Part 4, yes. But also the end of the story! Enjoy! (You can find the previous sections of this story in the Menu at the top of the screen, under Writing and Short Stories😉).
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The next day it was even worse. When Canon and Samantha arrived at his house, Justin had barely time to say hello when Canon was off her shoulder and in his face, squawking and flapping his wings furiously.
Warding off the bird, Justin held his hands up and backed away, waiting for him to calm down. Samantha held on tight to him, apologizing again.
But Justin wasn’t sure how long this could last. “I’m sorry, Samantha. I wish we could hang out more, but if he attacks me every time… I just don’t know how it’ll work.” He grimaced inwardly, hating himself for suggesting it.
Samantha’s ever-present smile dissapeared as she looked at him. Canon was in her arms, struggling for his freedom. “I can just leave him at home, if that works.”
Justin nodded slowly. “That might work. But what about today? I wouldn’t want to make you have to hold him all the time.”
“Here, take the camera.” She held it out to him underneath the bird. He took it quickly, barely avoiding Canon’s beak.
“Thief!” The bird screeched, bucking in Samantha’s arms.
“If you can look at it while we walk, he should be fine. He seems to only be angry when you’re near me.” She explained.
Justin nodded, wishing it wasn’t so. They started off, Justin admiring the small camera and inspecting it briefly. There was nothing obvious that was broken or in bad repair, so he told her he’d have to take it apart at home to get a closer look.
After that, they carried on a choppy conversation above Canon’s constant insults. It might have seemed funny if he were reading it in a book, but as it was, Justin saw no humor in the annoying and awkward situation.
After their walk was over, Samantha left Justin with her camera, saying she’d be back the next day (without Canon) to pick it up.
He worked on it that evening, finding and fixing the broken lense. He tested it by taking a photo of a flower vase on the dining room table, then set it on his desk and went to bed after praying with his parents.
The next morning, he was eating a quick breakfast when Samantha knocked on the door. His mother waved goodbye as he swung a jacket on and rushed out the door, grabbing the camera.
“Good morning! You’re in a rush.” Samantha joked as he exploded out the door.
“Sorry. I was eating breakfast when you came.” He explained, holding out the camera. “I fixed it!”
Delighted, Samantha turned it on and held it up. “Thank you! I—” At this moment, a sneaky bird dropped down from the roof and landed on her shoudler.
Shock and habitual fear ran through Justin, as he stared at the escaped parrot. “How’d he get out?”
Samantha was silent, glancing at her bird suspiciously. Pocketing her camera, she took the bird onto her wrist, where he sat looking at them both with a look that said, what did I do?
“I left him in his cage…” Samantha muttered, cocking her head to one side. Canon mirrored the image, causing them both to laugh. Then he turned and stared at Justin for a long moment.
Warily, Justin raised a hand and waved awkwardly, hoping he wouldn’t anger the parrot on accident. But Canon didn’t seem inclined to attack, and actually flew to his outstretched arm and perched there.
“Nice boy!” He squaked loudly. Justin winced, but smiled nervously as Canon rubbed his head on his shoulder. Why’d he have to say that of all things?
“Well, I guess he’s okay with you now.” Samantha said wonderingly. Canon bobbed his head up and down, the walked down Justin’s arm to his owner. He stuck his head the pocket of her yellow hoodie, pulling out the string handle of the camera. Before he could finish pulling out the newly-fixed device, Samantha gently released the string from his beak.
“I think I understand now—he trusts you because you fixed my camera! Or something like that, at least. You’ve proved yourself to be a good guy—or as he says, a nice boy—and now he’s ok with us being friends.” Samantha said slowly.
Justin smiled, relieved at the strange but reasonable explanation. “Well, that’s good I guess. Although I never thought I’d need a parrot’s blessing to be friends with someone.”
Samantha laughed. “True, it’s sorta strange and hilarious. C’mon, let’s go walk!”
THE END
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And there you are! The end of the story. 😊 I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!
God bless,
Janet
