#paultalk

I hear a THUD scrape scrape scrape THUD whaa scrape scrape pause scrape scrape THUD

He isn't going to stop, is he?

slowly, reluctantly, I increase the space between my eyelids allowing light in allowing him to win again

Why can't he just wait? ten more minutes. or maybe twenty. scrape scrape scr-FINE I turn my head, prop myself up on my elbows where is that little shit?

THUD.

there he is. a mound of orange a mop a tiny puff on top of my desk.

We make eye contact. as he reaches fo my coffee cup, left there from last night's homework binge our eyes are locked as he puts his incomprehensibly tiny hand upon it. and pushes ever so slightly scrape push scrape push scrape is he smiling? he just winked at me the fucker. THUD

"fuck you" whaa "yes i know." whaa "i'm up, i'm up."

i allow my tired legs to swing to the left let my tired feet greet the bare carpet the bare carpet doesn't seem to notice though my feet do they're cold and it's all his fault.

whaa as if on cue he wont let me pause i reach out hold my hand to his face he rubs against it looks at me sadly whaa as if to say "i see you're up! good morning! now feed me, dick."

okay, fine i put weight on my cold, tired feet lift my cold, tired ass from the warm embrace of a freshly slept in bed.

I drag my feet across the room alerting the carpet to my presence as four tiny feet hit the floor in response and patter over to me.

I reach down lift his cold metal bowl and push the door open dragging myself into the kitchen, an excited puff hot on my trail.

the linoleum kitchen floor is worse why does it have to be so damn cold? I set his bowl on the counter pull out his food dry and wet

open the bag pour in the dry clink clink clink he knows the sound well and looks up at me excitedly

I pull the top off the can spoon some smelly, off-color paste on top as if it was a cherry on a big dish of chicken-and-liver ice cream mmm I roll down the bag push the top back onto the can and stash them away until tomorrow morning.

I pick up the bowl he knows where i'm headed he knows what's next and dashes back to the room.

I set the bowl down and he immediately dives in chomp chomp chomp replacing scrape scrape scrape as the noise that will keep me awake I top off his water from a half empty bottle and trudge back to bed for a few more minutes of warmth before i have to brave the tundra