By: Calvin Jiang

With the hammer and shovel rested on his shoulders, Cage marched back to his pond-in-progress, with each step getting muddier. It had rained the prior night, and rained decently hard. The rain allowed the clay and other layers of rock to soften but made everything wet and dirty. Cage was a hygienic person and didn’t in the slightest enjoy being in the mud.

Yet, with the years with Cletus, he had gotten more used to the mud. He started slamming the rock and digging into it, to continue his work from yesterday. His sleep last night was absolutely horrible, as the late-night storms kept him awake for a long time. His estimates of his sleep duration were only about 3 hours. He had yet to eat, and each slam was a bucket of energy gone. His eyes were droopy, shoulders low, and he felt like he was about to pass out. Eventually, after what he believed was one hour (which was actually ten minutes) Cletus invited Cage to go eat his breakfast, which was again, not too shabby.

Chapter 5: Green Eggs and Ham

Cage entered the room, refreshed with the air conditioning. The cabin where they normally ate was shredded by the storm last night, so Cletus allowed them to eat inside. Cage could sense Cletus growing kinder throughout the past days. He was perplexed with the abrupt change of heart, and knew something was up.

The menu for that day was also different. Normally, a cup of milk, some small slices of meat, and carrots were the usual. However, on that day, Cletus served fish, orange juice, and garlic toast. A meal only the wealthy could afford, well, at least better conditions than their current situation. Cage started to raise his suspicions, as Cletus was seemingly happier than ever. He knew that he shouldn’t overthink it, but he had nothing else to think about. Pondering and daydreaming was one of the main reasons he could get through the day.