Chapter 8: Swimming with Cousins

Today was Friday and everybody knew exactly what to do afterward. Hunter finished his morning lectures on program engineering. He learned that Keanu’s basic architectures lecture he took was mostly on Thursday’s afternoon, so he didn’t have classes on Fridays this semester. He usually must be at home or sometimes he was at the library in the computer lounge for research and studying other classes he was taking.

Hunter arrived at Oasis Boulevard Station at noon and unlike the previous day or yesterday where he was mostly stuck on the locked door of his apartment by his pestering brother Rylan as he was still in school at this time. Probably those times he could settle in the house all alone with little stress, but if he decided to stay at the campus with friends to kill time, he would just be stuck outside the door like usual when his parents weren’t around. Boy, it sucked. Because of this, he skipped his workout routine this Friday afternoon before going back home. Gladly, his mother would come back this weekend from Florida while his father continued his investigation there for another week.

The week wasn’t as he had expected like being the man-of-the-house if it wasn’t for Rylan messing up with dinner time. For now, he could lay back on the bed at his half-disorganized, still roomy, bedroom. He spent an hour taking a nap until waking up at two in the afternoon. He really needed that, all alone in the house and nothing better else to do. Then Keanu came into his mind. I wonder what’s he up to? He thought.

He never had yet visited his house across the street but didn’t know where his home apartment was. But he did have his phone number. He sent a text if he wanted to hang out, he felt a little excited about the thought of seeing his new friend of two weeks again. They had seen each other in class or at lunch and nothing else. Aside from the whole mop bucket incident.

A little later Keanu called him. “Hey, Keanu!”

“Hi, Hunter, uh, how was class today?” He sounded as if trying to figure out the words.

“Just fine,” Hunter said. “Hey, are you up to anything?”

“Well, I’m, uh, I’m at the pool with my cousins. Their school was dismissed earlier at noon and my aunt brought them over and came to see me today. You know I’m sort of alone around the house since Dad is busy around the city and…”

“You know, I might want to join with you along. How about it?”

“Huh? Really? Well… I guess that’s okay, but…”

“But what?”

“It’s just that, uh, I don’t know. Well, you can come and all, so…”

“Guess I’ll just come, Keanu. I know you want to see me.” Hunter started to tease.

“Uh…” Keanu’s voice trailed off. He cleared his throat. “Just… S-sure! Feel free to come by. I don’t mind at all.” It sounded like he regained his composure suddenly and considered it forward. “A-and don’t forget your swimming clothes and towel.”

Hunter hearty chuckled, “Sure thing, buddy. I’ll be there in a quick.”

“See you soon, Hunter. Bye.” Before Keanu could hang up. “Oh, wait! The pool is on the first floor, behind the lobby outdoors, you’ll see it eventually.”

“Thanks, buddy. I’ll see you soon.” And that, he hung up.

Hunter stood up from the bed and looked on the drawers for a pair of swimming trunks. Then his mind started to analyze, if he left the house to Keanu’s apartment, then no one was home and at three PM, Rylan would come back home along with Sally and River, locking the door with the little chain when Hunter was not around, but, of course, Sally and River would open the door for him. Rest assured, Hunter left the apartment and descended on the elevator. He packed lightly and walked through the pedestrian bridge of Oasis Boulevard Station. Quite of a whim, he already found himself in front of the Starlight Plaza.

Once inside, the lobby was very welcoming and so was the doorman behind the desk. Hunter asked him where the pool was where he would meet his friend over. The male human pointed across were two pairs of elevators facing each other and further after, a row of large bay windows faintly shone through the interior, must be tinted for protection by the sun rays. Hunter thanked him and walked through the end where automatic doors slid open to reveal what felt like a hotel resort. Rumor had it that the Starlight Plaza building was originally proposed as a hotel and left the outdoor pool design left unchanged. Palm trees towered above with curves and twists, a gazebo for multi-purposes for events, one waterslide, and a small cascade-styled fountain coming out from one artificial-looking rock.

In the water were three people swimming by in a corner. Hunter had already spotted Keanu swimming out of the water and sat on the edge of the pool with his purple-colored trunks. Unlike the other day, Keanu all dirty of the mop, Hunter had a better look of Keanu, a simple small lean body build. The wet fur matted on his skin revealed the curves of his torso. Keanu regularly went to the pool a couple of times in his free time, it now had become a routine for him to relax and exercise. He shook his head to dry off and the young arctic wolf-boy saw Hunter coming by. He waved his hand, “Hey, Hunter.” Hunter walked up to him and shook his wet hand.

“Hi, Keanu, glad that I can join along.” He chuckled about earlier, the call. “Everything all right earlier?”

“It was nothing, my cousin was just mocking me when I was calling you.” Just on cue, the two other arctic wolves swam up close to Keanu and Hunter. The duo was Jack and Crystal Winters, Keanu’s younger cousins. From Hunter’s perspective, they were almost pretty lookalike as siblings, but Jack was 15 and Crystal 16, both with dark-brown eyes and obvious hairstyles. He wore orange and black trunks, Jack had a messier, mane-like white hair than Keanu’s regular groomed hair with bangs hanging above his forehead. Crystal, in a cyan-colored two-piece bathing suit, just a long white ponytail.

Jack responded to Keanu’s statement. “Hey! I wasn’t mocking you! I was checking my teeth if anything was caught inside.” He excused.

Crystal scoffed; arms crossed. “You were mocking him as if he has a boyfriend; mock kisses.”

“Yeah-yeah, whatever. It doesn’t bother him at all,” Jack said. Hunter glanced at Keanu which the arctic wolf shrugged. Pretty much stating that they were just being siblings.

“Remember what Mom said about Keanu,” Crystal warned. “He is pretty naïve when you tease him with your sense of humor.”

“Oh, cut it out, Crystal. Keanu was going to introduce us.”

“You should have thought about that in the first place and ignore Keanu’s statement.” She remarked.

The pair finally turned to Keanu and Hunter with interest. The young teenage wolves would have been a little intimidated by Hunter’s quite large physique, but his friendly smile erased his external impression. Keanu introduced with a gesture, “Hunter, these are my cousins, Jack and Crystal.

“It’s a pleasure,” said Crystal.

“How’s it going, man?” said Jack.

“And this is my new friend Hunter – Hunter Montana. He lives across the street.”

“Nice meeting you both,” Hunter greeted.

“Montana? Like Tony Montana from Scarface? Cool!” Jack said.

Hunter laughed and played along. “You know it! Hahaha!”

“I guess I didn’t know that…” Keanu softly spoke but chuckled along. “So, Hunter, uh, why not get yourself change and hang with us?”

“Sure, be right back, guys,” Hunter left to what he thought was the stall or changing room, it was the shower stall to wash off the chlorine.

When he left, Crystal and Jack turned at Keanu with smirky smiles. “What?” Keanu asked.

Crystal started, “Wow, cuz, you really have…” She blushed, feeling guilty at the temptation of teasing. She tried to cover her muzzle, laying her fingers under her chin and giggled. She hoped it would come out as a compliment. “Y-you know, you have a lot of standards! I’ve seen a lot of alphas, but this wolf-dude really takes the cake!”

“Jeez, is that what you have in your mind right now?” And here came Jack’s antics of every time Crystal thought of her dreamy ideal boyfriend. “He’s probably gay.” He tried to cut her mood.

Crystal crossed her arms with a deadpanned expression. “You wish.” She turned to Keanu and asked. “So, how did you meet him, Keanu?”

“Umm, we just so happen to take the same train every morning and afternoon to campus,” Keanu explained. “And he seems very friendly, so I…” Keanu doesn’t know what else to put it in.

“You fell for his charm? That’s cute!” Crystal added. Keanu started to redden. “But still, do you know him well?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of weird you easily gave in to someone like him,” Jack added. The siblings had their way to critique unless Keanu had one solid remark that could hold still their doubts.

“It’s nothing like that, he’s really friendly.” Keanu defended. “He is nice enough to introduce his friends and they all seem very fond of me. I even spent a weekend with them at Hunter’s house and…” He paused; his relatives were fully aware of his orientation. “I openly came out to them and that’s how…”

“Woah, cuz.” Jack interrupted him as he was stunned. “Mom was right, you really have changed.”

Keanu quieted but Crystal had an idea of insight. “You made news friends in a few weeks and openly talked about yourself being gay and all? That’s really ambitious of you, cuz. Aren’t you rushing it all?”

Keanu shrugged. “It didn’t feel that rushed to me at all.”

“Oh, I see,” Crystal said. “It’s hard for me to remember how I met my new friends when I started middle school. All I know it all occurred in one month.”

“Yeah, I remember that time…” Jack's statement was then cut in.

“Wait!” Crystal interrupted.

“Hey, I was about to say something.”

“Sorry, but I remember you interrupting him what he was about to say.”

“What I was about to say?” Keanu was confused.

“About how you openly came out and something else you were about to say.”

“Oh!” Keanu quickly caught up. “That I found out Hunter is...”

“Guys, I’m ready!” Hunter walked to the three in just only his green trunks…

When Keanu automatically turned at Hunter as he came by, it hit Keanu to realize that he was going to join them along. It gave him a small sense of excitement. Hunter was, again, only his trunks, nothing else above. The natural colors of brown and white fur fit well along his visible green eyes. Last but not least, his body build was… cool. An average athletic build, slim and muscular with every curve visible at the naked eye. It rippled slightly as he walked. It was enough for Jack to envy the ideal body build he was working on, he was trying out for sports, but if he didn’t click with any of them, he might as well hit the gym and do some weightlifting and eat a lot of protein powder.

“Bro, do you lift?” Jack had to say it.

Hunter smiled with hands on his waist. “Hehe, three times a week.”

“I was thinking of doing some bodybuilding, but school is really a pain.” Jack groaned at the last sentence.

Hunter suggested. “Then try doing some push-ups and sit-ups every morning and before bed.”

“He has a bad sleeping habit every morning,” Crystal said. “Playing online games until midnight on a school night.”

“Ugh, stop calling me lazy indirectly.”

“Well, if you want a body-build like Hunter’s, you should adapt and change those customs you’re bearing on.” Crystal was still cross-armed. “Keanu, here, took the opportunity to swim routinely in this pool.”

“Alright, alright! I get it!” Jack cut in. “Stop acting like a mom and act more like a sister.”

“Then act like a brother to me then.”

“I’m already good at it!” He crossed his arms and sneered. “You just don’t know it.”

Keanu rolled his eyes at the two, and Hunter found this pretty funny. Hunter’s youngest brother, River, tended to be all energetic and carefree without any of the consequences that their older siblings worry of like how he dealt his first day in high school as a freshman.

The four joined along swimming in the pool when no one was around. In fact, the outdoor pool was mostly empty except on the weekends, mostly children and sometimes on occasions a birthday party of someone. A little later, the four sat around on a submerged booth made of concrete with a table standing nicely above water with the tabletop decorated in colorful mosaic. Keanu sat there quietly as he just listened to Hunter’s chatting with his cousins.

“So, you guys go to Rexville High School?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah, I’m in tenth grade,” Jack replied.

“Eleventh grade.” Crystal followed. “Reason why?”

“My brothers and sister are in the same school,” Hunter remarked. “Have you met them by chance? Their names are Rylan, Sally, and River.”

“River?” Jack reacted curiously. Then again, he sure did look a lot like Hunter, but older. “I think he’s in math class with me.”

“I think there’s a Sally in history class.” Crystal remarked. “And Rylan? Well, I don’t think he’s in our classes.”

“Same here, is he in another grade?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, he’s in twelfth grade, so…” Hunter shrugged. He then turned the quiet Keanu who was listening. “Keanu, did you graduate from Rexville High?”

Keanu shook his head. “No, I graduated from Little Lake High, after that, I moved here.”

“Ah, right, I forgot.”

“Almost half of our family moved here during the summer,” Keanu stated. “Dad for the police career, my uncles’ new business café and, soon, Uncle Klaus and Aunt Rachel will join along by Thanksgiving.”

“Aw, can’t wait to see our baby cousin!” Crystal mused. “She’s one year old now, can you believe it?”

“Yeah, she is…” Keanu was enthusiastic, but the voice felt a little low. “Is Jennifer, right?”

“Yeah,” Jack assured. “I remember that time when you rejected the first name option when she was born while you were at the hospital.” Keanu’s heart was beating at where this was going.

“Polaris, is it?” Crystal recalled.

“Yeah, Uncle Klaus wanted to name her after the North Star, but Keanu objected,” Jack added.

Hunter curiously asked, “Why you rejected a name against your uncles’ will?”

“No reasons.” Keanu quickly responded. The cousins saw this very strangely.

Crystal decided to fill it up to Hunter. “Well, you see, Hunter, our baby cousin Jennifer was born at the time when Keanu was hospitalized after–”

Keanu stood up from the water and interrupted Crystal with a serious tone of voice. “After I fell down some stairs back home and hurt my back.” Crystal and Jack quieted. Keanu continued with crossed arms, not looking at the three, “But I’m better now. Can we please change the subject?”

Hunter observed this and he felt left out why he rejected the beautiful name of a star. He glanced at Crystal and Jack with confusion and seemed as if they were tasked not to talk about it. In his mind, he felt Keanu was lying and possibly denying something as if it was untrue and exaggerated. But this was killing the good mood for everyone in the pool. Hunter assumed he was not ready to talk about personal issues, it was best to leave them be for the time being.

“It’s okay, Keanu.” Hunter stood up with one hand on his shoulder to calm him down, he sensed he could erupt at any moment. “If it’s too personal, then let’s not talk about it, okay?” Keanu took a good lungful of fresh breath. He calmed freshly down and looked up to him in the eye.

“Thank you for understanding.” Keanu’s soft calmed voice came back. Hunter smiled at him.

“Big brother material.” Crystal whispered to Jack. “He really needs someone like him in his life.”

“No kidding, Sis,” Jack whispered back. “Remember that time he went berserk and screamed at Aunt Jodie for…” His voice shifted to normal as he smelled something very alluring to say; “Do I smell apple and cinnamon?”

Keanu and Hunter turned at Jack’s curious question, they too smelled a fresh scent of apple and cinnamon. Keanu stated with intrigue, but still composed, “Is Aunt Sophia making a pie?”

The siblings held up for one second until they suddenly, in a swift, left out of the pool and shook their body to dry off their soaked fur, lagging Hunter and Keanu still standing in the water and the two were drying off with their towels.

“What’s with them?” Hunter asked Keanu.

“My aunt is making a pie. These two cannot miss it.”

“Is it that good?”

“Yeah. Fresh from the oven.”

The wolves dried off and put back their clothes on before going back to the apartment's eighth floor. Keanu and Hunter could tell that Jack was obsessed with his mother’s homemade pies as his tail wagged by the smell receiving in his nostrils. Upon arriving at the Winters’ residence, Keanu opened the door. They all entered the living room where the kitchen was adjacent next to it. On the four-seat dining table was a fresh-from-the-oven homemade pie; the culprit of the aroma.

“Back already?” It was Sophia Winters coming from the kitchen with an unstained apron. “You kids got here on time!” As she made to the four and noticed the extra guest, she calmly welcomed him. “Oh, hello. You must be Keanu’s friend?”

“Yeah, I’m Hunter. You must be Keanu’s mother. It’s a pleasure.”

“What? Oh no, I’m his aunt and those two are my kids,” Sophia remarked.

“Oh!” Hunter blushed his mistake. “Sorry, my bad.” He rubbed the back of his head embarrassed. Must be the customs, but he must have said it somewhat automatically. Or he was just mistaken.

“It’s alright. I’m just coming by to see Keanu once in a while as his father is out working.” Sophia said.

“Did you know Keanu’s dad is a cop?” Jack began.

“Yeah, I’ve met him the other day before.”

“He’s so fearsome with those hypnotic eyes that scares any criminal in this city. He’s one cool uncle I could ever have!” Jack said with enthusiasm.

Hunter remembered; Jack just gave him an accurate description when he first saw him at the station yesterday. The sunglasses, his tough-looking appearance, and the uniform that screamed authority. Hunter admitted he was one intense-looking wolf-man unlike his father’s role at the NTSB where he would investigate transportation disasters.

So, aside from that, Hunter turned at Jack. “So, you want to be a policeman?”

“Hell yeah!” Jack beamed. “After high school, I’ll join the Police Academy!”

“I’ll appreciate it if you go to college first, young man.” His mother said as she inserted another fully prepared, unbaked pie into the heated oven. She set up the timer and let it bake. “So, who wants some slice of fresh pie?”

The sight was like a healthy family gathering to Hunter’s point of view. Keanu chatted so well with his younger cousins no matter how annoying they were and teasing they were. They were family after all. The pie he was eating was delicious, the popular flavor of apple and cinnamon was to die for. They later kept on hanging out together playing video games in the living room until it was time for Hunter to go back home.

At the University’s dorms on a quiet Friday afternoon, Xavier relaxed his dormitory while Sergio was out there with his next pranking segment. He said something about a foot-long cockroach with wheels that would scare the fellow students when nearing a bush or something. He would see a video about it soon. The door knocked and Xavier normally answered it with no hesitation without thinking who it was.

In front of him was Broderick Wood the reindeer with a forced smile, he greeted him in Spanish. “Que tal, Xavier?”

Xavier wanted him to cut it out, but he was just enjoying his new-found talent in speaking a foreign language as Xavier did with his English. However, the parrot spoke in English. “What is it, Broderick?”

“Listen, about last soccer practice.”

“Yeah?”

“As much as I like you being on the team, Sol has his doubts about you.” Broderick rubbed the back of his head.

“Try me.” As usual, Xavier’s facial-less face reacted, but it seemed he was expecting that from Sol.

Broderick mentally felt he was taken aback by his reaction, but he was taking it very maturely. And challenging. Is he mad or what? He thought. “He…he wants you to be the goalkeeper.”

His crossed arms and leaning against the door frame were replaced by standing still, letting go of his posture with eyes of disbelief, and arms dropping from his folded form. This time, Broderick actually read his expression he was expecting to. “Goalkeeper?”

“Y-yeah, Sol thinks you should–”

“Pero como se atreve ese leopardo a ponerme en una posición tan desafiante?!” Xavier shouted him. How does that leopard dare to put him into such a challenging position?

Broderick quickly translated his statement before Xavier could recompose himself to say it again in English. Broderick replied, “I don’t know! Sol and the Captain seemed to try giving you some serious training.”

“By putting me in front of the net? Is he trying to get rid of me?”

“It’s the Captain’s choice, not Sol’s. W-well, then again, I think it was Sol’s idea to convince the Captain.” Broderick lay his balled fist under his chin.

Xavier remained still, but his heart was beating fast of terror. “I just joined the club to fulfill my dreams, but being a goalkeeper? I mean… Why me?”

“I know what you mean, and others have questioned about it since you’re just a new-comer.”

“What about Coach Soto? Does she know?”

Broderick nodded. “They are talking about this, you might want to give it a go, you know.”

Xavier breathed. “So, when’s the upcoming game?”

“By the start of October. There’s plenty of training ahead for you. We’re playing against NorCal University: The West Coasters.” Broderick snickered, recalling the mascot as a walking palm tree-man with a big coconut as the head with four leaves of the palm tree as hair. The worst mascot of all in California state.

“Well, if Sol wants to get rid of me, might as well give him a lesson. I’m tired of being underestimated.”

Broderick smiled. “That’s the spirit!”

“And by giving him a lesson, I should get the training I need on how to catch the ball from getting into the net.” Xavier paused for a quick thought. “Say, who’s the current goalie?”

“Wendell Briggs, remember? Number 45? Human?”

Xavier snapped his fingers as he remembers. “Ah, right!”

“Oh, yeah, about him, he’ll be graduating this year so… we need a new keeper for this reason. And he and I are gonna train you before Sol and Spicer test your skills. You better be really agile when trying to catch the ball.”

“Now you're telling me… So, do you think I can be agile?”

“Well, I’ve seen you dancing on those arcade games on Facebook.”

“Oh, God! You really saw those old videos!?”

Broderick smiled. “That’s enough to be convinced that you’re agile enough to be a goalie.”

“Don’t tell me you had shown that to Sol and Spicer? That’s hardly proof of my skills!”

“Sol think it is.”

“Now I’m doubting Sol’s mindset of hindsight. Is he a nut-head!?”

“You haven’t been around too much with Sol, have you? He’s got some intellectual knowledge on how to deal with his players.”

“And I’m one of them, is it?”

“Yeah, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning for our training as a goalie, okay?”

“Sure, let me know.” After saying goodbye, Xavier closed the door and slumped back on his bed. Everything must be turned into huge changes; he had been tasked as goalie for the upcoming games next month. This was where he could say now that shit had gone real!

After football practice, the players settled down in the locker room as Xerxes Windsor the dragon stepped ahead to finish his shower and searched through the other players changing through the aisles to find the peculiar ferret-man finishing changing to his casual clothes. Xerxes, in all his behavior, turned serious at him. “Hey, Terrence, me and coach have a word with ya.”

The ferret raised an eyebrow, and he was just giving him the cold shoulder at the dragon. “Uh-huh, really? What’s this about?”

“You know what you did to that fox-boy and that was not cool.”

“Oh, that?” He snorted. “That was just an accident.”

“Oh, really? Well, let’s go to Coach’s office and see what he thinks of this.” Xerxes ended.

At the office, Coach Herrington, a 40-year-old ram-man showed a security camera video footage that recorded the lobby incident at the library. Much to Terrence's dismay that there were video cameras everywhere at the campus, including “palm-cams”. Not everyone would be standing by and record it with their phones.

“This is unacceptable, Browne!” Said Coach Herrington. “You should’ve known better.”

Terrence sat in front of his desk and watched the video with his arms crossed, heavily disinterested. He knew he was ashamed internally as he saw the poor wolf-boy getting drenched by mop water but remained his stoic composure. Xerxes was shocked when he saw Keanu in the video like the infamous scene of Carrie getting splashed with blood at the prom.

The ram-man continued, “I don’t know what was your call, Browne? Kicking laboring staffs’ property is beyond no reason to be angry about it. What you have got to say for yourself? Look at yourself in the video! Is that really yourself, walking away from your problems?” He gestured the laptop screen and saw himself leaving the building without any assistance. “That’s hit-and-run right there! He could have been hurt if that bucket fell on top of him.”

Terrence said nothing. “For the time being, Browne, I’m suspending you from the next game in October.”

Terrence reacted and jumped up from his seat. “What!”

“And this is your first warning, Browne! Another stunt like that you could get expelled from the university. Better maintain your ego out of the way from hurting others. Have I been myself clear?”

Terrence said it immediately. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. You’re now dismissed.” Terrence muttered under his breath as he left his office.

He stopped for a second next to Xerxes and spoke between teeth. “I thought you were my friend here.”

“Sorry, pal. I have a conscience to keep clear,” said Xerxes.

“Humph.” He walked away and left the office.

Just as he left, he passed by an approaching red-tailed hawk-man, who had just changed back to his normal clothes, walking to Xerxes. “Xerxes, huh, mind if I have a word?” His accent was really off, it was not his first langue and his accent felt similar to that of Xavier’s.

“Sure, Julio, what is it?”

“By…” He tried to think about how to phrase it. “Eh, by any chance y-you’re friends with a parrot?”

“Xavier?” Xerxes picked it up. “Do you know him?”

“Sort of… I think.” He wondered. “Do you think you can…uh…” He murmured himself and rubbed the back of his head.

“You want me to get him?”

“Yeah, maybe tomorrow.”

“I can get you to his dorm if you like?”

“Yes, thank you. That’ll be useful.”

“No problem, but do you know him?”

“Well…let’s just say…uh…” He translated his mind. “He was ‘friends’ with my sister.”