Arctic Dogs: Metamorphosis

Chapter 39 - Who I Am

The Second Week of May 2018

Saturday, MUST Film Festival Day 3

MUST Film Festival Site at MUST Media Studies School

9.45pm

Swifty and his ex-father head to the smoking tent just outside of the festival site because his ex-father was desperate for a stick. Swifty and his friends (except for Lemmy) had never smoked ever because of the harmful effects of smoking, so the second-hand smoke felt unbearable to the white fox.

The adult red fox let out a big puff. "James, you know I'll be leaving soon."

"I know. You're heading back to America," Swifty did not dare call his former father 'Dad'. He was sick of it. Swifty noticed his father passing him a can of beer. He declined. "I'll drink later, thanks."

They were the only ones inside the tent, as it was late into the Saturday night. "You know," his father began rambling as he smoked, "Ever since I signed those divorce papers, it felt like a sense of betrayal. Your mother and I had been in love for so damn long and all it took was you... to make me unhappy. I did what I could so that you can be successful now. Why go down this path? You won't get rich quickly and you won't be able to have a good family."

Swifty cut him off. "I don't need money. I worked damn hard without your funding and look where I am now. I have a team staying with me, making videos and sharing dog-friendly hot chocolate over long winter nights. Because we care for each other. As for you, you don't give a shit about me and Mum. You never will, because you never want to see what your son really wanted to be.

"I don't want to be stuck in this corporate world. I wanted to be free of all those worries and the black-and-white. I want to express myself to the world and prove that I can be what I want to be. And you became the catalyst to my success, Dad. You accelerated it. Congratulations," Swifty gave his father a sarcastic compliment.

The ex-father brushed that insult aside. "Fine," he had enough. "If you want to say so..."

His father suddenly slapped him in the face. Swifty did not flinch. "For f**k's sake," the red fox shouted. "When will you learn?!"

(Song: "Don't Break Me" by Montaige)

Swifty expected the second slap and used his paws to stop him. Swifty stared down at his ex-father, determined to beat up his former son and teach him a lesson. "Please don't do that in a public place," Swifty intimidated him. "Please don't."

Swifty's ex-father withdrew his slap. "I'm out of here," he was about to leave the tent when Swifty's friends blocked his escape. This time, Swifty smiled back at his ex-father as everyone came to his rescue. Jade, PB, Lemmy, Leopold and Bertha from his SwiftyTV team, followed by Duke, Dakota, Dusty, Magda, Professor Otto, Dave the Puffin and Swifty's mother all convened outside of the tent. "They heard everything, isn't that right?"

Leopold replayed the moment Swifty's father slapped him from his mobile phone. They had captured the evidence. "James Swift, how dare you!" he screamed at his former son as PB rushed to his aid. "Swifty! What happened to you?"