Morning arrived with an alarming shout.
“CARTER!”
“Unghhhhh! Just a minute, Lorraine?” Fluttershy called out, yawning. “I…just need to wash off in the bathroom.”
Carter’s eyes shot open with fright at the sound. Normally he was a heavy sleeper, always late to the day’s events, but that shout had him jumping up like a cat poked with a broomstick. Neither he nor Fluttershy were in good shape. They both were a bit sore from such a long sleep.
Carter elected to use the bathroom, while Fluttershy grabbed a washcloth and a bar of soap, and flew out the window to the backyard, where she’d use the garden hose to wash off instead.
Carter washed up, before slipped on some new boxers and a new shirt with a picture of New York on it. Fluttershy set the garden hose to a shower mode and opened the valve half way for medium power. After about fifteen minutes, Fluttershy was cleaned up – and she had a sudden thought: if she was clothes-free like this, why weren’t her new family clothes-free like her? Who was in the wrong? Little did she realize that Lorraine would sort this out soon enough.
Once Carter and Fluttershy had finished washing up, they proceeded down the stairs…and saw Lorraine waiting for them, her arms crossed and wearing a frown. The front door lay ajar and behind it stood three policemen.
“Let’s get this over with,” Fluttershy whispered, and stroked his hand with her wing for reassurance.
“I…can explain,” Carter began.
“I’m listening,” Lorraine said in a voice that was almost reminiscent of a lion’s growl.
Carter spilled the lemon juice in the same way that he had with Fluttershy. Then he logged into Facebook on his smartphone, scrolled to the threat, and held it up for the police to observe. “See? Totally legit. I have been accused, and I need to clear myself before it’s too late.”
One of the policemen put his hand to his chin and huffed – in a doubtful way. “You’ll need to come with us for a moment.” He turned to Lorraine. “Miss, you cannot come, as seclusion is needed to bring out the truth in someone.”
Lorraine shed a tear, nodded, and tried to close the door, but Fluttershy pushed past her and ran up to the policemen, skidding to a stop.
“Well…um…I…”
“Sh-she’s my…” Carter tried to spit the words out as handcuffs were slapped onto his wrists.
“—best friend,” Fluttershy finished, and turned into her assertive self. “You can’t take him away like that!”
“I’ll be okay, Fluttershy, I’ll be back! I promise!” Carter spilled the words out quickly before he was ushered into the back of one of the police cars.
Fluttershy nodded sadly, and even waved the policemen good-bye, who in turn, flashed her a smile.
In the police station, Carter was sat down in a chair in a re-enforced room. Two men in suits with guns on their belts walked in and sat down at a desk opposite him. It was nothing new – Carter had seen scenarios like this on TV, but experiencing it himself was a whole new feeling.
“Tell me the story. Will you tell the truth?”
“Yes, sir,” Carter replied, his hands shaking.
Carter then cleared his throat. “It was just before lunch break. Class had finished early. At my school there’s this group of bullies who always pick on, beat up, and demand lunch money from the younger kids and others whom they deem unworthy of living. I slipped into the hall of the lower grades for the girls to avoid them as I headed to the back hall to eat lunch. All of a sudden I heard a slip and crash sound from one of the empty classrooms, followed by crying. I walked over and peeked in. There was a little girl who had slipped and fallen on the classroom floor while reaching for her lunch bag. I took pity on her and wiped the slippery stuff off the floor. Now, when I reflect back, it looked like it hadn’t been there for much longer than a quarter of an hour.”
“So you’re suggesting that it was a setup?” one of the men said.
“Probably,” Carter replied. “Anyways I picked her up like a mother, wiped her tears, handed her lunchbag, and gave her a comforting kiss. I was unaware that a security camera was installed in the classroom. Flash forward to just after dark that day at home on my laptop. An unknown guy by the name of Tyler Zeeba shows up with a message on my Facebook page. And what do I see? A videotape of me in that classroom. But when I looked closely, it appeared, from the camera’s angle, that I was kissing the little girl on the lips and not the cheek, as – I solemnly swear to God – I did not. Thus Tyler not only harshly bullied me but accused me of pedophilia. He claimed to have knowledge of all my Facebook friends, and said that he’d spread the video across the internet giving me a bad name if I didn’t send him my address. Of course I ignored that, but it looks like Tyler backstabbed me anyways.”
“No,” the other investigator said. “He didn’t. The school security saw the footage, mistook it like Tyler, and sent it to us.”
Carter nodded. “Ah, ok. Any other information you need to pull out of me?”
The investigators chuckled a bit. “Well, does your girlfriend have anything to do with it?”
Carter blushed. “I wouldn’t technically call her my girlfriend but no, not at all. In fact, she comforted me after I got worried and scared after I received that Facebook message.”
The investigators nodded. “All right, you can go. We’ll do our best to track down Tyler Zeeba as best we can. Would it be possible if you can give us any info on him?”
Outside at the reception desk, Carter pulled out his phone, logged in, and wrote down everything he could find from Tyler Zeeba’s profile, ignoring the messages, comments, and posts as there were too many to count. The police thanked him for his help and sent him on his way.
Carter took the bus back home, feeling relieved but determined. As much as the police had given him confidence, he knew he had to play his part in resolving the problem. But Lorraine was still ranting.
“How many times have I told you not to message or open messages from strangers!” she shouted as Carter entered the house.
“I only opened it to find the truth. I don’t want anything being hidden from me, especially if it concerns something this dangerous,” Carter replied, trying to calm her down. “Think of it this way: if you were the mayor of LA and scientists found a rip point in the fault line, you’re gonna keep your mouth shut and say to the people ‘that everything will be fine’ and issue no earthquake warnings at all? It wouldn’t be right.”
“You need to stop helping people, Carter! That little girl was just…argh! And isn’t it interesting that this occurred right on the day you let that damn yellow pony in your room!” Lorraine kept shouting, and Fluttershy even wondered if her “mom” had become a psychopath.
Jack noticed as he prepared for work and ran over, his eyes bulging with shock and anger. “Jeez, would you just cut this emotional nonsense already, Lorraine! Come on! It wasn’t his fault!”
Up in his room, Carter hurriedly prepared for school, and informed all his Facebook friends that he would be moving to a new account, and not to visit his old one anymore, in addition to giving a warning to ignore anything sent from Tyler Zeeba. That done, he ran down the steps, slipped on his shoes, trotted through the front door, hopped onto his bike, and pedaled like crazy towards the school.
Fluttershy spent most of her days in Carter’s room. She really wanted to clean it up, but hadn’t come around to asking him. On top of that, Lorraine’s freak-out had terrified her and she didn’t want to come out. It was like the beginning of her Earth arrival all over again. Only when Carter returned would she have that calm, happy, joyful feeling again.
There was a knock at the door. “Flutt—”
“Go away!” Fluttershy snapped, instantly recognizing it as Lorraine’s voice. “You’re such a meanie. I know the truth behind your deceiving behavior, and we’re done! Now go!”
“B-but—”
“I SAID GO!” Fluttershy repeated herself, gulping back a sob. Lorraine sniffled and walked away, while Fluttershy leapt onto Carter’s bed and threw the blanket over her. Only it’s dark, encompassing character could match the way her heart felt.
It was only when she stretched a little after an awful crying session did her hooves touch something under the pillows. She slid it out and flicked on a nearby flashlight…and gasped. It was a photo – a family photo of Carter, on his fifth birthday, at the beach with what Fluttershy guessed were his early childhood friends, and his mother.
She pushed the photo back under the pillow and cried herself to sleep. Lorraine felt alone and crushed, as Fluttershy seemingly no longer viewed her as “Mom” or even family, but as a plain enemy. For the first time she truly felt left alone in the house.
At last Ashley and Carter returned home from school. Carter was in a more positive mood, though this time Ashley was the one who felt sad and upset. She’d been bullied – a little, and it seemed as though Fluttershy was dumping her.
While Lorraine was on the phone, Carter dashed upstairs to his room. Fluttershy was there, sitting on the swivel chair and flipping through an old National Geographic magazine.
“Flutters!” he exclaimed, dropping his backpack and approaching her. “Boy, am I glad to see you!”
Fluttershy blushed. She usually didn’t like nicknames, but the way Carter said it was fine. She closed the magazine and embraced him in a big hug, balancing herself on her hind legs. ‘I’m so happy you’re back, Carter. I need to ask you a question though.”
“What’s that, Fluttershy?” Carter eagerly asked.
“Why was Lorraine so angry before?”
“She didn’t like me using Facebook, but I persuaded her and she eventually said yes, setting certain rules. Now, I didn’t really break those rules, but when this incident happened, I honestly don’t know why she went psycho. Maybe she’s too overprotective of me, as we’ve had some pretty tough times, especially in my early childhood days at school with bullies and stuff. But give her some time, and hopefully she’ll calm down.” Carter explained.
“Oh, because when she came to your door while I was here, I…I exiled her. I told her I didn’t want to be with her anymore,” Fluttershy confessed. “I really have messed up, haven’t I?”
Carter chuckled. “No, you haven’t. Suck it and go apologize to her and console her for the feelings she has for me.”
Fluttershy returned to the first floor and apologized for her mean behavior.
“I’m sorry that I screamed before,” Lorraine said, stroking Fluttershy’s head. “I was just too freaked out over Carter’s safety.”
“I understand, considering your past,” Fluttershy replied, recalling the family photo she’d seen under Carter’s pillow.
Later, after dinner, Fluttershy knocked on Ashley’s door.
“Come in,” she replied.
“I need to tell you something,” Fluttershy said quietly but seriously. “I’m sure you’re wondering where I’ve been. It is true, I’ve been spending a lot more time with Carter, and there’s a reason for that. Your life is smooth, happy, and complete. His isn’t. You’ve heard about all his bullying stories and his troubled friendships, right? There’s a lot of holes, cracks, and gaps that I need to fill up and assist in the healing of. Just because I’m always by his side, doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned yours.”
Ashley gave a slight nod. “I see. But could you at least spend time with me? Please?”
Fluttershy sighed and nodded. “Promise. By the way, I’d like to know more about that metal carriage outside the house.”