Pacman Frog

Frog

Frogs and a ticking clock...

The main reasons why my parents were so against adopting a rat is not entirely because of their upbringing, or environment, but because, as they stated, 

"They have diseases that humans can contract!"

"They are too small and could easily escape!"

"When they escape, they could reproduce with other rats and we'll have an infestation!!!"

Overall, I actually agree with all their points and understand my parent's unwillingness to get me a rat (as much as that hurts me to say it). Nonetheless, that didn't deter me from searching for alternatives; an animal that was the complete opposite of a rat, that still matched my personality and lifestyle. In simpler terms, "Nina's indisputably perfect pet!"

**********

It was about nine in the morning during the first block, and the classroom was hectic. The teacher hadn't arrived yet, and most of my classmates took that as an incentive to start making unauthorized decisions. Some boys were sitting on the teacher's vacant desk and picking paper clips from a jar on the table, hooking them together to make a long chain. Another group of students were on their devices, some kid even brought out his Nintendo Switch, and in the corner of the class, you could see them having a small Mario Kart tournament. Of course, the classroom phone rang, probably from an office staff, but no one dared pick it up, because there was this mutual understanding, almost eerily so. My friend, on the other hand, didn't care much for either problem, as she sat to my right, typing away on her laptop. She was usually like this during school because she was, in the kindest way possible, an absolute smart aleck, and she knew it. "Stop staring at me," not so gently asked my friend as she didn't even give me as much as a glimpse in my direction. I furrowed my brows at her and then did the same with my lips, before I said back, "What do you think about getting a frog?" 

"A what?" my friend questioned, which was muffled by the sounds of her continuous typing.

"Never mind, Ophelia," I mumbled under my breath, a slight tiredness and annoyance in my form. 

We didn't speak for about another fifteen minutes, occupying myself by impatiently scribbling messed-up sketches on my unfinished math homework, and Ophelia, casually applying for a university introduction workshop. From our side of the classroom, you could occasionally hear the clock, hanging on the wall left of me, ticking down; but most of those delicate chimes were interrupted when I sent her a stock image of a Pacman frog that I got from my Macbook. 

"Ewww," Ophelia bluntly gasped after she clicked on my message. I was always appreciative of how honest and straightforward she was; which is why we were friends; I didn't need to hide anything from her because I knew she was never the kind of person to talk behind someone's back. She would be the one to say it to your face. "Hear me out!" I abruptly stated as I pointed a stern finger toward Ophelia. Her reaction was mundane, as she merely frowned before going back to doing homework; as if the teacher was here. I sighed deeply to get her attention as my sharp groans seemed to slice through the giddy mood of the rest of the class, some students giving me and Ophelia a few concerned stares. On any other day, this would have bothered me, but today I only had one thing on my mind. "This is a Pacman frog! Females are bigger, but in general, they only can grow up to a few inches in size, They are not loud or active, but super cool, and love eating large insects. Also, the naming convention for them is hilarious." I ranted with gradual enthusiasm, becoming so sweet and joyful, it was like venom to Ophelia. 

"And why are you telling me this?" Ophelia grumbled as she took a break from homework to rub her eyes, already tired of me, even though it was still only first block. 

"Because I need your help! You're smart, so help me convince my parents!" I begged, grinning hopefully as I mentioned this to her. 

"Weren't you obsessed with rats?" She answered instead, as she raised her brow.

"Yes, but Pacman frogs are indisputably perfect pets for me! Considering they are amphibians, I won't contract any harmful diseases from them, and I won't easily lose them since they are big and slow.  Even if they do escape, they are not native to Canada, so they can't naturally breed and cause an outbreak!  Also, they just have this charm... I like them." I simply said. 

"Tell your parents that." Ophelia jabbed back, which made my smile grim slightly. 

"I already did! This morning I asked my mom, and I showed her the picture I sent you, but her reaction was anything but mine... I just don't get them!" The rhythm of my words fell shorter and stunted me slightly at the end. As I glanced up at Ophelia, her face was still unwithering towards me so I clasped my hands over my mouth, effectively trapping any other emotions from dripping out of me. I didn't think she deserved to have to be put on the spot, listening to my family issues, so I stopped talking and awkwardly went back to my beat-up worksheet. A silence grew between us, until my friend finally came to face me, gently patting my hunched back. She breathed out a bit, the alarm clock that was in her mind, defusing ever so slightly to leave some time for me. Then after a few seconds, went back to scanning in on her laptop. The thought occurred in my head, "Second best to everything." I thought to myself.  I wasn't going to say anything, just leaving the tension stale, like the piece of toast I left on the kitchen counter this morning. "I'll help you talk to them after school." She interrupted, to my amazement. Then my expression mellowed out into a thankful smile.

Suddenly, and almost perfectly, the bell rang, marking the end of class, but the teacher still hadn't shown up-