new sketch tonight. I want him to know how much fun this was.
X
Hong Kong, China
Unknown Residence
The moon hung high in the night sky as a limousine arrived at a wealthy residence. Nestled in the bustling streets of Hong Kong, this residence was well known to the locals as a very dangerous and evil place. All who lived here knew to stay far away.
When the limousine stopped, a few men in suits arrived to open the doors. 3 beautiful Chinese women walked out, dressed in elegant red silk dresses. However, their skin was an odd purple hue.
"Welcome, ladies. The boss is inside. She is looking forward to meeting you. Please follow me." One of the men in suits escorted them inside. The women walked through the hallway to a massive main room. There were at least 20 men in black suits all seated on the floor. At the very back of the room, seated on a tall chair, was a Wight. She was smoking a cigarette, and stared at the 3 women carefully.
"Welcome ladies. I assume you know why you are here?" The 3 women nodded. "Good. As leader of the Wing Chung Triad, I know everything that happens in Hong Kong. A few days ago, the CCP used MY men to smuggle a snow leopard out of the city to America. She is on a top secret mission to assassinate a high value asset of the United States Government." The Wight took a drag of her cigarette, then ordered one of her men to give a folder to one of the women. "My contacts within the CCP have learned that the target is this man. William Cole Casey Jr. Your mission is to capture this man, and use him as bait to lure out the snow leopard. Once you have located the snow leopard, your orders are to eliminate her."
The three women bowed. "Yes, Miss Chung. We, the Jiang-Shi, will not let you down".
"Excellent. Be careful girls. This is no ordinary snow leopard. She is a pupil of grandmaster Dai Shi. Do not underestimate her."
The three women struck a Kung Fu pose "We will not fail, Miss Chung."
"Oh, and one more thing girls." Miss Chung took a drag of her cigarette and smiled. "Bring me Mr. Casey ALIVE."
X
Late at night, in the bad part of [Redacted]
Sida was making her usual rounds that night. A mugging here, a robbery there, and by now she even had a few subordinates working under her. It was nothing major, but some of the local demi-human delinquents had heard of her, and decided to follow her lead. One of them was a wolf girl named Sydney.
"Boss! Boss come quick! Something ain't right. My nose is smelling something real funky!" Sydney ran towards Sida, who was counting some money in a back alley.
"Woah calm down Syd. What happened?"
"It's my nose, boss. It's never wrong, and tonight, i'm getting a real funky smell a few streets over. It's like that chemical they use on dead bodies. What's it called? Four maul delight?"
Sida rolled her eyes. "You mean formaldehyde?" Sida knew that Sydney's nose was always right. She had only had one previous encounter with the undead before, back in Brazil. If this was the same thing, she knew she was prepared for a fight. Sida loaded her pistol and turned to Syd. "Nobody steps on my turf. Let's go check it out."
The two of them headed that way, and saw an empty alley. "This is it boss. My nose is smelling that stuff all over that dumpster."
Syd ran over to the dumpster. Sida looked around and saw a shadow leap out from behind a building. "Syd No! Watch out!"
Suddenly, a woman emerged and beat up Sydney with some expert kung fu moves.
'Syd! You bitch! Nobody fucks with my soldier and lives to talk about it!" Sida raised her pistol and shot the girl. The bullet hit her right in the chest, but the girl did not go down. Instead, she walked forward and lunged at Sida.
Thankfully, her arachne instincts helped her jump out of the way. In a flash, another ninja girl jumped out and punched Sida with a kung fu punch.
"Arrgh dammit, you're dead!" Sida lunged forward and bit the girl. She injected the girl with her Brazilian wandering spider venom, and smirked as she knew she had won now.
Once she retracted her fangs, the girl fell down.
"你这个贱人，好痛啊"
"What the hell are you saying?"
"Lao, english remember!"
"Right, sorry Ling. Listen up spider. We are looking for someone. A snow leopard. Have you seen her?"
Sida got a good look at these two girls. They were both dressed in beautiful red silk dresses, but their skin was purple. One had a bullet wound, the other had two bite marks. Yet, neither of them were dead, or even injured.
"What the hell? You two should both be dead!"
"Hahaha we are dead!" They laughed menacingly before lunging at Sida. "Now, where is the snow leopard?"
"Arrggh… Fuck you Caralho!"
Just before the two Zombie girls struck the final blow to Sida, Syd the wolf girl lunged at them and started scratching with her claws.
"Boss, get out of here! I'll hold them off! GO!"
Sida fled the scene as quickly as she could. Once she was far enough away, she grabbed her cell phone and made a call.
(beep beep) (beep beep)
"Hello?"
"Greta? Hey this is Sida. Is now a good time?"
"No, it's 2:30 in the morning."
"Muito Bom. Listen, I was just attacked by two undead women. They looked like zombies and called themselves Jiang-Shi. Do you know anything about this?"
The phone was silent for a few seconds. "Come over right now. It's not safe. Hurry, I'll explain everything."
X
Meanwhile, at the Casey Residence
Dawn had risen quietly over the sleepy suburban neighborhood. Mei had found her way outside into the backyard to practice her Tai Chi. The movements were slow, and careful. She expertly navigated the flow of her Qi and moved it fantastically during her routine.
Too bad for her, the routine was interrupted when a large shadow came falling out of the sky towards her.
"G'day Mei. How ya goin?"
"..."
"Still buggered about last night ay? Look, I wanted to apologize for laughing at ya like that."
"..."
"It's just that, things can get a little tense around here, ya know? All of us are apex predators. We all know we're fucking cooked cunts, and we've all been thorugh some shit. Humor is one of the ways we bond together."
"..."
"Look, what i'm trying to say is, we're not making fun of ya because we hate ya. We're just taking the piss ay! If we say some shit, it's because we like ya! And don't worry, you're more than welcome to say some shit back." Ellie smiled at the little snow leopard. Mei turned away a little bit, then whispered something in Chinese.
"谢谢"
"What was that? Can't hear ya mate."
"..…"
"No worries mate! I've gotta fly, but I'l see ya later!" And with that, Ellie flew off into the morning sky. Mei watched her soar up high into the big blue yonder, and for the first time since she came to America, she smiled.
X
Later that day, Mei was still in the backyard, but this time, she was practicing her Kung Fu. All of the girls were at work, so Cole was home alone doing chores. He noticed her outside, and brought her a glass of cold water.
"Hey Mei, you thirsty?" Mei turned to him and nodded.
"That was really impressive! I had no idea you knew Kung Fu."
"..."
"Ya know, I did some boxing back in my Marine Corps days. Maybe we could spar some time?"
"..."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Mei lunges at me from across the back yard. I couldn't believe how far this girl could jump.
I was not able to dodge it in time, and ended up getting a kick to the chest.
"Ooof… wow Mei, you're a lot tougher than you look!" I cough a little and try to recover from the kick, when Mei pushes me away.
"Hey what the hell~OH SHIT" Mei jumped almost 8 feet in the air and landed on one of the tree branches.
Suddenly an unknown woman jumped in front of me. She had Cyan blue skin, cold dead eyes, and wore a red dress with gold trim.
"Greetings Gweilo. Are you the one known as Cole Casey? I am looking for a chines girl. A snow leopard to be precise. Have you seen her?"
Before I could answer, Mei emerged from the tree branches above. She did a diving superman punch and struck the zombie woman.
"Ahhh, that didn't take long. Hello Mei. Have you been enjoying America?"
"..."
Mei looked at her with sinister eyes. She stood in front of me and stuck her arm out as I tried to get up. Signaling me to stay down.
"Quiet as ever I see. Well, I hope you know why I am here. You did some bad things back in China, and now it's time for you to pay the price."
"..."
Mei cracked her knuckles, and growled at the zombie woman.
"Very well. I have never lost a fight against anyone, and I have also never had the pleasure of going against one of master Dai Shi's pupils. This is going to be fun!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Bonjour dear readers! Long time no see eh? Did you miss me? Well let me apologize for the absence. The last few months have been crazy. First I moved into my new condo, then I ran a Marathon! Word of my success must have reached my ex, because she tried to get back together with me. I'll spare you the details, but lets just say that the old saying is true. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I'm a fucking idiot". Then after the holidays came and went, I took a little vacation. Now I'm back and writing again. This chapter was an interesting challenge as a writer, because Mei doesn't speak english, so she doesn't talk...ever. I found it very difficult to do any kind of character development for someone who has zero dialogue. Thats when I came up with the idea to write each scene twice, with the second time being from Mei's own internal monologue. This made me essentially write twice as much content for the same amount of scenes and action, but I think it helps a lot to give a quiet/shy girl like Mei some really good character development without the reader getting bored of her. Since this chapter still has another 10-15 pages left to go, I figured I would split it in half and post what I got now. That way my dear readers wouldn't be left hanging for so long.
Next time on Everyday Life with Apex Predators: Mei's epic kung fu battle with the Jiang-Shi. Will she be able to protect the Casey house? Perhaps the secret to victory lies not within kung fu, but within a hot plate of Cole's world famous Chow Mein?
Also, next time I will post some new art from my favorite artist, Otavio Luiz da Silva. He is working on a commission of Liz. Our favorite giant grizzly bear mama waifu!
Thank you so much for reading, and GO BE ALIVE!