Jason Lu, Period 7, 3/10/2022

 Jason Lu, Period 7, 3/10/2022

5:40 AM

1… 2… 3… Recording! 

“Happy birthday Simba!” The sunny-orange cat, wearing a triangular party hat, cocked it’s head in a sign of confusion as the boy blew out the candles. “You’re 7 years old now. Aren’t you happy?” The boy rubbed the cat’s cheeks affectionately, receiving a gentle purr in return. 

“Rubbing your fur never gets old…” The boy gave a warm smile and nudged Simba towards the door. “Come on, let’s get some fresh air.” 

- - - - - - - - 

6:10 AM

The beautiful yellow-orange of the rising sun matched the cat’s fur exactly, and the boy couldn’t help but lift the cat up to the sun. 

The boy turned Simba around to face the sun, whose muscles tangibly began to relax. 

“Nice, isn’t it? It’s like the sun’s coming to wish you a happy birthday too~”

Simba turned its head around and gave a friendly lick on the boy’s hand, though it felt a bit like sandpaper. 

A light gust of wind caressed the pair as it passed by, a reminder, to the boy at least, that it was time to move on to the next part of the day. 

- - - - - - - - 

8:30 AM

Click.

“Oops, it looks like the video feed cut out, Simba. We’ll probably have to give it a battery chan-” 

- - - - - - - - 

9:30 AM

“That took a while… 1 hour?? Did we even… oh no, none of the footage of us in the garden got recorded. I’m so sorry Simba.” 

Camera focuses.

The clearly disappointed boy rubbed the cat’s head, who leapt onto him and gave him a soft nuzzle on the cheek. 

“Thanks, Simba.” The boy gave his best attempt at a smile, but it was wrought with the aftermath of frustration and guilt over the past hour. “I just wish - like, it’s only been 3 or 4 so hours… and things have already gone wrong!” 

Simba looked at the boy for a second, and ran across the room. 

“Simba?”

The boy stood up and looked at the camera, intending to shut the footage off. 

“I hope Simba isn’t mad at me… He’s one of the few things I can rely on…”