Savage Tales

see.
    "I see nothing," said Skooter.
    I raised the shovel and aimed at the back of his head, preparing to swing.
    Skooter's head flinched, jolted. "Aahh!" said Skooter. "Is danger!"
    I paused and lowered the shovel behind me. "What do you mean?" I said.
    "I sense danger," said Skooter. "I have a sense. A future sense. It says danger is come."
    "You mean you have psychic powers?" I said, cursing my luck.
    "We must go, Jake. There may be a monster here. Nearby."
    "If you say so, Skooter." I left the shovel on the ground and we returned to the house. "I'll show you that tree some other time."
    "I'm sorry, Jake."

    Next morning at breakfast Skooter told Mom about it.
    "I can't imagine what Jake might want to show you at that time of night," said Mom.
    "I thought I saw a wolverine back there," I said.
    Skooter was looking through our fridge at all the strange food and drink, and I took the opportunity to put some powder from Dad's medication into his corn flakes.
    "Dig in," I said.
    He ate with relish. Literally. He'd seen all the condiments in the fridge and was curious to try something new.
    After eating, Skooter said, "I don't feel so good."
    "That's why people don't put relish on corn flakes," I said. "Let's go to school. Are you ready for your first day?"
    "My stomach is not ready," said Skooter, collapsing to the tile floor.
    "Skooter!" Mom screamed.
    "I'm gonna go to school," I said. "You guys sort it out."
    Mom ignored me and I left.
    I expected Skooter to show up at school later that day. He never did. When I got home that afternoon, I found Mom looking sad.
    "Where's Skooter?" I said.
    "Gone," she said.
    "Dead?"
    "No! they sent him back to Europa. He was having panic attacks about Earth food. Your father didn't want him to suffer."
    That night at dinner we were kind of quiet.
    "It's like we've lost a piece of ourselves," said Dad. "He was only here for one day, but in that day he became one of us. Who will I drink with now?"
    "I could –" I began to say.
    "Out of the question, young man," said Dad. "You will not be drinking beer."
    I already had sampled alcohol in my time, of course, but I simply nodded.
    "I don't miss him," said Natalie. "He was a creep."
    Mom slapped Natalie, and said, "Silence, young lady. I can't help but feel responsible. What if it was me? My cooking? I should have considered his dietary preferences more carefully. He was just being polite. That fried chicken was too rough for him."
    "Don't you dare blame yourself, Alice," said Dad. "That chicken's been passed down through your family for generations. It's delicious, and that's the last word on it. No, it was simply Earth life in general. It doesn't suit everyone."
    "That's true," I said. "But don't worry, Mom. We still love your food."
    Mom forged a smile on her lips. We ate in silence. Mom still looked kind of sad.

LET'S STAY TOGETHER

    I'd been calling for days. She finally picked up the phone.
    "What?" she said.
    "Hi, good to hear your voice. It's so good. It's been so long. It's been. It's –"
    "You need to stop calling me. It's over."
    "You say it is, but I don't know. Can we ever be sure? As long as we're still here. It's still possible. Anything's possible. We're still here."
    "I'm gonna change my number."
    "Don't do that, babe. Come on. Don't say that. Just see me. We can talk this out. It'll be like old times."
    "It's never going to be. Don't you get it? It's over. Over!"
    "Don't yell like that. That's unnecessary. Can we just meet? I'm a different man now."
    She didn't say anything for a while and I thought she'd hung up.
    "Where you living these days? Can I come over?"
    "No."
    "Then let's meet at Frank's. I haven't seen you there since you left."
    "Because I know you go there."
    "But I know you love their coffee. Don't let me keep you away. Just come by and have a cup –"
    "I'm seeing somebody."
    "No you're not. I know you. You're not. You can't be. It hasn't been a week. No."
    "I am. I'm not gonna meet you."
    "Just one cup of coffee and we can talk. Come on. Saturday. Ten a.m., all right? All right?"
    "I'll think about it."
    "Do that. But don't just think about it. Be there. It'll be so good. Like old times."
    "I'm seeing someone."
    "No, just be there."
    She hung up and I breathed a sigh of relief. She'd be by my side again. Soon.

    I got to Frank's early that Saturday and set up camp. Frank's always got crowded on Saturday mornings for brunch, and I thought somebody might pester me with a request for the empty chair, so I