A Different Kind Of Panda

Abby took a deep breathe as she put the dog cibble, or whatever her crazy aunt had given her, into the bowl. She had dropped it by yesterday on the porch. And it wasn't the fact that the strange substance was wet and slimy, but the smell that irritated her so bad. How was Rocky going to give her kisses now? He couldn't. And she knew that, but didn't really want to believe it. But there was no way that his stinky breath would touch her skin anytime soon. She definitely wasn't worried about him eating it, that little rascal would eat anything...or anyone.

"Rocky, come and eat, you little S.O.G!" She yelled, hoping for him to come, even though she knew he would most likely not. Worried and concerned about what was happening in the living room, Abby walked into it. Sure enough, Rocky was scratching her brand new couch, the third one just this year.

His big bright yellow eyes saw hers soon enough, and he scuttled away to his safe haven, the food bowl.

She walked back to the kitchen and made herself a big, grand feast, a PB and J.

Abby had lived here for a while now, and she preferred to be by herself. Not that she wasn't social or anything, she just wanted to be with her Rocky and her older brother more than other people. Abby's brother and her were very close, and every Friday and Wednesday night they could come to her house and watch Rom-coms till midnight or so. Abby's father got brain cancer when Abby was very young, and he soon passed when Abby was three or so. Since then, it has been Abby's mother, her older brother, and her. And she enjoyed it that way.

Abby finally got the pet she always wanted when she was 18. Well, technically her mother did because it's illegal to own a raccoon that young. Abby is definitely raccoon-obsessed. To the point of it being unhealthy. She researched day and night on them, and now she is even a national park ranger, hoping to get a peek on them, besides Rocky of course.

Abby took a big bite out of her sandwich, and listened to the birds chirping outside. The sound they were making wasn't necessarily pleasant, to be honest it was far from it, but it was nice to know that the birds were coming back. It had been a long winter that year, and Rocky didn't really like the snow that much. Or the wind. Or anything cold for that matter.

Abby's mind went aloof, thinking of what movie she wanted to watch with her brother tonight. It was a Friday, after all, and she couldn't wait. They did do this every week, more than a week even, but it was nice to see her brother. They had a good relationship.

Abby thought and thought and she finally came to a conclusion to her issue. That night they would watch "Funny Face," an amazing classic. Even if Audrey was only thirty and it was slightly creepy to be dating a old man, it was a good film. And Abby was sure that her brother would love it.

Abby really did love her life. She didn't have much money and she cared more about raccoons and romantic novels then anything else. But it's not the worst quantity someone could have. 

In the middle of Abby’s long thoughts, Rocky began to choke on his food because of how much he was taking in..every second. Wow, it’s almost like he is a vacuum on how he sucks up the food so fast. 

She quickly stopped Rocky from choking, but it was a close one. She probably shouldn’t give him so much food. 

Abby has piles and piles of food in her basement, all for Rocky. Many people come to see the girl who has a pet raccoon, and the raccoon itself. Bringing food as a “gift” for visiting. Abby is rather scared of it going bad, so she piles as much as it in Rocky’s bowl as possible. It just happens to be that her Aunt Marsha had given her the food this time. 

“You’re going to be the end of me, Chubs.” Abby also called Rocky, Chubs. Rocky is rather large. 

When Abby first got Rocky, she had to figure out what to name him. He would be with her most of her life, and it needed to be perfect. Many things crossed her mind. Naming him “Rocket”, for the raccoon of Avengers is that. But, she wasn’t the biggest fan of superhero movies. After that, she could always do “Meek”, the raccoon from Pocahontas. But, the name wasn’t exactly what Abby was looking for. She even thought of naming him “Trash Panda.” The only option left was to name him Rocky, after her favorite band. The Beatles. And their “hit” song “Rocky the Raccoon.”  

He has been Rocky ever since. But, Abby can admit, she does get tired of explaining the name over and over again. At one point, she even thought of adding a name tag on Rocky collar with the entire explanation on it. But, that plan didn’t really work out. 

Abby remembered this as Rocky, or “Chubs”, stared at her in those eyes that only meant one thing. “I’m Sorry.” 

“Ah, it’s okay. You ready for movie night?” Abby asked. Rocky responded with a happy little tweet. Abby then sat on the couch, and waited for her brother to get there. Rocky joined. 

Although, Abby forgot to get the Twizzlers, a disaster if I've ever seen them. So she got up once more, and Rocky followed, clueless. Abby giggled to herself and went to the kitchen again. She grabbed her precious licorice strands and headed back to the couch. Before she could sit down though, the doorbell rang.

She set the candy down, and then ran to the door, excited for the night that would soon come.

As promised, her big brother, Paul, lay there with a plate full of cookies, plastic wrap over them.

"Hello!" He said in a high-pitched tone.

"Hello there, good sir." Abby said in her best Norwegian accent, which actually was very good.

Abby and her brother talked for a long time on the porch, and only realized that when it started to get cold. They finally went inside, only to find Rocky asleep. They laughed and started the movie. They spent the night stuffing candy and cookies in there mouth, not thinking twice about the calories they were in-taking.

As the end credits rolled and her eyes starting getting hazy, Abby realized how she truly loved her life, and herself. Very, very much.