The Love Life of Victor Frankenstein

Launching the Letters (The Agreement)

The next morning at school, Victor sat at his desk with the finished letter in his hand; it had his name and house address on it, but no stamp. They were going to attach the letters to balloons and launch them into the sky that very day; he was nervous.

"Okay, does everyone have their letters ready?" Mrs. Winston asked; everyone nodded. "Good. Now I have the balloons all ready and they're outside right now. Are you ready?"

The class nodded.

"Then let's go. And be sure to have your letters with you at all times."

The class got up from their desks and went out to the field; lots of brightly colored helium balloons were tied to the fence of the baseball diamond waiting for the group.

"Now form a line and grab a balloon, then attach it to your letter. But don't let go of it yet; we'll be launching them all together." Mrs. Winston instructed; a line was formed. Victor was standing in front of Elsa; he decided to strike up a conversation with her.

"Elsa? How did your uncle react to the... news?" He asked in a whisper.

"About Persephone? Oh... not too well." Elsa replied. "He was pretty shocked and angry about the whole thing; he kept saying things like 'That dead mongrel next door got your dog pregnant!' or something similar to that. But the worst part is... he wants nothing to do with the puppies and he's planning on selling them after their born."

"What?! No, he can't do that!" He cried.

"That's what I said!" She remarked.

Then, Victor had an idea.

"Hey, I know. Why don't you and your uncle come over to my house after school today and you, me, my parents, and your uncle could talk things over? That way, we could all make a responsible decision without doing anything too drastic."

"Good idea... I just have to find some way to make my uncle agree."

"...Now that could be a problem."

"But I'm sure I'll think of something."

"Okay, you two. That's enough; you can continue your conversation after class. Now grab a balloon." Mrs. Winston said when Victor and Elsa made their way to the front of the line.

Victor grabbed a red balloon while Elsa grabbed a blue one; Mrs. Winston added a small piece of tape to the strings. The two exited the line together and stood side by side in a circle; Hillary was standing next to Elsa.

"I couldn't help but overhear your little chat with Victor." She whispered. "Something about... puppies and getting rid of them?"

"That's none of your business, Hillary." Elsa hissed.

"Hey, Victor. What's all this about puppies?" Edgar whispered. "Is it something between you and Elsa? Can I get in on it?"

"None of your business. And one more thing, Edgar... shut up." Victor shushed.

"Okay. Now that everyone has a balloon, attach it to your letter and we can launch." Mrs. Winston said; everyone did as they were told. "Ready? And... go!"

The students let go and the balloons floated into the air and flew off into the sky until they finally faded from view. The school day ended as quickly as it began; Victor and Elsa walked home together, as usual, and they knew what they had to do. That night, the two children awkwardly at the table in Victor's house with Mayor Bergermeister, Susan, and Edward sitting with them; they were discussing what they were going to do with Sparky and Persephone's puppies when they were born. There was a bit of yelling, mostly from the Mayor himself, and it took a long time, but in the end... they all finally came to a reasonable agreement.

"So what you're saying is that when the puppies are born... Victor and Elsa can look after them?" The Mayor asked.

"Why not? Half for Victor, half for Elsa; and they can even switch." Edward replied.

"I personally think that's a terrific idea." Susan said with a smile; Victor and Elsa agreed.

They all looked expectantly at the Mayor who was looking at the two dogs in one corner of the room. He sat in silence for thirty seconds until he let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine." He said, reluctantly shaking Edward's hand.

Victor and Elsa smiled, stood from their chairs, and hugged each other tightly. But they quickly pulled away in embarrassment. They looked at Edward, Susan, and the Mayor who were looking at them in surprise; they blushed and glanced away from one another.