DEPUIS PENDENT?

24 FEBRUARY, WEDNESDAY, AFTER DINNER

I realized when dinner was over how life as a grounded alpha was pretty sweet. Dad had to leave for another round of meetings with Beta Lucas. Meanwhile, mum said we received a package in the afternoon. It was a huge box, the size of an armchair. Ki smiled, recognizing it at once - either that or he had x-ray vision, "The hamster enclosure is here."

So Savy, Sabre, and I "helped" Ki set up the new home for a hamster. We decided to put the hamster in my room, since it was my hamster. Ki had offered to put it in the waiting area outside my room, but I wanted to put it next to my bed, and I was the Alpha.

The acrylic enclosure was made of two transparent boxes and some clear plastic tubes that joined both boxes together. It also came with supplies like a large bag of white paper nesting which was "Safe for Critters", another large bag of hay, and like a few different smaller bags of treats.

Ki had prepared clear air tight containers for the treats. The seller had included some chew toys as freebies. Ki already had the hamster hideouts and food bowls ordered earlier. I had no idea a little fur ball the size of a ball of paper would need that much stuff.

While Ki was setting up the enclosure, Savy, Sabre, and I played with the hamster's stuff. The hideouts were like really cute. Ki had bought everything in white. He even got the hamster a white clamshell hideout.

"Now the hammie can sleep in a clamshell like you." Savy cackled.

Sabre found the hamster wheel, "What's this for?"

"For the hamster to exercise." Ki said as he fastened on the water bottle.

I guess the hamster would need to exercise, even the amount of treats and food we had for it.

"'When's the hamster coming?" Sabre asked.

"'What color would it be?" Savy asked, "Do you know, Sam?"

I shook my head, "'Don't look at me, I don't know anything."

"As usual." Sabre said and rolled her eyes.

Hey! I didn't need that from a five year old!

Ki's smile was nice tonight, like the one that wasn't a mask, "I believe the baby hamster will be ready to come to its new home any time now."

Ki took out his phone and showed us Zara's hamster media channel and showed us a photo of four baby hamsters in a bowl - like the kind for eating. It had the caption, "Goodbye my babies. I will miss you so much! Have a good life with your new mummies. XOXO #bittersweet #hamship #saygoodbye"

"Óooo..." Savy's eyes lit up, "They're so cute."

I didn't really fancy being a mummy. That's like what Mum was.

"They look like rats." Sabre told us, "I used to have a pet rat. But he only liked me because I shared my food with him."

I didn't really fancy sharing any of my food with him either. But urm... okay. I patted her red curls, so soft and silky and bouncy. So I patted her some more.

Sabre shook off my hand.

"I can't decide which one's cuter." Savy said, her attention still on Ki's screen.

"I think it's creepy that you're stalking my friend on social media." I told Ki.

"I simply subscribed to the same channels as you do goddess." Ki smiled.

So he was simply stalking me?

"Are Ben and Harvey doing that too?" I asked.

"I am not privy to their subscription list, goddess." Ki confessed.

If they were, I was so going to subscribe to... I tried to think of the most torturous, mind-numbing channels ever. Hahaha, I'm going to subscribe to anyone with LuvMuunMuun posts. Hahahahaha. I'm so evil.

Oh, no wait, that would mean I'd have to scroll through LuvMuunMuun posts too. So maybe not, unless I really had nothing better to do.

Eventually, the main set up was completed, and the hay, and bedding, and food, and treats, etc (SO MUCH STUFF) were stored away neatly.

"We'd out in the final touches when the hamster arrive." Ki decided.

"I can't wait!" Sabre yelled, jumping on my bed.

"Me too." Savy was smiling at the thought, "Remember not to name it anything stupid."

"Yes, yes, don't worry. I'll bring it home for you to name." I said.

"Yay!" Sabre yelled, still jumping on my bed, "I wan't to call it Dewpy Pondon!"

I made a face at that. I was quite sure even I would be able to do better than that.

"Do you mean Depuis Pendent?" Ki asked lightly.

"Oui." Sabre nodded.

What?

"Sabre was selected for a special second language program at school." Savy informed me.

Wow, that was pretty impressive.

"What does dewpie pondon mean?" I asked.

Sabre laughed at me, "non! ses duefee eck fondon."

I only understood the "no" part.

"Cést depuis et pendent." Ki corrected lightly. As pretty as it sounded when Ki spoke it, I still had no idea what it meant.

"That's what I said!" Sabre claimed.

"They are prepositions of time." Ki was good enough to explain in English, unfortunately, I couldn't understand that either. But I nodded because I didn't want to look stupider than a five year old.

What was I doing at five? Falling from the back of motorbikes? Getting stuck in trees? I scanned through my memory for any kind of finer educational experience. I made hand prints with paint - did that count as art? And after that experience in school, I decided to level up and did an installation art across the lower part of Dad's office wall when I found an ink pad on his desk.

Wow, I was such a dumb kid. No wonder I was always running around with the dumb boys. But now my dumb boy friends, were all cool guys, while I was just pseudo cool. Like I hung out with the cool kids in school, but I wasn't really one of them. I was just... I don't know, I was just Sam, I guess.

"Is anything the matter, goddess?" Ki asked, "Do you not like the enclosure?"

I realized I was frowning at the enclosure next to my bed. Ki had arranged both boxes side by side instead of one on top of the other so now I had a side table next to my clam shell.

Now he was also regarded the two rectangular enclosures seriously.

"Perhaps I should order more tubes and run them behind the bed so that the enclosures might serve as side tables symmetrically on either side of your bed?" Ki suggested.

Oh, that might be cute.

"We could buy lots of tubes and run them all over the walls of Sam's room." Savy suggested with a cackle.

For some reason, I thought about running around the maze of dark servant corridors behind the walls of Heller's castle, "Then let's drill a hole in the wall and run pipes all over the house the hamster can listen in on all over conversations."

Ki chuckled, "Does your hamster work at the Lorent's Alpha house?"

I laughed.

Savy cackled.

Sabre bounced on my bed and hooted, "I CAN'T WAIT!!!"

Mum came fresh from her bath and thanked Ki for babysitting! I hope she meant Sabre, because I sure didn't need babysitting!

Then Mum took her time to admire the new hamster enclosure, "It looks almost like a display case. This does look very nice, nothing like the hideously plastic and metal cages I had imagined."

And then she took her time to lecture me, "Please take good care of your new pet, Sam. Don't leave it to your betas. We all know Ki has enough to do as it is!"

Yeah, and who's fault do you think that was? Don't think I didn't know how you and Dad use my betas whenever you deemed fit!

But of course I didn't say that. I just nodded, "Yeah, okay."

I mean, it was just one little hamster right? No problem.

After that, Mum took Sabre to go to bed. Savy left because she was supposed to continue updating Lizzy - apparently the adventure she related to us over dinnertime needed hours to be retold to her best friend. Ki excused himself after making sure I didn't need anything else.

And I was all alone. I sighed, but it was a short and happy sigh.

I looked at the empty enclosure. Soon there would be a cute hammie named something unpronounceable running around inside. I sat down and studied the layout carefully. I imagined it running in its wheel - the wheel was as big as a dinner plate. I imagined Ki probably picked the most environmentally sustainable and expensive designer option of every item possible in white. I think this was the way Lorents shopped for everything in general.

Shopkeeper: "May I help you sir?"

Lorent wolf: "Yes, I'd like to buy something."

Shopkeeper: "Very good, what would you like to buy sir?"

Lorent wolf, "Something expensive, and fancy, and very, very, white."

Shopkeeper: "Would you like to buy this white elephant made entirely out of recycled environmentally sustainable rubbish? I can sell it to you as art and double the price."

Lorent wolf, "Very good. I'll take two. For symmetry."

Bwahahahaha.

Wow, I really am free. I probably should be at the meeting with dad right now. Withering in my chair around the stone table in our conference room from sheer boredom.

It was kind of early. I still had to deal with Bell, but I didn't want to. Gah! How dare he!

So I took out my phone and opened up the social media app. I had meant to flood my feed with LuvMuunMuun subscriptions just to mess with my dear betas, but I got distracted because Jasmine posted baby pictures of herself and Liam side by side and asked if anyone could imagine what their possible future baby might look like.

I looked carefully at the photos and couldn't tell which one was Liam and which one was Jasmine. I would say their baby would look like a very smiley baby because both the babies in the photos were smiling.

And then Zara posted another picture of the baby hamsters on her pillow, "Last night with my babies."

Oh. I looked carefully at the little furry bundles. They looked a lot like their Mummy Brownie, but patchier, in various shades of white and light brown.

Zara's pillow was light pink so they looked really cute and fluffy. I remembered the girls going to Zara's place to study and choose their hamsters before the exams. I wondered which one was left for me?

The Lorents Girl's Little Bird Channel chirpped all about their starlet, Oprah's debut at King's Theatre and how it was a rousing success.

And then more photos of their "favourite little brother" from their brother school, the Lorent Academy. But now I recognized the face of the sullen young man - this one was Roan - Coach Emerson's son.

They even caught a shot of him in action at the archery range. Roan was supposed to be one of the most promising archers in his generation.

And then the other faces, the student council president, I suddenly recognized as urm... What was his name? The one that didn't like to talk. Wait, how did someone who didn't like to talk become student president?

Devin! That's right.

Its been a while since I checked out the Lorent school's little bird channel and although they were quite profilic with their updates, after a while, the photos all looked the same. I mean, there were just so many angles you could take of your favourite little brother's sullen expression.

Now that my exams were over, the reality of having to transfer schools in term two felt a little too close for comfort.

So I switched channels to check up on the FAO and my own betas. Their channels were now up and its amazing what you can learn about someone from social media.