Waterways (48 page)

Flora leaned in to Kory. “Did she really kick you out?” she whispered.

Kory nodded, just as Geoff Hill and his family came down the stairs. “Hey, Hedley,” Geoff sneered. “That your
boyfriend?”

Kory only saw the grimaces on the muzzles of his parents—directed at him, not their son’s behavior. Next to him, Samaki was looking his way for guidance, but he didn’t know what to do, how to respond. He couldn’t make himself say anything rational, and he couldn’t tell Geoff to piss off, not with the raccoon’s parents standing right there. He felt the creeping feeling that he was going to let Samaki down again, but this time the feeling didn’t have time to take hold before Flora piped up. “Yes, Geoff, so you can stop chasing Kory now. He’s taken.”

“Fuck you, stinko,” Geoff snarled, clearly surprised at the attack from that quarter. He stepped back and Kory could see his tail bristling.

“Geoffrey!” his mother said, steering him away from them. “Language!”

“Yes,
Geoffrey”
Malaya called after them. “Listen to your mother,
Geoffrey!”
The raccoon’s stiff back and tightly wound tail told them he heard the taunts even if he didn’t respond.

“Malaya!” Kory said, laughing. “You don’t even know him.”

“I know his type.” She shrugged. “Used to live with one, remember?”

Kory nodded, looking at the fox beside him. Samaki tilted his head in a familiar gesture: not quizzical, this time, but resigned, a warm smile creasing the black fur of his muzzle. “There are always going to be Geoffs around,” he said. “But there’ll be Malayas too, and Nicks and Floras and Margos.”

“I gotta go get in line,” Flora said. “Hey, Kory, party at Vera’s tonight. Bring Samaki if you want.”

“Okay,” Kory grinned. “If he wants.”

“We’ll see.” The black fox fell in beside Kory as they walked away from the stage, Malaya and Nick trailing them. As they walked through the crowd, Kory saw a few people glance at him and turn away, but more of them gave him a smile, a thumbs-up, a high five, a wag of the tail.

“Why’d you do it?” Samaki asked as they walked. “I mean, I know what you said, but… were you planning this?”

Kory shook his head. “She’s so focused on appearances, it disgusted me. Then I realized that that’s kind of what I’m doing to you. I didn’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to be her son, not like that.” Samaki’s ears lowered, and his smile lost some of its brightness.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel that way,” the fox said.

“No, it’s okay,” Kory said. “I was. If you hadn’t reacted, I’d just go on doing it. And if… if that’s what was important to me, then we shouldn’t be together.”

The smile flickered back to life. “That would suck.”

“Agreed.” He flicked his tail across the back of his leg to brush Samaki’s. “That’s what I decided up on stage. She told me to look however I want, and I just thought, I want to be with you.”

“If you need to barf,” Malaya said behind them, “let me know so I can get out of the way.”

Kory half-turned, but she’d been talking to Nick. “I think I can manage,” he said, and Kory saw the big grin on his brother’s face. Nick winked at him and looked up at Malaya. “You?”

“I’ll hold it in,” she said. “I’ve seen worse. But you two might want to tone it down.”

“Maybe you should just hang back,” Samaki said. “We’re having a moment here.”

“Are we?” Kory grinned at him.

“You bet.” The fox glanced round. “If we weren’t surrounded by your friends and hundreds of strangers, I’d kiss you. Can you wait ’til later?”

“How far to the bus stop?”

They laughed together, and then Vera ran up to give Kory a big hug, demanding to know the whole story and reiterating Flora’s invitation to her party, and she was just the first of half a dozen people to ask Kory what he’d said to his mom, wanting to meet Samaki, and in the middle of one of the stories, Vera pointed up to the stage and said, “Look!” They all turned and saw Kenny Vinson, the mink, kissing his squealing girlfriend as the flash burst across them. “See what you started?”

But the strangest thing of all was meeting Chris Carkus on the edge of the field as Kory, Samaki, Malaya, and Nick were finally leaving the school field. His shadow towered over them, even Samaki, antlers jabbing at the sky with every step. His gaze swept over them and settled on the older otter. “Hey. Kory, right?”

Kory blinked up at the towering figure. “Yeah.”

The elk extended a hand. “Congrats.”

“Thanks.” Kory shook it, bewildered.

Chris looked at him, around at his friends, lingering on Samaki, and then back at Kory, nodding. “Good to see you standing up for yourself. Take care.”

“Thanks,” Kory said again. “Uh, congrats to you too.”

The elk smiled, raised a hand, and walked off. Nick stood at Kory’s side, watching him go. “I didn’t know you knew Carkus,” he said in an awed whisper.

“I don’t,” Kory said. “I think that’s the first time he’s ever talked to me.”

“Well,” Malaya said, “looks like you escaped serious injury this time. Next time you decide to hold an impromptu pride demonstration, give me a little warning, wouldja? I’ll wear my leather.” She lit a cigarette and took a long drag.

“You shouldn’t smoke,” Nick said. “It’s bad for you.”

“Lots of things are bad for you,” Malaya said, “one way or another. Don’t make ’em any easier to give up. Eh, Kory?”

Kory gave her a bland smile. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.

“So what now?” Samaki said. “Mom said you’re all invited over to our place, but I told her we might be going back to your place. There’s Vera’s party later, too.” He grinned at Kory.

“I’ve got some money,” Nick said. “We could go out to eat.”

“You buying for all of us?” Malaya said, nudging him.

“Matter of fact, I am,” he said. “Except the ciggy. That has to pay its own way.”

She laughed, and to Kory’s surprise, she dropped the cigarette and ground it out. “Okay, okay.”

“Kory,” Samaki said, “it’s your day. What do we do?”

They all looked at him. He shook his head, brushing his tail up along Samaki’s again. “I’ve made enough decisions for one day,” he said. “You decide. I’ll go wherever you want.”

“Then,” Samaki said, “it doesn’t really matter where we go, does it?”

“Nope.” Kory took the fox’s paw and touched his nose to the tip of the black muzzle. Samaki’s breath warmed his whiskers, the fox’s scent warm, happy, and comforting, and for that moment, the whole vast ocean of the world was shut out and it was only the two of them, floating together. “Not at all.”

Gene, the Resident Advisor, had gathered the students from the first floor of Capri House in the lounge area. Kory and Samaki sat side by side on an old green couch under a row of open windows that looked out over the green Mall in the center of campus. Despite the warm breeze that trickled in through the windows, the room was warm and stuffy, with a strong smell of disinfectant, and the ringtail was hurrying to get through his remarks.

“So those are the rules of the dorm,” he concluded. “Now let’s go around and introduce ourselves. I’m Gene, I’m a junior here studying electrical engineering, and I grew up outside of Millenport. I love sea scallops, and yes, that is a hint if you’re thinking about trying to bribe me. Next?”

“My name’s Allison…”

“My name’s Diana…”

“My name’s Mark…”

“My name’s Samaki. I’m a freshman from Hilltown studying journalism. My family emigrated here from Africa, and my sister Kande and I are the first two to attend college.”

Everyone clapped. “Where’s she going?” Gene asked.

“State.”

“Well, congratulations.” The ringtail looked over at Kory.

“I’m Kory,” he said. “I grew up in Hilltown too. I’m a freshman studying English. I think. And I, uh…” He paused, trying to think of something interesting to say about himself.

“He writes poetry,” Samaki said. “He won a contest.”

“Oh, very cool,” Gene said. “So you guys know each other? Did you go to school together?”

“No,” Kory said. Samaki was watching him, but he knew there was no pressure in the fox’s look. Samaki was letting him say as much as he was comfortable with. Well, he’d always heard that in college you could reinvent who you were, and what better place to start than here? “We almost went to the prom together, but I backed out.”

The students around them looked a little more interested. Across from them, a leopard who’d been lounging alone in a chair suddenly sat up straighter, wide eyes darting from Kory to Samaki and back.

Gene nodded. “Cool,” he said again, and moved on. “Next?”

The leopard’s name was Kalili, from Capo, and he was studying political science. After they’d all introduced themselves, Gene said, “Let’s get outside and enjoy the summer while it lasts. Remember, floor meetings every Monday night. I’m in room 31. Anything you need, any questions you have, let me know.”

Kory and Samaki strolled together along the trees of the mall, taking in the buildings. The sunset tinged the brick and marble with fire, filtered through the shadows of the leaves. Some students strolled by, while others hurried, making Kory think lazily that he would soon enough have things to do just like them, that he was already part of their world, this new world. The air smelled fresh and clear, full of an electricity that made his fur tingle. The world felt limitless, waiting for them to set out upon a course of action. “Want to explore?” he asked.

“Tomorrow, maybe,” Samaki said. “Right now I’m just drinking it all in. I can’t believe I’m here. That we’re here.”

“I know. Me too.” Their tails touched again. Kory thought about everything that had brought them to that place, from the collision at the pool to the Rainbow Center to Christmas to their apartment to his graduation. It seemed incredible to him, looking back, that he could have navigated it all to arrive at this place, here, with the black fox at his side. If ever Father Joe wanted a parable to demonstrate the existence of God, he thought, he could just take that story and tell it.

“I’m still sore from last weekend,” Samaki said, rubbing one arm.

Kory laughed. “Me too. Who’da thought Nick would have so much heavy stuff?”

“If the rest of the swim team hadn’t shown up, we’d be a lot worse off.” Their minds were obviously moving in the same direction, because Samaki’s question a moment later echoed Kory’s thought. “You think your mom’s okay?”

“I hope so,” Kory said, sincerely. He’d seen her only once during the move, stumbling red-eyed from the bathroom to her bedroom. She’d ignored him, but since then he’d felt the first stirrings of pity for her. Father Joe still held out hope that Kory would be able to forgive her. Maybe pity was the first step, Kory thought. “I’d be more worried about Malaya. I think Nick’s going to try to get her to give up smoking.”

“If anyone can,” Samaki laughed, but his sentence was interrupted by someone striding up beside them.

At the person’s soft cough, they both turned to see Kalili. “Hi,” he said, looking back and forth from one to the other. “I’m Kalili, I’m on your floor…”

“Sure, we remember,” Samaki said, smiling.

The leopard blinked as though this were unexpected. “Well, say, I don’t know if I got this wrong, from listening to you guys back there in the dorm, but, um, don’t get offended but did you say you were going to the prom…  together?”

Kory and Samaki grinned at each other. “He asked me,” Kory said, “and I backed out. I wasn’t so confident then.”

“So you are… I mean, you’re…”

“Boyfriends,” Samaki said.

The leopard’s fixed, polite smile broke down, until he looked like he might cry. “You’re gonna think I’m pathetic,” he said, “but I didn’t think there’d be anyone else here…”

Kory patted him on the back. “We were just gonna get some dinner,” he said. “You want to join us?”

“Can I?” He looked nervously from one to the other. “I just wanna talk… it’d be so great to talk to someone…”

“Sure,” Samaki said. “Glad to meet you. Come on.”

Kory brushed his tail against the fox’s as they walked on, Kalili at their side starting to ask questions about how they’d met. “There was a poem in a newspaper,” Samaki started.

“That wasn’t any good,” Kory said. He and Samaki wove their story together, laughing and remembering, as the sun turned the leaves to gold, the cloudless sky stretching overhead like the surface of a vast, bright ocean.

Kyell Gold writes anthropomorphic erotica from an undisclosed location rumored to be in California, where he lives with his partner.

His work appears regularly in Sofawolf Press’s
Heat
, Bad Dog Books’
FANG
(www.baddogbooks.com), and his own Live Journal (kyellgold.livejournal.com).

His work has won three Ursa Major Awards:
Volle
for Best Novel of 2005,
Pendant of Fortune
for Best Novel of 2006, and the short story “Jacks to Open” for Best Short Story of 2006.

Waterways is his first novel set in the “Forester” Universe, where his next collection of stories is also set.