Phytoremediation

This is a triumph

Basil smiled at Sunny. He looked down at Sunny's legs. The scratching was already starting to heal. As usual, grandma's homemade ointment recipe worked perfectly.

Can't believe it just takes saffron, mint, and aloe vera...

He looked back to Sunny's face, which was beautiful as always. Even when he was opening his mouth wide to eat more of the pancake.

Basil was already done his pancakes. Breakfast goes at breakneck speeds for him, usually. Strange, considering his otherwise laid-back lifestyle.

He admired Sunny. Adorable, even with chipmunk cheeks from trying to finish his pancakes quickly so he could tell his mom what happened when she got home.

From the narrator's mentioning of his mother, the neurons in Basil's skull must've decided to make him think about Sunny's mother as well. Sigh, such is quantum physics.

"Wait, Sunny, where was your mom last night..?" Basil asked a bit worried.

"She had to go out of town for a night for something." Sunny responded, before stuffing another slice of his pancake into his mouth.

"Oh, thank god she's okay..." Basil said with relief.

Sunny finished his pancakes, and stood up from the table. "I gotta go, Basil. Thank you so much, as always. You really saved my ass." Sunny said with an apologetic smile.

"It's okay Sunny... I'll stay over there with you until your mom comes home, if you'd like." Basil asked, trying to hide his eagerness.

Sunny paused for a moment, looking up at nothing, before looking back to Basil. "Yeah, I think having you over would make me feel less anxious. He cut my phone lines, after all."

Basil nodded, and checked his pocket for his phone, just in case. As expected, it was in there.

Sunny and Basil walked out the door, Basil bidding Polly farewell before following Sunny. He thought back to when Sunny walked into the room.

I'm sorry that the first guy's body you had to see in person was mine... he must've been disgusted...

Basil looked to Sunny, his face was as emotionless as it usually was. Basil sighed quietly, a voice in his head called him worthless.

Sunny opened his door, which had apparently remained unlocked since Yuri's exit. The shattered glass window next to it unsettled Basil.

Sunny guided Basil inside. It was far worse than Basil could've ever expected. The TV was thrown to the ground, shattered. The refrigerator was knocked over, with some of the contents spilled to the floor. The oven was also knocked onto its side. The couch was covered in stab marks. Various plates and glasses were shattered on the floor of the kitchen, surrounded with what looked to be milk from the fridge. The bottom two steps were bashed in by something.

Sunny's face remained stony. A potted plant was slammed onto the floor next to the door. It was a basil plant, but it was beyond recognition, even for someone as familiar with plants as Basil.

In spite of his unfazed expression, Sunny remained silent, and stunned. Basil was just as awestricken. The scene was like a car wreck, terrifying, even when you're only looking at the aftermath.

A loud exclamation from outside interrupted their thoughts. "Hellooo Basil! Are you helping the homeless? That's very kind but come out now! We have talking to do... away from the poor!"

Of course it was Basil's mother.

"Is that Michelle..?" Sunny asked cautiously.

The two headed outside. Their fears were confirmed, it was her again. "Oh hello you two! So this really is Sunny's house..?" She seemed concerned with Basil's taste in men.

"Yeah, someone tried to kill him, mom, why are you here?" Basil asked in return.

"Oh, well, school here starts in August instead of September, so I just thought I should come enroll you in person, and make sure they aren't homophobic or anything..." she smiled her pseudogenuine smile.

Basil was shocked by this information, and Sunny seemed a bit anxious at the reminder.

"Nearburgh Public Secondary School is a good school, get in the mini-limo!" Michelle announced. Her requests were difficult to deny, with her boisterous and extroverted presentation, combined with her constant appeals of "good intentions."

"Fine." Basil groaned, "Sorry, Sunny."

Sunny nodded understandingly then turned back to his ruined home.

Basil felt sorry he couldn't help Sunny.

Why am I always so useless.

Basil watched Sunny as the "mini" limo drove away. He turned back to Michelle who was next to him. She was on her phone again.

"So, Basil, how is your boyfriend?" Michelle asked, without looking up from her phone.

"He- He's not my boyfriend!" Basil responded slightly flustered.

"Boyfriend, lover, friend with benefactors or whatever you kids say, doesn't matter."

"No, we aren't dating!" Basil said with exasperation.

"Alright, whatever, so if there's any gay kids at your school, try to make a little "LGTP" club, I'll send the funds for it, and..." She prattled on referencing more incorrect acronyms throughout, also saying the noteworthy phrase "Gays, lesbians, homosexuals, any of them!"

Basil just stared out of the window until the arrival at the school. He silently exited the car, and his mother walked up to him after he walked around the mini-limo.

"Alright, Basil, let me do the talking until I tell you to." She advised. Basil was 100% not going to follow that advice.

Michelle went through the bureaucratic motions of talking to 3 secretaries before being able to speak to a principal.

Finally the two arrived in the office. "Well, Mrs. Charron, I'm very pleased to hear you'd like to enroll your son here. Now, I have to ask some questions about your son's mental health history-"

"Are you calling homosexuality a mental illness? Shame on you!" Michelle yelled.

Basil's mind originally having been made up about talking instead of his mother instead was clouded by anxiety, and now embarrassment.

"No, no, Mrs. Charron, you see, he has been diagnosed with some disorders in the past according to his medical file. I just wish to know how much his anxiety, depression, and... assorted cluster A and C personality disorders... could affect his school career, in case we need to accommodate."

Michelle seemed disappointed. "Oh... well... um... tell him, darling!" She said, nudging Basil forward.

Basil stumbled over his words, but managed to explain. "It's uh... not that much that makes me have a hard time with learning. The cluster stuff... I think that's because I have attachment disorder, abandonment issues... um... and I think mild schizoaffective disorder? I'm not sure if I got that right, sorry." Basil cringed internally at his awkward delivery.

"That's wonderful, thank you Basil. Now, Mrs. Charron, I think I will give Basil a little tour around the school. You may use my office as a little quiet space, since you seem like you have some calls to make.

Basil looked to his mother, who was on her phone again. "Yes, thank you Principal Nearbury."

The principal rolled his eyes, and left the room with Basil. "My name is Mr. Newbury, heh." He whispered to Basil after they left the room. Basil made an affirmative "pfft" and they proceeded into the school.