Good morning. It is I Gigi the parti poodle up bright and early today to bring you the fourteenth chapter of my story Catzilla. This morning my novelist woke me at dawn to rush me off to work at a garage sale. I am not certain if this is a good thing or not. Unfortunately, the Maltese will be joining us, preferably whilst locked in a room. I shall take it upon myself to be the director of this gala. If anyone tries to cause any trouble, I shall give them a thorough barking at. This rummage sale shall run as smoothly as the silk pillow I have always deserved. I shall oversee all finances as well. Poodles are excellent at math. I shall run a perfect till and be the envy of all garage sale till overseers. I will become famous for my extraordinary management skills. Fortune 500 companies will be begging me to run their companies. They will be fighting over me, offering me golden parachutes as none have ever been offered before. I shall become a Wall Street legend. I will be interviewed by Fortune magazine, The Wall Street Journal and Jim Cramer. I will be the face of the American economy. Nothing’s going to stop me now.

Gigi, we need more quarters.

Shut up, Tucker, you mangy cur. And now here is chapter fourteen of Catzilla. Enjoy!

Catzilla

by

Gigi the parti poodle

Chapter Fourteen

We only saw the kitten once more after that. It was in Ellery’s driveway three days later eating out of a large red bowl. Not only had it reached the one hundred pounds Dr. Grosser predicted it would reach, but it had also packed on twenty more making it the size of a small cougar. Then for one reason or another it vanished.

This bothered me a lot at first. I kept waking up at night thinking a huge kitten would burst through my bedroom window and rip me to shreds. But no such incident occurred. After a week went by, I turned my focus to my studies. My mother started her new assignment at a new company. I asked her what kind of company it was. She told me they specialized in psychology for investment planning. They’d brought her in to help work out some issues they’d had with cash flow.

Lyle continued to listen for more audio on the kitten but there was little to report. We stopped hearing anything of interest the day after we’d listened to the first recordings. Lyle concluded that the kitten must have lost the tracker somewhere. Or maybe someone found our bug and destroyed it.

“Do you think they’ll track the bug back to us?” I asked him.

“It’s possible but unlikely,” he said.

I started thinking more and more about my dad’s disappearance. I considered bringing it up to my mother a few times but thought better of it. Twelve days before the spring formal we were sitting at the dinner table when she suddenly asked me, “Is Lyle taking you to the dance or are you going solo?”

“I’m not going to the dance at all,” I told her.

“Isn’t it the biggest dance of the year outside of the prom?”

“Yes. But I don’t like social functions.”

“Neither do I. But sometimes we need to participate. Not to mention I signed up to be a chaperone.”

“Why?”

“That way you don’t have to go there alone.”

“I’m still not going. I’ve got a load of homework. If I go, I’ll never get it done.”

“You’ll get it done.”

“You’ve never chaperoned anything in your life.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

I glanced over at my father’s picture on the hutch where the silverware was kept. He seemed to look at me and say, “do what your mother says”. I sighed and said, “Alright. I’ll go.”

On Tuesday evening before the stores closed, my mom and I went out and looked at dresses for the dance. We stopped at a boutique called Ribbons & Roses. I ended up buying a mint green cocktail dress with rows of vertical sequins. Then we went hunting for shoes at a place called Slippers. I chose a pair of matching mint green ballet flats with a thin strap across the top and a silver buckle. I didn’t mind the shopping, but I would have rather been buying the outfit for a nice dinner or a play instead of a school dance.

On Wednesday I was sitting outside eating my lunch when Lyle came up to me and said, “Have you seen the kitten today?”

“I haven’t seen him since last week,” I replied.

“What do you think is our plan of action?”

“I think we should go back to the Edevane Company’s factory and see if their keeping it there now.”

“I was thinking we should scout around the neighborhood for it. Are you free tonight?”

“No, I have a lot of studying to do. I’m required to go to the dance now because my mom volunteered to be a chaperone.”

Lyle’s face brightened up. “My mom can still take us.”

“No, thanks. My mom’s going to drive me.”

“Oh,” Lyle said disappointed. “Well, I guess I’ll see you there.”

“I’ll see you there.”

Lyle looked at me as if he was waiting for me to say something else. Then he got an embarrassed look on his face and left.

After a few minutes, Ellery sauntered up to me. “Hey, Briar,” he said in that smug tone of his.

“What do you want?”

“You going to that spring dance?”

I scrutinized his face. “Why?”

“It’s going to be a blast.”

“Because you won’t be there?”

“Oh, I’ll be there all right.” Then he laughed the most peculiar laugh I’ve ever heard. I noticed something strange in his eyes. Something I’d never seen before.

“What do you care if I go or not?”

“Thought you could save me a dance.”

“I don’t dance with parasites.”

“Oh, you’ll dance with me all right.”

“Not a chance.”

“You will if you know what’s good for you,” he said and wandered off whistling.

After lunch I head to biology class and wait for Lyle to come in and sit down in the seat next to me so we can work on the lab assignment. But by the time the bell rings he’s still not there. Lyle is never late.

“All right let’s quiet down and get started on these labs,” Mr. Relish said. “We’re already a day behind.”

Mr. Relish always tells us we’re a day behind. I keep looking at the door as I head over to the lab. But Lyle still doesn’t show. So, I’m working without a partner today. As I start to look over the assignment Ellery comes strolling over, leans into me from the opposite side of the countertop and says, “Scared Lyle off, did you?”

“He probably has a checkup or something he had to go to.”

Ellery laughed. “I’ve known that weirdo a long time and he never misses a class. Even when he’s sick. I saw you two chatting it up at lunch before I came over. I know something’s up.”

“Nothing’s up. And you shouldn’t spy on people.”

“Neither should you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, I think you know what it means.”

“Ellery,” Mr. Relish said. “Why aren’t you working on your experiment?”

“Well, Briar’s all alone here and doesn’t have a partner.”

“Devin’s your partner, Ellery. Go work with him. Now.”

“You heard Mr. Relish,” I said. “Devin’s lonely.”

Ellery scoffed and pushed himself off the countertop. “I’ll be seeing you at the dance, twinkle toes,” he said, before he pointed at me and made a sound with his tongue like he’d make at a horse. Then he strolled back to Devin’s lab.

MY BOOKS

You can check out my books Chicane and all five installments of the Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!, Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! and Musicology: The Epiquad on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: NITRAM (2021)-HULU

On April 28,1996, one of the worst tragedies in Australian history occurred in Port Arthur, Tasmania. A young twenty-nine-year-old man with long unruly blonde hair walked into a bed and breakfast called Seascape, a popular Port Arthur Historic Site, ordered a fruit cup and juice, and after consuming his meal shot and killed thirty-five people and wounded twenty-three others including several children. This is the story leading up to the horrific event.

Martin Bryant (Caleb Landry Jones in a brilliant chilling performance that deservedly won him Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival and should have gotten him an Oscar nod as well) nicknamed Nitram (Martin spelled backwards) by his peers is a highly disturbed and mentally challenged young man. His connection with reality is shaky at best. He likes to shoot off firecrackers whenever and wherever he pleases. He is not stable enough to have a drivers license, was unable to attend a normal school and is prone to erratic bursts of violence. His Mum (Judy Davis in a stunning performance that also shockingly did not receive an Oscar nod) is the cold weathered voice of reason. She is forced to tell Martin’s psychiatrist not to stop prescribing her son’s medicine. She is profoundly trapped with what is more of an unruly animal then a son and is married to Martin’s mentally unstable Dad (Anthony LaPaglia). Dad is a gentle soul but has horrific bouts of depression.

One day, Martin takes it upon himself to start a business cutting lawns and goes about the neighborhood trying to earn money. But his reputation precedes him and his actions like putting his foot in neighbor’s doors and lurching at them threateningly does not win him any gigs. That is until he meets fifty-year-old Helen (Essie Davis), an amiable but eccentric heiress who takes a liking to Martin. Martin genuinely attempts to mow Helen’s lawn, but his lawnmower gives out, so she gives him a job walking her fourteen or so dogs. The two take a liking to each other which proves to be like ammonia and bleach becoming friends. Helen begins giving Martin lavish gifts like Volvos and solid gold pendants with bulls on them. She even puts him in her will. But the one thing Martin asks for that she will not give him is a gun, which proves to be her sanest hour. An hour that sadly goes by far too quickly when things take a dark crucial turn.   

Nitram is by no means an easy watch, but it is an essential one. It is a well-crafted pot boiler by writer Shaun Grant and director Justin Kurzel who is known for his bold and crucial works that shake up audiences and make them think. Like movies are supposed to. The film does an excellent job condensing and examining the steps that lead up to Martin’s nightmarish act of pure unadulterated evil which, in one form or another, is just like all the other steps that lead up to all the other mass shootings. The film is never gratuitous and always tense as it weaves a profound message everyone needs to hear. Especially those who believe all humans think and act the same and fail to understand some people are profoundly dangerous. It just takes one aberrant reprobate to ruin millions of lives. Make it a point to watch the information provided on screen at the end of the movie. It is a sobering message on the nature of human beings who place more value on possessions than lives.