“Dude!! Every time I get the chance to see you land, I get a total rush, you know?!? It reminds me of how much I wish I had wings!!” Jed’s roommate’s ears perked up as he watched him descend from the sky and onto their soft, pillow covered porch. Then, he flicked his cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out, suffocating the flame. Jed was allergic to smoke—actually, he was allergic to a whole lot.

Once Jed was safely away from the edge, Harvey eagerly moved in to give him a big ‘hello’ hug! But, noticing the strange dirt stains on Harvey’s jacket, Jed ducked out of the way, re-harnessing his wings to his back, careful not to misstep as he did so. As usual, Harvey’s enthusiasm remained undeterred.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, dude! ‘Cause I have to hike up this,'' Harvey motioned from the patio to the haunting drop below. He and Jed lived in a restored tower crane that rested unsteadily atop a skyscraper. Beneath them, the entire grid that was the outer city was visible, giving the two of them the unique chance to view the landscape of jumbled concrete and rusty steel from an unusual angle. Skyscrapers stacked on top of one another aimlessly, leaning, as if they would soon need a cane to keep them upright. The long, narrow streets were kept in shadow thanks to the improper building planning, the sun completely blotted out and unable to provide any useful lighting. Rusty pipes lined the sidewalks, suffering sporadic leaks, dribbling out a strange yellow-green liquid onto the ground. Everything was worn out, from the decaying concrete and frosted glass facades of the buildings, to the people who lived there.

During the housing crisis, makeshift, affordable housing units like this tower crane were born out of necessity, eventually becoming a staple piece of architecture. Just take an old piece of machinery, expand it a bit with a kitchenette, patio, cable/wifi hookup, and you’ve got yourself an artistic studio apartment. It was affordable, but the trade-off was evident: The journey—yes, journey—to get up to where Jed lived only had one route available, and that consisted of two massive endeavors. First, you’d have to take the fifteen minute trek that was traveling up the apartment elevator to the floor above the penthouse—which was only fifteen minutes if no one else happened to get in or needed to stop at any other floors. Then, came the climb up a precarious, thin, rusty ladder, that was also devoid of any safety nets. It clung to the crane so tight that the last few foot holes were incredibly narrow. The sunsets from Jed’s lofty perch were nothing short of incredible, but the threat of getting struck by lightning was what made the rent so low.

“And you can just zip up here and touchdown on the patio, like. BOOM! No risk of plummeting sixty stories!”

Jed managed a small smile for acknowledgment’s sake, but as always, a shadow of frustration clouded both his face and his tone. Every time he ran into his roommate during his smoke break, they had this exact conversation. And every time, it ended the same way. Jed liked Harvey, he really did, but this was starting to get under his skin. He knew there wasn’t much he could do about his short term memory, and he knew it was just a side effect of being a dog hybrid, but it was still a challenge nonetheless.

“Yeah.” Jed mumbled, moving out of the nest of pillows that cluttered the patio, each step tracking some slick mud on them. “I mean, it’s not all great. These things weigh me down. It’s almost impossible to balance, and landing’s the worst part.” He nudged the pillows with his foot, as if to remind Harvey of why he needed all this extra padding. “Remember? That’s why we got these.”

Harvey snapped his fingers in understanding. “Right! I totally spaced on that. My bad. Will not happen again.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, poking his temples with his pointer fingers. “I’m entering it into my totally important memory bank right now!”

Jed smiled in acknowledgement again, but there was a subtle edge to it—a hint of irony in the way his eyes narrowed just slightly. It was a smile that said he had heard this all before. He turned to head inside, but Harvey intercepted him.

“WHOAAA!! Jed STOP. Shoes gotta kick it out here. As much as I’d be down for rolling around in it, we can’t have our pad turning into a total mud pit!!”

“Right.”

In a fit of malicious compliance, Jed kicked the first shoe off, slowly, amused with the way Harvey’s eyes tracked its every movement. He haphazardly kicked his other shoe off as well, hoping his roommate wouldn't be able to fight his canine instincts and play fetch—but karma intervened. When it landed, the shoe bounced into his flower pot. Then, it ricocheted off it and flew off the edge of the patio. Haplessly, Jed watched the shoe plummet sixty stories, all while Harvey’s ears perked up in keen interest. He had an intense urge to chase it, but, with a disgruntled face, summoned every ounce of self restraint to resist temptation and not jump after it.

“Was… that your last pair of good shoes?” Harvey said, gently removing the arm blockade he had created between Jed and the door. As Jed turned the knob and entered, he hesitated, dreading the conversation that was soon to follow. Jed could hold a poker face for every emotion but anxiety, and Harvey was very acutely aware of what everyone was feeling—especially Jed. He'd know right away something was amiss. But... if he could just play it cool during their inevitable talk, maybe Harvey wouldn’t think him joining this bracket was a bad thing. Maybe, by some miracle, Jed could actually convince him that it was a good thing.

“Yeah. But that shouldn’t be a problem anymore.” Jed’s voice wavered.

“Oh? Why’s that?” Harvey answered, leaning in slightly. Something was going on behind the scenes and he needed to know.

Before Jed could come up with a lie, the words caught in his throat, and his mouth suddenly felt very dry. He decided that was a sign that it was best to leave everything unsaid, at least for now. Hopefully, by some stroke of luck, the conversation would just naturally flip over to something else. Or, maybe, Harvey’s short term memory would finally work in Jed’s favor and he’d forget about it all together.

A guy could dream.

Still ignoring his roommate, Jed made his way to the small coffee table in their living room/bedroom fusion. Their place was compact, but not terrible. It was covered in pillows, rugs, and carpets, with thick drapes that hung over the four enormous windows they had on each wall. Everything was an orangey-red color because everything was Harvey’s. Besides the left side of their shared bed—that was blue. That was Jed’s.

Weekends were a tight fit if Harvey wasn’t out visiting his girlfriend. But, on weekdays, Jed’s night shift at the call center and Harvey’s early K-9 unit duties created a very welcome balance; though it did make Jed wonder why an officer like Harvey would ever have to live in a refurbished tower crane—with a roommate, at that. Don’t those guys make a lot of money?

Harvey returned from the kitchen with two glasses in hand, giving one to Jed before eagerly settling in. “Alright, my nocturnal friend!! What’s lured you out into the daylight??” He paused briefly, then added: “If you’re up now… that means you’ve pulled an all-nighter. That’s real dedication, which can only mean you’re doing something super serious.”

Unfortunately, Harvey received no answer to his question. Continuing, he tapped his glass excitedly, energy literally radiating off of him. “You’re giving off some serious nervous mojo. I can smell it, dude!”

He sniffed him, at first as a joke, but then picked up on something unusual. He took another whiff, this time almost comically exaggerated. “Whoa man… is that vanilla? Why're you smelling all flowery?!”

In a moment of realization, Harvey leapt up, bumping the table and sending his drink wobbling and then toppling over, spilling coffee all over their light orange rug. He leaned in close to Jed, sharp canine instincts on full display. “Hold up, wait a sec—Did you meet someone special, dude?!?” Another deep inhale. “A girl??”

Jed scooted his chair back slightly, creating some space. His roommate smelled like a wet dog. “Well, sort of. But not like —”

“YEAAAH!!!” Harvey interrupted him, almost cheering. “BRO. It doesn’t matter if it’s JUST. ONE. NIGHT. It’s still a score, Jed. It totally counts!”

But Jed remained stoic. Silent. Harvey sensed the frustration and retreated back to his spot, awkwardly. His cheeks tinged with embarrassment at both spilling his drink and interrupting Jed. “Er—my bad, man. Go on, go on.”

“I signed up for the boxing bracket. The girl you smell is who is, um…paying my entry fee.” Jed could feel the pressure in the room suddenly escalate. He opened his mouth to keep going, but Harvey decided to interrupt once again. Guess you really can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

“Jed.” Harvey’s tone was thick with disappointment, carrying the weight of their unspoken promise being broken—a promise Jed had made years ago when they moved in together to take care of his own well-being so Harvey wouldn’t have to worry. The imminent approach of a lecture loomed, and Jed briefly debated retreating to the “do not disturb corner” of their shared room. But, no. It was no use. Harvey would just follow him there.

“Dude. Why would you do that?” Harvey pointed a finger at Jed, directing where his anger should go.

“Do… what?” Jed replied, feigning confusion, trying anything he could to weasel out of this conversation.

Why doesn't he just relax? This is important to me.

He pushed Harvey’s finger away in a feeble attempt to ward off the impending nag.

“What do you mean, ‘what’???” Harvey scoffed. “Why would you, of all people, sign up for a boxing match?! You know what boxing is, right?? It’s when people fight. Fight like…” he mimed some moves he’d seen on TV, hoping to emphasize the insanity of Jed’s decision. “This!”

Jed nodded, a tight smile on his face. But, no matter how unbothered he acted, the gravity of the situation couldn’t really be dismissed.

“Wha—!” Harvey exclaimed, agitated. “Don’t give me that look! Last you told me, getting hit anywhere was a big no-no!!!”

“Yeah. I know.” Jed sighed, averting his gaze as he continued. “I just … I want to get out of this place. I hate this city and I hate my job.” Harvey bit his tongue, listening intently. This was a rare moment—Jed barely opened up.

“The bracket gives me three years to prepare, so… that’s plenty of time to learn and, um. Get stronger. And… it’s going to check off all my boxes for my five-year-plan, which is good.”

Silence.

“It’s my one shot at doing anything with my life... Anything worthwhile. And it’s something I’ll do on my own, you know, find my own path and break free from this...”

“Dude!!! Stop with the five-year-plan. I hate that!!” Harvey rose from his seat as he spoke, and moved over to Jed, gripping his shoulders. He wanted to ground him, remind him that real world consequences existed, but today all it did was send a shiver down Jed’s spine. During arguments, any touch felt particularly…heavy. Jed fought the urge to pull away, his body stiffening up beneath his roommate’s hands.

Jed didn’t have to endure it for long. The moment Harvey sensed a shift, he released his grip. A brief sting of hurt pricked at him—did I hurt him?? Harvey just wanted Jed to grasp how, well, crazy this was! Deciding not to press the matter further, Harvey fetched a rag, finally addressing the ever-growing spill.

Jed sighed, leaning back in his seat. Harvey just didn’t get it. This decision was important, and it was important because it was fighting. It was dangerous. It was everything he was made to shun. His mundane existence would finally serve a purpose—and one he had chosen for himself! It was the perfect rebellion against his parents’ choices. To stand for something, anything, instead of lounging in idle pacifism. And... and the person that he spoke to, Vanessa, she finally looked at him and saw potential to be something more.

“I get it, dude.” Harvey said, breaking his short vow of silence while scrubbing the stain with newfound vigor. “You might be feeling like you’re in a rut, but you’re only 23! You’ve got the whole universe at your fingertips. Whenever you want to, you can start a new chapter. Your life is far from over.” He glanced up at Jed, hoping to drive the point home with a reassuring look. “Trust me.”

Jed stayed quiet. He definitely wasn’t accustomed to someone caring so openly about him. As Harvey finished cleaning up and bussing the table, he patted Jed on the head. This time, he didn’t flinch. It was even a bit comforting.

“Alright, I’m outta here. My girlfriend’s waiting, and you know how it is.” Harvey said, putting his coat on and fiddling with the doorknob. He turned back to Jed, looking worried.

“Listen. Don’t go doing anything too wild, okay? If something doesn’t feel right after your first training, don’t hesitate to step back and say, ‘you know what, this isn’t for me.’ And that’s totally fine, man. We’ll find you something at the precinct. Maybe a secretary gig or whatever’s open and easy to snag without a high school diploma. Just… anything but your five-year-plan, dude!!”

With that, Harvey was practically out of the door. Jed sat for a minute and thought about what he said, relaying everything that went down during that awkward heart-to-heart. But, then, remembered Vanessa’s final words:

‘You better be ready to totally kick things off by Monday.’

Right! Jed needed to get a move on, and fast!

His first order of business was to get familiar with the sport—boxers needed to know how to box, after all! So, his plan involved joining a gym, going to the library, checking out all the necessary books, and finding a reliable trainer.

Jed also decided, in that moment, no one would know about his hollow bones. Not his trainer, not Vanessa, and certainly not the other boxers. If he wanted to break out of the mold his parents forced him into, he’d need to do it without anyone going easy on him.

Oh—and he'd have to quit his job. That he was seriously looking forward to.