Scott Dean always had a fascination with toys and dolls from the eighties. He loved to collect them and show them to his only son, Enrique. He kept the toys in Enrique’s room, lined beside each other on a shelf. As Enrique grew up, his interest in the toys faded and they began to pile up. Soon, Scott stopped buying the toys.
It was now Enrique’s eighteenth birthday and instead of buying the laptop his son had asked for, Scott decided on a more affordable gift. He returned to his house holding a gift bag in one hand, and his coat in the other.
“Enrique!” Scott’s voice echoed through the house. Before Scott could call his son one more time, he heard Enrique’s soft footsteps from the stairway.
“You’re home,” Enrique’s eyes immediately fell onto the gift bag, and spoke, “What’s that?”
“It’s your birthday gift,” Scott handed the gift to his son.
Enrique took the bag and ripped through the layers of tissue paper, revealing the stuffed animal hidden beneath. It was a teddy bear that was tattered and beaten. There was an eye missing, and its ears were falling off. Enrique sighed but kept the smile on his face, “Thanks.”
“What do you want for dinner, sport?” He asked while throwing his coat on the kitchen table.
“Actually, I have a lot of homework to do tonight. Maybe we can go out for dinner this weekend?”
“Of course, school is important now. It’s okay,”
Enrique put the toy under his arm and disappeared upstairs. His room was painted from ceiling to the bottom of the walls in a pastel pink colour that gave a sense of warmth and coziness. The walls instantly welcomed anyone who entered. The pink walls were covered in film posters that started to slide off the walls. The shelf of old toys was now filled with books, schoolwork, and old projects. The old toys were kept in a chest that sat in the corner of the bedroom. The toys piled on top on the chest like a sand dune. Enrique tossed the bear on top of the chest and returned to his desk covered in papers.
He was working on a group project with his best friend and another classmate. His partners had not worked on their parts of the project, leaving it to Enrique to do by himself. He was upset with his group and had told them many times to do it.
“Angry, aren’t you?” A deep voice whispered.
Enrique shook his head, thinking nothing of the voice at first.
“Doesn’t that make you furious?” This voice was higher pitched.
Enrique spun his chair around to see no one else in the room. He returned to his work, typing furiously on his laptop.
He completed the project late in the evening. Enrique dragged himself to bed, falling face-first into it. His eyes were shut completely, his body felt numb.
He heard the voices again, the deep voice spoke first, “Why don’t you show them how angry you really are?”
“Yeah!” The sharp voice agreed. “Let’s show ‘em tomorrow! Shall we?”
“I’m sure Enrique wouldn’t mind,” The toneless voice said.
Enrique was too tired to respond. He mumbled a response, barely audible.
“What’d he say, Vincent?” The shrill voice spoke excitedly.
“I think he agreed, Lolita,”
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