Warning: Calm Down

The ceiling stared down. Jorseph scratched at the carpet while lying supine. The mound shape of his bed towered over him darkly. The poorly chewed steak in his stomach pushed tightly at his chest. A burp escaped as he rolled on his left side, then on his right, only to return to his back.

A clock ticked as the swaying room made him burp. He leaned his head to stare at the blank television screen on his desk.

A meaty odor escaped with his breath. Piled school books threatened to topple over unfinished summer homework. A Brilliance Language textbook laid under his desk chair.

The digital display on the wall clock turned over. It was a half past the final hour. He rolled to his side with a groan. The meaty smell of his breath dissipated but he still burped. He could barely sense the scent of his scales on the carpet. He sniffed more deeply, but his nose felt stuffed. This sense of smell was so pathetic.

He sat up and curled his legs, arms rested over his lap as he looked at his hands. Sinuses drained into his throat. A swallow and a sniff helped his breathing but the room felt stuffy.

Curtains ruffled in the night breeze. A bit of moonlight trickled through the window. The box with the new Horde Golds glinted from the open closet. Toes that weren’t built for such footwear wiggled. He pressed a hand against his feet. The palm felt soft against a soft, cool, and dry insole. Claws would not extend no matter how much he tried.

Crickets chirped outside. The small flies buzzing around bothered him more than usual. They tickled more sensitive skin when they landed. Something bit him hard enough to protest with a jump.

The apartment outside his room remained silent. His mother wasn’t home yet. She wouldn’t be home anytime soon. She might not even be home for breakfast. Jorseph tried to crawl back on his mound shaped mattress and coil his body, but wasn’t quite limber enough.

The bed didn’t support stretching out. Jorseph clung to it until the clock struck a new day. He sat on the top which sunk under his weight. It looked like he was sitting atop a cratered volcano. It served better as a throne.

Bare foot stomped against the top of the magazine compartment, “Lilly, wake up. Let’s train. I want to learn how to use you to cast real spells.”

No response. He thumped the compartment harder but it hurt his foot, so he jumped off the bed and flicked on the light. Then he slid open the compartment. Magazines pushed aside to reveal his spell book.

He gripped it tightly from both sides. A foot closed the compartment as he flopped at the top of his mattress. The ruby still had a grease from the MukDrogan’s potato wedges. Gold doubloon printed sheets wiped the smudge gently until it spread evenly.

“Let’s practice magic.”

Smooth, scale-deprived, fingers pried at the cover. It was more like a prop than a real book. Jorseph huffed and pried all the harder. He slid on his back and tried prying it over his weird foot. The cover pulled ajar but then snapped shut with more force.

He’d opened it before. More effort forced it ajar again until he could just peek at a random page and see writing, pictures, charts. But then it snapped shut tighter than a shallow sea clam. Now it wouldn’t budge even with all his strength pulling against it.

“Hey,” he said, “Open up. I want to read you. I want to practice using magic.”

The book remained silent. He tried again with renewed effort. He groaned as he struggled to force it open.

“What’s your deal? You opened before. My mom’s not home and I want to practice using you. It’s not something you should be against,” his fingers continued to pry. They dug against the pages to get a grip on the cover edges, “Or would you prefer Grabby use you instead?”

A flash of shadow rolled over the gem on the cover, “You don’t need to open me. Nobody needs to open me. I’m tired and I want to sleep. Please don’t touch me.”

Jorseph continued to pry with full force.

Lilly’s spine groaned, “You’re going to tear me.”

“Then open up! I need to find the spell that changes me back before breakfast. If anyone sees me like this it’ll be obvious that I have you!”

A whirlwind of words flowed from the gem to punch him in the chest, “Is that all you care about!?”

Saliva flew past his lips as he hit the floor.

The book struck the ceiling on rebound. The bedroom shuddered. Plaster dented as cracks spread from the impact. But it landed softly on the top of his bed, right in the soft crater he’d formed earlier. Flecks of plaster snowed upon it.

Jorseph caught his breath and popped up from the floor with a growl, “Do you want somebody to call the police on us?! What’s your deal? You told me to leave you at the library, then you come back to my apartment, you change me back into this creature, and you refuse talk or let me learn how to use you! I’m sick of your stupid games! Change me back to normal!”

“I didn’t do anything this time. You did it to yourself.”

“Stop lying to me! Who am I supposed to trust? Maybe Grabby was right about you,” he swooped over and tried again to pry it open until his face turned bright red.

“Stop touching me.”

“Fine!”

A strong pitch slammed the book into the mirror. Lilly cried out on impact. Glass shattered as the backing crackled. The book remained flat against the broken mirror as Jorseph pointed at it, “I see how it is with you. You don’t care what happens to me. You don’t care if my friends don’t recognize me. You don’t care how much trouble I get into. You don’t care if I lose everything. You were just a selfish evil book all along!”

Splined tendrils composed of symbols curled into the wood to keep Lilly from falling. It whined. Mirror shards shook from its compressed pages. Heavy breathing issued from the foggy gem. Glass shards rattled.

A young woman’s tearful scream reverberated through the room, “Everything… I’m selfish because you’re going to lose everything!?”

Jorseph put his hands out, “I didn’t mean it. I was mad. Someone is going to call the police. Calm down!”

Spreading splined tendrils rotated like gears. They bit into his walls as they turned. Fleck of paint ground out with the plaster and dry wall.

Jorseph put his hands in front of his chest, “Lilly?”

A wailing moan reverberated from the shattered mirror, “I had a good mom once.”

“I had a good father.”

“They were the best ever.”

“I had- a great family.”

“I had- a promising future.”

“I had- a best friend who could do anything.”

“I watched that imp kill her.”

“I’m nothing more than a ghost.”

“And you have the audacity, to tell me, to calm down!”

Jorseph wiped his forehead, “I didn’t mean all that. I just wanted to learn magic and help you.”

The splines rotated in the opposite direction to peel off the walls so it could float, “I’ll calm down.”

“I’ll calm down.”

“Watch how calm I am.”

It giggled, “I’m so calm that I can barely feel anything! I’m nothing more than an evil book!”

“Lilly?” he whispered.

The ruby glowed red hot as the book floated forward in front of Jorseph’s face, “But right now, I feel so much emotion. It’s- overflowing!”

A foot took a step back, then froze. Splined tendril wrapped his neck. The grip curled over soft scaleless skin. Feet lifted off the carpet. The stretching of skin burned as he kicked. Fingers clutched into the inky splines, only to get pulled themselves by their rotation.

“Lilly!” he gasped, “Lilly please, you’re hurting me. I’m- I’m sorry. I swear I’ll do anything to fix-”

Coughing took over his voice. The flickering white ceiling light reflected in his slitted pupils. Fingers squeezed at the splined coils threatening to tear his neck. His face brightened, swelled. Snot ran over his chin.

“I- can’t- really,” he coughed in one final desperate gasp, “…blame you.”

All sounds became echo. The reflection of a glowing red gem centered in dilating pupils. The dark silhouette of a young woman banged her fist against the barrier.

The room faded to black.