Platypus

Chapter Five

Lacey stood there, feeling dumbfounded. Zenfred made a small "boof" noise, which knocked her back to her senses. She reached down and scratched behind his ears.

"I don't believe that went all that well," she whispered.

Zenfred boofed again.

"Hmm?" Her brows furrowed in thought. "I suppose you're right. There's no point in feeling defeated just yet. Not until we've tried everything!"

But there wasn't all that much for her to do. Lacey didn't have any classes scheduled for Monday afternoons. That was when she was supposed to be working, but she hadn't been assigned a job yet.

So she decided to take the trolley to one of the city's libraries. The largest one, which had been built fifty years ago. After some conversation with the woman at the front desk, she was allowed to bring Zenfred in.

"Wow," she whispered. "Would you look at it, Zen?"

Wall to wall books, so high up that rolling ladders dotted the building, waiting for someone to need a text. But there was hardly anyone here. All of the texts had been digitally copied a decade ago and not many had the free time to visit the library, even if they wanted to.

"It's like a secret palace, just for us," she whispered.

Lacey walked down the aisles of shelves until she found a sitting area. She curled up on an old leather chair that had seen much better days. "This is as good of a spot as any, hmm?" She said to Zenfred. "We shall begin our search here."

Zenfred nosed her bag. She reached inside and opened the bag where she kept his treats. They were all homemade. Pets weren't allowed in the city. Any food or snacks she could get her dog would have to be specially shipped, and she didn't trust anything that could arrive old and stale.

She took out a single treat and put it on Zenfred's nose. Then Lacey twirled a finger about the air. Zenfried twisted his snout in the same direction, neatly catching the treat in his mouth.

"A few hours, and then we'll go home," she said, giving her dog another pat. He understood that treat meant that he'd have to wait for a long time and curled up at her feet.

Lacey pulled out her tablet and opened the art app. She was a good artist but didn't want to get a degree in it. Both her parents had encouraged her to find a profession with less competition.

That's why she opted to go into education. There were always going to be children who needed lessons. Nearly every family of her home city of Springs had easily eight or more kids. She was the younger of two.

It was very awkward growing up, because she always had to explain that she only had an older brother, and that was very confusing to other children. Some thought it was a luxury, since she got her own bedroom, but it seemed like the majority of them pitied her. As though she would end up very lonely.

"Done!"

Lacey held up the tablet for Zenfred to look at. On it was a decent representation of Fenton's face. It was a little on the red side, and his hair was messier than usual, but Lacey had remembered every detail. From his slightly crooked nose to the acne scars on his forehead.

Zenfred tilted his head. Faces weren't his thing. Now, if Lacey had the ability to draw up smells, he wouldn't be having a completely different conversation.

"I suppose you're right, but it's the best that I have," she spat back.

Arguing with Zenfred was quite normal for Lacey, but she never sounded serious in her scolding. She didn't believe he could understand much of what she said anyways. It was all about the tone she used.