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Entry tags:
Drabble #59
Prompt: #92: Surprised
Fandom: Calvin and Hobbes
Genre: Romance
Rating: G
Notes: Something I wrote during NaNo, couldn't think of any improvements, so here it is. I'd been on a big Calvin and Hobbes kick, and decided to do a little drabble about it. I just love looking at the "X years later" idea of innocent things like comics and children's stories. Also I wanted to do something with Calvin growing up that didn't involve him outgrowing Hobbes; I'm as old as I've depicted him in this drabble and I still carry my favorite stuffed cat around. That's a kind of friendship you can't give up on just because you're older; I never liked that "you don't believe it this anymore just because you're older" thing. Like poor Puff the Magic Dragon. So yes, he still has Hobbes :)
Calvin trudged slowly to the campus library. His shoulders were starting to hurt from the heavy backpack he wore. This was a common problem with college students and all the books and equipment they had to carry, but not every student brought a tiger in their backpack.
Hobbes was very quiet as he sat peering out of the half-open backpack. Calvin assumed he was just dozing or deciding how he wanted to cook the snooty librarian for dinner. Neither of them were here for any particular reason; just a way to pass the time before the next class; while Calvin had grown up a lot since the painful days of elementary school, laziness was still a luxury he preferred to flaunt where he could.
Browsing blankly through the shelves, he suddenly stopped and backtracked when he caught a familiar glimpse of someone between the shelves, sitting at a table by herself. She focused studiously on a well-kept spiral bound notebook, writing slowly in painstakingly neat letters. She curled a free finger around her short brown hair, flipping back and forth in the pages of a brand new looking textbook. Calvin stared for a long time between the cracks in the shelves, almost certain he'd placed her. He knew that face alright, but it had been more than ten years since he'd set eyes on it, so much had changed. But there was no mistaking as he inched closer, coming around the aisle of books to come closer to the table; that was her, alright.
He crept up on her, taking a nosy peek at what she was writing; something about the ecosystem. And with another pause he finally spoke.
"...Susie?"
She lifted her head at the sound of her name. Yup, that was her alright; he recognized the whites of her eyes from all the times he surprised her with a snowball all those years ago. Suzie Derkins, the new girl in town. They had gone to school together and did a constant dance of insults and mean pranks until Calvin and his family moved away at age ten. He still remembered that humiliating goodbye kiss on the cheek.
"Calvin?!" she jumped out of her seat, not even waiting for a response before tackling him in a big bear hug. He stumbled backward from the force. While last time they saw each other they could easily stand eye to eye, Calvin had now turned out a head taller than Susie, whose soft head of hair pressed roughly against his chin. Thankfully he was passed the age when girls had cooties, and he returned the hug just as generously.
"I didn't know I'd see you here!" she exclaimed, "It's been way too long!"
She offered him a seat across the table, sitting back down herself. He slid his backpack off his shoulders as he accepted her offer.
"Yeah...I would've written but I...kinda forgot your address. Hehe."
She looked a little bit hurt at that statement, but she still smiled. She noticed the stuffed animal peering out of his backpack and gave him a knowing look.
"I see you still keep Hobbes around."
"Heh, yeah." Calvin grabbed him gently by the paw and tugged him out of the bag, "Can't take him anywhere, either."
Hobbes had to be handled carefully nowadays. While still full of as much energy and trouble as he was when Calvin was six, his stitches were getting worn out and his fur was fading from the twelve years of adventures the two of them had together. Calvin still got as many looks as he did back then, carrying the tiger around everywhere he had the chance, but he had ended up not caring in the end what anyone thought; a best friend was a best friend, even stuffed with polyester. Susie was gentle in taking the little tiger from Calvin's hands to give him a gentler hug than she gave Calvin.
"Hey there, fella. Remember me?"
Of course he remembers you, Calvin thought, he never shut up about you ever since we moved. It was refreshing that Susie didn't think it was silly. In fact she still had her own Mr. Bun tucked away in her dorm to sleep with at night, only he was faring worse than Hobbes was in wear and tear. She admitted it; she missed Hobbes too. She always preferred his company to Calvin's. At least that's what she thought until she ended up finding herself disappointed by the lack of disgusting conversations at lunch time.
"So how the heck are you, Susie? What's new with you?"
"Well, I graduated high school with honors and a perfect GPA, got some of the best scholarships I could get, and now I'm here studying business."
She always was an overachiever. Now that Calvin was in college he did find some subjects he could actually relate to, but Susie's absolute love for education was still strange to him.
"How about you?"
Calvin shrugged. "About the same as always."
That got a laugh from Susie. "That bad, huh?"
"Hey! I got accepted here, didn't I?"
"Yeah. Who'd your dad have to bribe?"
The two of them laughed now.
"Hehe, I guess some things never change, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess not."
Susie took a quick glance at her watch and stood up, leaving Hobbes sitting on the table.
"Listen, I have to get to class. But maybe tonight we could have some coffee or something and do some more catching up?"
"Sounds good to me." Any excuse for a highly caffeinated drink was a good one, Calvin always thought. Susie gave him another quick hug before turning to hurry through the bookshelves.
"It's good to see you again, booger-breath!" Calvin called after her.
If she reacted, he couldn't see it. But she certainly didn't turn around to yell at him or anything, and he thought he may have seen a smile on her face when she turned the corner.
He picked Hobbes up from the table, whispering a harsh "Not a damn word" to him before standing up and continuing to wander around the library.
Fandom: Calvin and Hobbes
Genre: Romance
Rating: G
Notes: Something I wrote during NaNo, couldn't think of any improvements, so here it is. I'd been on a big Calvin and Hobbes kick, and decided to do a little drabble about it. I just love looking at the "X years later" idea of innocent things like comics and children's stories. Also I wanted to do something with Calvin growing up that didn't involve him outgrowing Hobbes; I'm as old as I've depicted him in this drabble and I still carry my favorite stuffed cat around. That's a kind of friendship you can't give up on just because you're older; I never liked that "you don't believe it this anymore just because you're older" thing. Like poor Puff the Magic Dragon. So yes, he still has Hobbes :)
Calvin trudged slowly to the campus library. His shoulders were starting to hurt from the heavy backpack he wore. This was a common problem with college students and all the books and equipment they had to carry, but not every student brought a tiger in their backpack.
Hobbes was very quiet as he sat peering out of the half-open backpack. Calvin assumed he was just dozing or deciding how he wanted to cook the snooty librarian for dinner. Neither of them were here for any particular reason; just a way to pass the time before the next class; while Calvin had grown up a lot since the painful days of elementary school, laziness was still a luxury he preferred to flaunt where he could.
Browsing blankly through the shelves, he suddenly stopped and backtracked when he caught a familiar glimpse of someone between the shelves, sitting at a table by herself. She focused studiously on a well-kept spiral bound notebook, writing slowly in painstakingly neat letters. She curled a free finger around her short brown hair, flipping back and forth in the pages of a brand new looking textbook. Calvin stared for a long time between the cracks in the shelves, almost certain he'd placed her. He knew that face alright, but it had been more than ten years since he'd set eyes on it, so much had changed. But there was no mistaking as he inched closer, coming around the aisle of books to come closer to the table; that was her, alright.
He crept up on her, taking a nosy peek at what she was writing; something about the ecosystem. And with another pause he finally spoke.
"...Susie?"
She lifted her head at the sound of her name. Yup, that was her alright; he recognized the whites of her eyes from all the times he surprised her with a snowball all those years ago. Suzie Derkins, the new girl in town. They had gone to school together and did a constant dance of insults and mean pranks until Calvin and his family moved away at age ten. He still remembered that humiliating goodbye kiss on the cheek.
"Calvin?!" she jumped out of her seat, not even waiting for a response before tackling him in a big bear hug. He stumbled backward from the force. While last time they saw each other they could easily stand eye to eye, Calvin had now turned out a head taller than Susie, whose soft head of hair pressed roughly against his chin. Thankfully he was passed the age when girls had cooties, and he returned the hug just as generously.
"I didn't know I'd see you here!" she exclaimed, "It's been way too long!"
She offered him a seat across the table, sitting back down herself. He slid his backpack off his shoulders as he accepted her offer.
"Yeah...I would've written but I...kinda forgot your address. Hehe."
She looked a little bit hurt at that statement, but she still smiled. She noticed the stuffed animal peering out of his backpack and gave him a knowing look.
"I see you still keep Hobbes around."
"Heh, yeah." Calvin grabbed him gently by the paw and tugged him out of the bag, "Can't take him anywhere, either."
Hobbes had to be handled carefully nowadays. While still full of as much energy and trouble as he was when Calvin was six, his stitches were getting worn out and his fur was fading from the twelve years of adventures the two of them had together. Calvin still got as many looks as he did back then, carrying the tiger around everywhere he had the chance, but he had ended up not caring in the end what anyone thought; a best friend was a best friend, even stuffed with polyester. Susie was gentle in taking the little tiger from Calvin's hands to give him a gentler hug than she gave Calvin.
"Hey there, fella. Remember me?"
Of course he remembers you, Calvin thought, he never shut up about you ever since we moved. It was refreshing that Susie didn't think it was silly. In fact she still had her own Mr. Bun tucked away in her dorm to sleep with at night, only he was faring worse than Hobbes was in wear and tear. She admitted it; she missed Hobbes too. She always preferred his company to Calvin's. At least that's what she thought until she ended up finding herself disappointed by the lack of disgusting conversations at lunch time.
"So how the heck are you, Susie? What's new with you?"
"Well, I graduated high school with honors and a perfect GPA, got some of the best scholarships I could get, and now I'm here studying business."
She always was an overachiever. Now that Calvin was in college he did find some subjects he could actually relate to, but Susie's absolute love for education was still strange to him.
"How about you?"
Calvin shrugged. "About the same as always."
That got a laugh from Susie. "That bad, huh?"
"Hey! I got accepted here, didn't I?"
"Yeah. Who'd your dad have to bribe?"
The two of them laughed now.
"Hehe, I guess some things never change, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess not."
Susie took a quick glance at her watch and stood up, leaving Hobbes sitting on the table.
"Listen, I have to get to class. But maybe tonight we could have some coffee or something and do some more catching up?"
"Sounds good to me." Any excuse for a highly caffeinated drink was a good one, Calvin always thought. Susie gave him another quick hug before turning to hurry through the bookshelves.
"It's good to see you again, booger-breath!" Calvin called after her.
If she reacted, he couldn't see it. But she certainly didn't turn around to yell at him or anything, and he thought he may have seen a smile on her face when she turned the corner.
He picked Hobbes up from the table, whispering a harsh "Not a damn word" to him before standing up and continuing to wander around the library.