Page 4 of Pete and His Precious

But I can handle this. There are worse things than having to find someone to take over my face painting gig at the fall Festival. Cal might to do it. He so wrapped up in his anteaters, I’ll have them roped into that before he even knows what hit him.

Except, he might have hockey practice that day. He plays for the Icebreakers, too.

Well that can’t be helped. I’ll just have to find two people to take over. No three, if she’s going to sign me up for the dunking booth too. Did she say she was definitely going to do this? Or did she just say I was going to be the back up if she couldn’t find anyone?

My head is pounding, and what I really need is some more of that soothing voice from across the wall.

Like a starving man, I stumble to my feet, and walk back out to the living room, but even before I sit down in my chair, I know she is no longer there.

That stinks. She is the one voice that can soothe my soul, and make me feel that I can get back up off the ground and back into the fight that people call life.

It’s a month until the festival, and by that point, I should have someone to take my place.

After all, Mrs. Higginbotham picked up her phone and made one phone call, and got the job taken care of. Surely, with a month to work with, I can find three people willing to spot me.

Do I have anyone who likes me that well?

I laugh a little to myself, because my brain was being sarcastic. I have some really good friends, but...no one wants to paint faces at the fall festival, and no one really wants to be in the dunking booth. Could I possibly end up doing all of that myself?

I make a mental note to take drawing lessons. I don’t want to get sued for painting lewd pictures on children’s faces. Especially if it was an accident. Regardless of whether or not it was an accident, that could be a career killer for me.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and I have a rare Saturday off. Maybe, if I actually dated, it would be an exciting thing. As it is, I’m just going to go see my great aunt, the way I do on all my days off. It’s not that I like her so much, but she’s my grandma’s sister, and I loved my grandma. She was one of the best influences in my life, and I would do anything for her. She asked me, just a few days before she died, to take care of her sister, whom not too many people like, and no one gets along with. I would do anything for my grandma, like I said, and so I said yes. So now, I spend all of my time off, or most of it anyway, helping great Aunt Bay, who no one likes and very few people get along with.

Actually, she’s crusty, and salty, and in my current state, I wouldn’t want to be around her, but I actually kind of like her. There’s...a soft underbelly underneath the crusty exterior that is actually rather endearing.

Plus, she has a heart of gold, although she hides it and guards it fiercely.

I’m definitely discouraged, but I’ll take a shower, eat a can of whatever’s in the cupboard, even if it’s just plain black beans, and I’ll read my Bible for a bit. That always brings me out of my funk. The Psalms. Like millions of other people before me, I will go there, because it’s so nice to think of David, who had a few bad days himself, giving me comfort for my own trials in modern-day.

I take a glance at the wall, even though I know I’ll see nothing, and then push out of my chair, hoping I’m around when the voice starts again.

“Leo and his little bunny. Leo and his love bunny.”

I narrow my eyes at the bird.

“If you’re going to live here, if I’m going to feed you, at the very least you could learn to say Pete.”

The bird looks at me, cocks his head a little, and says, “Leo and his love bunny.”

Chapter 3

Zoey

“Good morning Verity,” I say as I walk into the library.

Narrators do not get paid a living wage, and I take on all the side gigs I can get. Bonus points if they actually have to do with voice acting, although, right now I waitress part-time, and I also have myself listed on Craigslist to give lessons for pretty much everything I know how to do. Reading, English as a second language, even math. I wasn’t terrible at it, and I can do elementary school math. I’m not sure I could tutor calculus, but no one’s ever asked me to. I actually have my hourly rate set at fifty bucks an hour for that, and if someone hires me, I’m going to be looking on YouTube channels to see if I can’t brush up my skills. I’m not going to turn a paying gig down, especially if it’s fifty bucks an hour.

But for today, I’m doing my charity work at the library. I do story hour, and it’s one of my favorite things that I do. After all, uses it relates to what I want to do with my life, which is be a voice actor, and I really love children too. So, there’s that. It’s adults that I shy away from.

“Hey Zoe. The kids are waiting for you.”

I look at my watch and see that I’m two minutes late. I used to be so punctual, but...maybe it’s the fact that I’m slowly but surely learning that I’m never going to pay the bills with voice acting.

My parents are going to gloat when I tell them that they were right, but...it’s a little depressing.

“All right. I’ll get started right away.”

I smile with the children as I sit down on the tiny little chair. I’m not that big myself, so while the chair is definitely too small for me, I fit better than most adults do.

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