Birds, Secrets, and Love

Chapter 9

 Damiano plated a dozen gourmet birdseed spheres onto a tray. "They look AMAZING!!," Tessa admired. Damiano gazed at his creations with pride. "Thanks! You know what would be fun? What if I brought over my sister's bird, Pepperoni, and they could have a playdate?", Damiano laughed at the thought. "That would be so cute! Wait a second...your sister is Sophia, right? I met her at the farm last night," she recalled. "Oh, do you work at Whitbrooke farm too?," he asked. "No, my brother owns it-", Tessa started but got interrupted by a door opening. Damiano raised his eyebrows in surprise to learn that his little sister's crush is Tessa's brother. Suddenly, George strolled into the kitchen, wearing his designer pajamas. His hair was tousled from his medically-induced power nap. "Ooh yummy!," he said as he shoveled a seedball into his face. Tessa and Damiano stared at him, horrified. Immediately after, they burst out laughing. "What's so funny?," George questioned, looking for the joke. "You..just..ate..Mouse's..dessert!," Tessa said between gasps. George looked down at the tray of birdseed treats and admitted, "Hmm, not bad. Email me the recipe". Then, he left the room as if nothing happened.

Tessa gently scooped up a seed treat and fed it to Mouse, who inhaled it happily. "Yay, he likes it!," she said. "I knew he would!," Damiano smiled, "Welp, I guess that's all I have for today. See you in two days?". "Sure, thanks again for all your help," Tessa said as she ushered him to the front door. As Damiano approached the door's threshold, his foot got caught on a fancy looking slipper and he fell onto Tessa. They screamed as they toppled over each other. "Hey! What's going on here?!," a subtly-british voice yelled. George threw Damiano off of her in one strong swipe. "Mamma Mia!," Damiano grunted as he hit the floor for the second time. "Relax George! We just tripped!," Tessa said, annoyed. George's anger dissipated and was replaced by embarrassment. He sprinted to Damiano's side. "I am so so sorry, man. I...wasn't thinking clearly," he apologized as he helped him up. "Maybe you should go back to bed," Tessa admitted to George. "You're...probably right, sorry again," he said as he sulked to his room. "Are you ok?," Tessa turned to Damiano. "Yeah, what's up with your friend?," he asked. "I have no idea, we're still on for the day after tomorrow right?", she inquired. "Yes, but I wouldn't want to annoy your friend again. Maybe you could come to my house and introduce Mouse to Pepperoni?," Damiano suggested. "Oh no! Come over here, sorry about George. I promise he's not like that all the time.  Geez, he really ruined today, didn't he?," Tessa sighed. "It's no big deal, goodbye Tessa," he said as he walked out the door. Tessa waved back and shut the door. She stomped towards George's room to give him the biggest scolding of his life.

"-DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON YOUR ATTITUDE LATELY!! DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS?! I DON'T THINK SO!," Tessa yelled. She had spent the last fifteen minutes pacing back and forth, her patience thinning. "HEY! ARE YOU LISTENING?!," she approached George, who was tucked in his bed, wearing stylish sunglasses. Tessa listened for any confirmation, but was shocked to hear a small snore instead. Fed up, she violently shook him awake. His glasses went flying. "Huh, what. Is there another fire?," he mumbled groggily. "You're honestly telling me that you've been asleep this ENTIRE TIME!?," she shouted. "Tessa, listen. I'm sorry for being weird. I don't think the drugs have worn off yet, can I go back to sleep now?," he asked. Tessa never thought about why he was acting strange and suddenly felt bad for him. "Yeah, sorry. Remember to drink fluids and stuff," she said. As she was leaving she heard a mumble from the bed. "What was that?," she turned around. "I....just wanted to ask if you could tell that Italian guy that I'm not normally like this. I feel awful about what happened," he responded. "Sure thing, goodnight," Tessa said as she left.