Chapter 26: Stuffed

When Professor Apple said she wanted to see him after class again, Ein was afraid that she was going to take back what she said before. That it was a horrible joke. Or that she finally realized just how unworthy he was of her sympathies and understanding.

But as he approached her desk, he witnessed a smile form on her mouth. This was a smile that he wasn't used to seeing on his teachers. This was not the wicked smile of Mrs. Kyoto. This was…something else.

"Is something wrong, Professor Apple?" Ein said, without really meaning to.

"Do you always assume that something is wrong?"

He looked down. "Sorry."

"Mr. Masters, I have some news. Good news, perhaps."

He looked up again.

"I have connections with the Full Life advertisement agency," she said. "They do ad work for magazines and television. They were very impressed with your project."

Ein couldn't speak. He wanted to, but he couldn't.

"And very impressed with what I've told them about you. About what you know." She folded her hands. "They want to hire you before another agency gets a hold of you. They're in the city. They're eager to see you. Here's the address and number." She slid over a paper.

Though he felt very heavy all over, he was able to lift his arm from his side, and take the paper. "Professor Apple…I…thank you."

"And I thank you as well, Mr. Masters. As a teacher, I haven't had many opportunities like this."

He held the paper so tight that he crushed it. So he carefully flattened it out again.

"They'll want you to start as soon as possible," she said. "You don't have to worry about missing this class. You can send me your final assignment through e-mail."

"Professor Apple…shouldn't I go through college before I get a job like this?"

"Some people need college, but I'm not going to lie to you, you don't. You have a gift that will sustain you your whole life. But I'm sure that the agency wouldn't mind hiring you part time, if you'd like to take classes as well. There's a good community college in the city. Even if you worked part time, you'd get more money than many people receive working full time."

"That sounds great. I'd like to get a degree."

"I'm not surprised."

He must have had a questioning look on his face, because she said, "A degree is an advertisement in itself."

Ein thanked her again, then met Princess outside.

"What did Apple want with you this time?" she said.

"Oh…nothing." He felt the paper in his pocket. It was still there. It was real. "So…you worried about the Eating Contest?"

"Me? No. Yes. A lot." She smiled. "But I know I'll be ok with all my friends there. Do you think Vincent will come? Is he over his flu yet?"

"I…don't think so."

"That's too bad. I really miss him."

Ein couldn't take this anymore. He wouldn't allow Vincent to miss the Eating Contest, just because Vincent was afraid of talking to Sunflower. Ein wanted Vincent to feel the happiness he was feeling.

All Vincent needed to do was tell Sunflower the truth.

Ein was sure that if Vincent did, a full life would be just around the corner.

***

The castle lost its magic without Vincent taking his place on the throne. Ein looked around, and realized that he was standing in the middle of trash. When Vincent ruled here, everything seemed so bright and elegant and strong. But now even Old Hobo Joe looked fragile, sitting on the ground beside the throne.

"Where's Vincent?" Ein said.

Old Hobo Joe pointed outside.

"Where?"

Old Hobo Joe said home with his fingers.

So, Ein realized, this castle wasn't Vincent's home anymore. "He went back?"

Old Hobo Joe nodded.

"Why would he go back?"

Old Hobo Joe shook his head.

Ein already knew the answer. He just hoped it wasn't true.

***

Ein stepped into Sunflower's office without knocking. "Did he tell you the truth?"

Sunflower glanced up from her papers, but only for a moment. "Who?"

"Did Vincent tell you the truth?"

"Yes."

"What did you say to him?"

She shrugged.

"You rejected him, didn't you?" Ein said. "Just because of who he is? Who he was? I thought you were better than that, Sunflower."

"I…" She scribbled something. "I wouldn't call it rejection. He's my coworker. I don't date coworkers. I just…don't. It's my policy."

"And is it your policy not to talk to your coworkers either? Is it your policy not to be friends with your friends?"

She kept writing.

"I don't know what's wrong with you," he said. "If you didn't like Vincent, I could understand you rejecting him. But I think you do like him. He's a great guy. And he's my friend. How could you let something like his background stand in the way of your friendship?"

"It's…it's better this way."

Ein knew then that he wouldn't be able to get anything more from her.

So he left.

***

A chimp butler led Ein to Vincent's room. Or, one of his many rooms, which he happened to be occupying at the moment. This was his machine-themed room. There were robots everywhere, blinking lights, toots and beeps, vehicles and androids.

Vincent sat in the center, surrounded by remote controls. His hands flowed over all of them, like he was playing some strange piano. He seemed to know what each button and lever did, and the room buzzed with life because of it.

"Hey Vincent," Ein said.

Vincent looked up, but his expression didn't change. His hands didn't stop moving. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

"Why?"

"When a friend of mine disappears, you think I would just sit back and not worry?"

Vincent just stared.

"We all miss you," Ein said. "Old Hobo Joe isn't himself anymore. Princess misses you too. She wants you to come to the Eating Contest. It'd make her feel a whole lot better if you were there to cheer her on."

Vincent kept his robots going. "I care not."

Ein stood there silent for a while, while everything else moved. It was like a whole world in here. "I know how much you must be hurting."

"Do you now?"

"You told Sunflower the truth, and if she were really worthy of you, she'd have accepted that truth and looked beyond it. You're a good guy, Vincent. She can't change that."

"I'm in no mood for a pep squad."

"Fine. Sunflower might have been wrong in doing what she did, but that doesn't give you the right to run away from everything and everyone. Princess needs you. Old Hobo Joe needs you. You can't run away."

Vincent laughed. "You say that as if you aren't going to do the same. As soon as you're able, you're going to leave. I know."

Ein felt his face puffing. The dreams inside his head pushed to come out. "That's…different. I'm following my dreams. You're not doing anything."

"You always were the self-righteous one, unable to see the truth."

Ein stepped forward. "Listen to me, Vincent. Princess wants us to be there for her. Do you understand that? Does friendship mean anything to you?"

"No."

Ein was ready to leave. He really wanted to get out of there. The sounds of the machines were hurting his head. But then he noticed something on the floor, amidst the remotes. "Why is this here then?"

Vincent looked at what Ein was holding, and his hands froze. The machines stopped all at once; the inner-world ended; the room became dead silent. Vincent walked over and grabbed the stuffed cat from Ein, then threw it into the machines. "It means nothing to me! Why would some stuffed cat mean anything when I have all this? All this…all this…" He walked over to the fallen cat. In the middle of the horrible silence, his footsteps were thunder. He picked up the stuffed cat, which had fallen beside a robot mouse. "I miss Ratty."

"So do I," Ein said.

"You never liked him."

"True…but I still miss him."

Vincent sat down, away from the circle of remotes. He held the stuffed cat tight in his hands. "I'm not the same Vincent I used to be. I tried to go back to the way it was, but it's not the same. These things…" He glanced at the machines. "They don't work. This isn't my room anymore, but I can't go back to the castle. I don't know what to do."

"I'm sorry, Vincent."

"Tell Princess that I'm sorry. Tell Joe that I'm sorry. Tell them that I'd like to be there with them, but I can't."

"I'll tell them."

Vincent looked at Ein for the first time. "I want Sunflower to understand. I want her to know how I feel. But why is that, Ein? Why do I care so much?"

Ein had never considered himself to be a guru by any means. He wasn't good at answering these types of questions. But, somehow, the gears in his head turned, and he knew the right words. He didn't have to tell Vincent though. He saw Vincent's eyes.

Vincent already knew.

***

This was such a tiny detail, he'd almost forgotten to do it. He actually needed to ask Daisy to go with him to the Eating Contest, even though his new life already implied that she would accompany him.

So he picked up the phone and dailed.

"Hey Daisy, it's me."

"Oh, hi Ein."

"Um…I'm calling cause I wanted to ask you…there's gonna be this Eating Contest thing at the restaurant. I was wondering, would you like to go with me?"

There was silence on the other line for a long time. Ein was afraid they were disconnected.

"Daisy?" he said.

"I'm here. I…can't go with you to the Eating Contest."

"Oh." His dreams were still solid enough to keep him smiling. "Do you want to go out some other time?"

"Actually Ein…I don't think this is gonna work out, me and you."

All he could manage was: "Why?"

"It just…won't. I'm sorry." She hung up.

If Ein's head was capable of expanding so much that his head would explode, it would have.

But strangely enough, his dreams were as strong as ever.

He collapsed on his bed without hanging up the phone.

Daisy's words echoed in his giant head, and somehow this made Ein want to leave even more. He really liked Daisy, but he was sure that there were others out there. The city was probably full of Daisies. All he had to do was pick one. He imaged his new life. He would work for hours everyday, making advertisements. Maybe the actual work would be boring sometimes, but he would feel pride in it, because he was good at it; because his bosses liked it; because he was being paid for it. His new normal life would make his parents happy. He would be able to talk to his parents without feeling bad. He would even be able to visit his old teachers without feeling any horror. In his new life, he would find a wife just as good as Daisy, who would cook delicious meals for when he came home from work. He would have loving children. Some day they would watch their father's advertisements on television and feel pride because their father was a good man.

And had a full life.