4. Flood, Sweat & Tears

Chapter 4: Flood, Sweat and Tears

Back home, if I wanted to have fun, I had plenty of options. I could go to the movies, the arcade, the skate park, the rec center, the mall… here in Watwood, however, the options are a bit more limited. If you want fun, you have to make your own.

Which brings us to the game Sprig and I invented: Bugminton. He digs around and flushes out burrowing beetles, and I give 'em a good whack with my racket and see how much distance I can get. Keps me in practice, and we get rid of a bothersome farm pest besides. It's a total win-win.

I'm kind of amazed at how in-sync the two of us have become over the few days since I got here. You'd think a ten-year-old frog farmboy and a Thai-American Angelino teen would have nothing in common, but the two of us just kinda, click. Sometimes, it feels like we're not just Anne and Sprig, we're something more… Ang. No, wait, I think that one's taken. How about… Spranne? Yeah, that works a lot better.

We get a lot of stares from the local riff-raff, but we don't care. They're just jealous that they don't have what we have. Spranne against the world, baby.

So, anyway, we were getting pretty into it when suddenly we heard Hop-Pop yell. When we went to see what was wrong, we found out that while we were out, the basement had completely flooded. As in, where I live. So, just like that, I was once again homeless.

Hop-Pop's offered me the couch while he tries to fix the leak, but Sprig has a better idea… I'm gonna be bunking with him. This is gonna be great! Sash, Marcy and I had sleepovers all the time, and we never failed to have a blast. Now I get to introduce Sprig to all the great things about them, and the best thing of all? We get to do it every night! Hop-Pop seems to think that it's a bad idea, but what does he know? He doesn't get us like we get each other.

This is gonna be epic.

Okay, so, first night, bit of a rough start… it started off okay, pillow fights and Would You Rathers, but we did run into a bit of a problem. Sprig's bedroom gets way too hot, but every time I tried opening the window, he starts complaining that it's too cold, and closes it again! I barely managed to get any sleep last night…

It's okay. There was bound to be a period of adjustment. Fining each other's boundaries, getting to know their habits. It's fine. That's fine. We're gonna make it work. It's Spranne against the world, baby!

It's been three days now. Hop-Pop still hasn't found the leak.

Sprig keeps complaining that I leave my dirty clothes all over the floor. How can he even find them in the middle of all the wet towels he leaves everywhere?

…no, no, it's fine. Just… just one more thing to iron out…

Ughh… there he goes again, peeling off his "web crusties". It's sooo disgusting. You don't see me doing that kind of thing in front of someone! And he has the nerve to complain that I chew too loud? They're potato chips. They crunch. It's what they do.

…just… gotta live with it. Hop-Pop's gonna find the leak any day now. Any day now…

Well… it's been ten days. Basement's still flooded. Sprig and I are barely speaking at this point.

How did things get this bad? We used to get along so well, and now, it's as if all I can see is every little annoying habit of his, and vice-versa. It shouldn't be like this. We should be able to get past this.

Worst of all, it's proving Hop-Pop right! He kept saying there was no way the two of us would be able to share a room without driving each other crazy. But we didn't listen, and now we're turning into those two guys from that old sitcom, you know, the one with the stuck-up guy and the slob sharing an apartment after their wives kicked them out. You know, The Unusual Twosome?

Now I'm sitting here, looking at my picture folder, every photo a reminder of happier times.

…I can't let this happen. I can't just let Spranne crumble like this! This friendship is worth saving! And most of all, I can't let Hop-Pop say "I told you so!"

Whatever it takes… I am going to fix this.

Well, that could have gone better.

I was trying my best to rekindle the spirit of that first day, when we were having so much fun. Spri g was barely even looking at me by now, so I figured why not break the ice with an old classic… a pillowfight!

Unfortunately, I swung a little too hard, and broke one of his do- uh, action figures. It was at that point, I knew; I had messed up. Big time. Because he didn't yell.

No, it was way worse. He did the eerily calm thing. That's when you know they're really mad. I've seen that look on mom, on dad, on my teachers. That's the one you really need to be scared of.

This needs to end. It's clear the two of us are incompatible now. The only way the two of us can live together in peace is if we get out of each others' way, and to do that, the leak must be fixed. And if Hop-Pop can't do it, I have to do it myself.

It's kind of amazing how things spiral out of control just because people can't be honest with each other.

Spranne is back and stronger than ever, and all because we finally had it out in an open and honest manner. It took a little while to get there, though….

When I got to the basement, Sprig was already there; he'd clearly gotten the same idea. But of course, we were both too stubborn to admit what we were doing there, until it all came out in a torrent of buried grudges and accusations.

And then the lampreys got me.

And in that moment, it was like all the petty grievances we had with each other fell away. We were Spranne against the world, working together like it was second nature again. It was just like with the beetles ten days ago… he flushed the out, and I knocked 'em down.

After we finally got rid of them, it was time to finally admit to ourselves that we just don't work as roommates. I guess it makes sense… I love Sash and Marbles like they're the sisters I never had, but if we had to live together for an extended amount of time, I bet we'd drive each other insane too.

Well, now, I'm here on the living room couch, like Hop-Pop suggested in the first place. Sprig rigged up one of those tin-can phones so we can still keep in touch. Funny, I thought those only work in cartoons.

Hop-Pop, surprisingly, didn't rub it in that he'd been right all the time. I guess he'd figured it was that last thing we needed after what we'd been through. In fact, he's sure that our friendship'll be even stronger going forward.

This time, I don't feel bad admitting he's right.

A.N.:

TG: Yeah, though looking back, chubby bald Flapjack-sounding Sprig would've been weird, and we wouldn't have Polly, which is just unthinkable.

Jose: Truly.

Next: Hop Luck