"Acrobat said he had a Christmas present for me and wanted to bring it over. It was a print of what he thought my 'spirit animal' should be." Banana said.
"So, what was it?" She asked.
"A wolverine."
To be fair, Banana had broken Acrobat's heart. After only a month of dating she got sick of him. She broke up with him, and he was devastated by it. She had talked to him one night, and his thoughts of being able to just be tossed aside mirrored her feelings of being left by Piz. Acrobat had clammed up hard after a few minutes of talking however, and they hadn't really spoken since.
She sent him a basic "Merry Christmas" text, and he returned the favor and asked what she was doing that day. "I have something to drop off to you. Just a small Christmas gift."
She texted Banana and Melody. "It's like a real life Buzzfeed quiz. I wonder what spirit animal I'll get."
Acrobat knocked on her door later, he had been across the hall having Christmas dinner with his brother-in-law. He gave her a hug and presented her the art with a devious smile.
"I just went through and thought of everyone and picked one out for my closest friends."
"We're friends? I can't even get you to go out for a drink with me!"
"Just look at it."
It was an adorable little sketch, and under it the words "Penny the Porcupine"
Prickly. A Rodent. Quills on the outside that shoot at anything that comes near them. Who would ever love a porcupine?
"You sure know how to be heavy handed with your commentary Acrobat."
She could barely keep it together and seem grateful, putting it up next to his modeling picture on the wall. Not more than a few minutes after he left, BFF came over to gloat over her new ring. She wouldn't shut up about how many people already wanted to help her and how overwhelming it all was. Her being stressed out over something that should be really happy for her only made the situation even more depressing.
She finally left, and her studio was her own again. Suddenly the emptiness of it made her feel hollow. Like a quill from a porcupine.
Her phone rang, it was MG asking how her Christmas had gone. She thought of the radio silence from KSL, the two dates she had that deleted their profiles after going on a date with her, and her new Spirit Animal. It was all coming to a head.
"Apparently I'm a porcupine; a prickly personality who no one will ever love. Hopeless."
"I'm coming over with some wine."
