Coco

   Is been a month since It happened. A month since my life turned into some kind of chaotic mess because of cat. Now, some of you might be asking... How. Me included. and the answer is; I had absolutely no idea, when I went to the animal adoption center, that the cat my friend had 'saved' for me, was a feral cat with a huge feline criminal record. And an incredibly stubborn temperament. 

   Yes. That's not the kind of situation you expect to find yourself in when adopting a cat. Most people must imagine some sweet moments playing with a small, fluffy and adorable kitty. Not. Last time I tried playing with Coco, he almost had my finger for dinner. But I think that we have to go back in time a little for you to understand the whole thing.

   It was a monday. The best day for anything to happen, am I right? And me, I was finishing college that year and  studying myself to death for the finals. I wanted to send my parents some great grades for the last year. making up for the last one, I had passed but haven't done so well. They lived in another town, I was there only by college, but honestly, I liked the place, far more than my hometown, and I was planning on telling my parents that I wanted to move out for real after the holidays. Again, always better to do it with nice grades on hands. 

   For the last 2 years I rented a small apartment next to the college. I started the classes sharing one with my friend, but we had a fight and I moved out. Luckily I found somewhere not too expensive that had a small difference on price from what was my part of the sharing. The money that my parents sended helped a lot and I somehow still had an extra saving from my hours working on Subway. Basically, I was doing quite well on my opinion. 

   I was a guy of not many friends. I never really liked socializing with the people on my school. It didn't changed when I moved here. But you know how it is. Even someone like me ends up having a friend or two. I met Alex not much longer after the fight I had with my other friend, he had moved from my town with me, but honestly… I don't really think that we were friends before. Alex is the classic extrovert that seems to emanate light from their attitude. He has dark-blond almost orange hair and somewhat hazel-golden eyes. And for some reason, there has to be something red or yellow on his outfit no matter what he is wearing.

       We barely said hi and he was already acting as if I was an old friend from kindergarten. Not that I'm complaining though. It was nice to have someone that's basically your opposite, but in a good way, near by. It's been two year that we are friends now. Alex acts basically like a kid, just an overgrown one. He wants to be an astronaut, and honestly, I really hope that he gets to, I constantly have to help him study for the physics test, in 'exchange', he drags me everywhere to hang out. 

        I don't really hang out with anyone else. He tried to tag me along on a group of other friends of his once, I just left. No one seemed to notice though… I'm somewhat that invisible kid that no one knows is absent to the very moment of the presence list. I'm okay with that. But Alex ain't. He keep saying that I have to make some other friend, that I'll die out of boredom when he's miles away on outer-space during month-long missions. 

     But that monday, two months before the finals and with every single teacher torturing me with homework that I wouldn't be able to do at work, Alex decided that it'd be a good idea to drag me to a pet adoption center. I had absolutely no interest on having a pet. My apartment was far to small for that, and I didn't had time to walk a dog or something. The only reason I was there was that he somehow convinced me that he needed help choosing a puppy for his bro. I don't know why I just refused to remember the fact that the teen was afraid of dogs. yeah, I'm pretty smart when I'm thinking about homework.

   The attendant, a girl, probably not much older than we, wearing a ponytail and an moss-green apron with paw-print decorations on it, smiled at us when we got in.

      " Oh! It's you! Alex right? And that must be the friend you told me about."

   She greeted turning her gaze to me. I blinked at Alex quite surprised, as I gave her a nod in both, greetings and answer. They obviously knew each other. It wasn't much of a big deal, Alex was able to put on a conversation with anyone, but he never mentioned me when I was not around… I had a weird feeling and butterflies on my stomach about this. 

     "Yep! That's him! And what about the little buddy we're here to see?"- Alex greeted back, blinking one eye to the attendant. She giggled.

     "Very anxious to see you. Please follow me."

     She  said and walked away to a silver door with a small circular window on it. Alex pushed me by the arm and I decided just to follow. Apparently he already had an specific  pup in mind for his little brother. You can imagine how surprised I was to see a huge, long-furred cat with a creamy white color and grayish stripes on its  head. The cat wore a grumpy expression and growled from the depth of its throat when we stopped by. A single thought crossed my mind; "I wouldn't want to have that thing anywhere near me out of a cage." 

    I was so taken aback by the cat's deadly stare, that I failed to notice Alex and the pet-center girl looking at me with that same smile on their faces.

       "So… What do you think?"

    I was pushed back to reality by that question, so much that I couldn't tell who had actually asked. So I turned to face both of them.  

      "O-oh… Is… an..."-  I tried to search for words to describe the leopard miniature in front of me - "is an interesting cat."

    both of their smiles brightened.

      " I knew you'd like it! " - Alex said, eyes shining.

     " Thank goodness just in time… "- the girl added in relief.

     "I- I mean… It has… a..."- terrifying glare that threatens to kill you in your sleep- "beautiful fur..."- I shook my head and gave it to shoulders- "I mean… If you think you bro'll like it."

  Was on that moment, that alex's smile turned into a cheshire-cat one. Mischief lighting his gaze as I held it.

     "Sooooo… Vincent… Remember what I told you last year on Thanksgiving when I invited you to spend it on my place?"

     I looked at him puzzled. Well I did remembered. Of course. I didn't knew why I was even there before that.

    "... That I was like a brother to yo-"- oh. Oooh. - "No."

"Please, Mister Vincent..! "- It was the pet center girl turn to join the chat. - "H-He can't stay here much longer… No one will take him… If he stays they'll…." - I could tell she was at the edge of tears.

 "Come on Vince… I figured you needed a friend and the little guy here needs someone to do this good action."

    Little?! That cat had nothing of little. But I don't even have to tell that right there, with an almost-crying girl and my best friend giving me the 'top 10 reasons why I should have a cat' list almost crushing me, I didn't had much of an option. Before I could even notice, I was driving home with the pantern-miniature on a cat box and a bag filled with other cat stuff the girl gave me for taking mr.Grumpy on the other seat. I wasn't proud of myself either.

    So. from here, things beggined to get messy. For the very start, the cat had been adopted and given back to the adoption center, 6 times on roll before. The record said something about it being a 'feral cat'. I googled it, and it's definitely not the kind of pet you want. You know what they say… 6 times the charm, haha. Why did I agree with that again?

   Theoretically, they weren't supposed to keep a feral cat. They're like small savage felines. Like having a little lion of your own. They don't trust humans and have an aggressive temperament. Adults rarely are able to coexist with humans again, since most of them are cats that once were abandoned and mistreated. Kits can be raised as normal cats. And I don't know what on earth Alex expected me to do with a cat like that. mr.Grumpy there was definitely not a kitten. I stopped reading the records halfway to the end. I figured that it'd be better not to see the reasons why it was sended back.

    Speaking of the devil, he was sitting on the other side of the table looking at me. Man, that cat knows how to make someone uncomfortable. 

    "I suppose I should give you a name..."

   I said. obviously, not having any actual answer. I wasn't the creative type, and by the record… This cat was used to 6 different names already. So I just went to the top of the list for the first name from the first adoption. Coco. It actually made sense with he's creamy white color I suppose.

     "Guess I'll just call you Coco then..."

  Coco didn't really reacted. I was tired anyways. It was late to be speaking with my new cat and I had class tomorrow. I went to bed.

    The next day it was relatively normal, I went to college, had classes, talked to Alex, went to work and back home by the usual time. Around 20:30 PM. And what I found? The destruction zone of a hurricane. Everything on my shelves was on the ground, whatever was breakable was breaked, curtains in pieces, the fruits on the bowl I usually left on the table were also on the ground. And that was just the living room- yes, it was a small apartment, but still!- on the center of it, there was Coco. A dead bird on it's jaws. I could only imagine that he chased it from the roofs to inside the window. I was actually surprised that he came back at all. This little 'surprise gifts' with the destruction that came with them, became more and more ordinary. Honestly, I'd have given the cat back too if it wasn't for Alex asking for him every single day.

   "So? How is it doing with your new furred friend? "

   Well… for the very start I wasn't allowed to touch Coco. He hated it. And I liked having all my fingers so I didn't risked. And you have any Idea of how expensive It is to have a cat? I started to buy myself the less expensive things so that I could buy his favorite food and cat sand. although he caught a lot of things, he only liked an specific type of food, other than that and he'd simply starve. And I also found out that the best way to avoid- at least part of- the daily house-destruction was with toys. That were also very expensive. I don't know you, but for a college student, working half-period on Subway and renting an apartment… Well, my situation could always get worse.

      And I don't even have to say it did. The week before the tests started, Coco went missing! From that point, I knew better to close the window when I left the house, but test-week really messes with ones head. And with all the things that little devil had done, you imagine that I'd just ignore it and let him come back whenever he's feeling like it. Again, not. I actually had started to grown attached to Coco - probably because I was out all day and only beared him at night- but I don't think I ever talked to that many random people after my work-period asking about a cat. I showed pictures, descriptions… I was going crazy! I walked what seemed half of the city, and when about to give up, on my way back, I saw it. Coco was crossing the street with a mouse the size of a rabbit on its jaws.

    I instantly called him out loud, and the grumpy expression turned to pure surprise. He dropped the mouse and stared at me confused. On the street. I saw the car before him, and suddenly didn't had control of my body anymore. When I noticed, I was holding tied to the large furball, on the ground the other side of the street. I was shaking, Coco was shaking, and his claws were deep into my skin even through my oversized hoodie. My cheek blazing on the asphalt. I stayed on my shock position for a time I can't tell. Surprisingly, Coco didn't protested.  

     When I finally recovered enough to walk home, refusing to let go of the cat that kept trying to get rid of my arms- because of course, I forgot to bring the cat box. - I was exhausted. I think it would have been that moment in movies in which one sees their life's passing before their eyes, if mine weren't closed and my brain had deleted the memories permanently. No way I would be studying geometry that day. I fell asleep on the couch… And for a moment there I thought I saw Coco's fur nesting by my legs. Probably my imagination. 

      Coco didn't tried to run away again after that. In fact, he seemed to be starting to be more nice with me. I still wasn't allowed to touch him though. But some things had changed. He had started to sleep on my bed with me, yeah… I was punished for excess of movement, but I didn't mind. People at school started to talk with me… It's a weird thing for someone who used to be invisible. 

      "Men, what happened to you? You look like you just came out of the paper shredder."

• As I said before… I was punished by excess of movement at night… Usually with claws…-

     "O-Oh… Nothing… It was just my cat..."

     "You have a cat?! Since when?? They're sooo cute! I have one too!"

     "I have two..! Here, I have this picture of them sleeping together. Do you have any of yours?"

   "Uh… I have this one...'’

    I said awkwardly as grabbed my phone and showed them a picture of Coco stealing the pepperonis of a slice of pizza leftover on the box. I found the situation interesting and was the only picture of him that was actually good. For some reason, taking pictures of cats is very hard. I could see Alex looking at us with an approving look on the corner of my eye. It was really that hard for me to talk with people at school? 

    Well, it happened that me having a cat, actually dropped me into the "cat owners club", a lot other students, that also had cats and end up hanging out. It also happened that they had a lot in common with each other. And to my surprise, with me. I told them that thing about Coco being a feral cat and they were all acting as if I was incredible and cool and…Everything people would never say about me. That gave me a little more confidence to talk to others as well… We became friends, I was in a group.

    Coco himself was little by little starting to treat me as not a piece of meat. The scratches were  becoming less regular, and with the pass of months, I eventually was allowed to pet him once or twice. Not too much, I still like my fingers. But I feel that, someday, we may be actually good friends. I hope so. In our own time.