Round, beady black eyes stare, unblinking, from behind the glass of the enclosure sitting atop the dresser. A human reaches up to press play on her pink and purple Disney princess CD player, and the dark eyes follow her movement. KidzBop pulses from the crunchy plastic speakers and the glass enclosure
vibrates. But the eyes do not blink—they are used to this.
The girl bounces excitedly on the balls of her feet as she grasps the polished knobs of the dresser and pulls. The drawer slides open in one clean motion, and tiny hands begin to sift through the wrinkled mess of clothes, searching for the familiar feeling of cotton and sequins. She bops her head to the music as she combs the contents: “I’m gonna pop some tags, only got 20 dollars in my pocket…Hmmhm hmm hm, hmm hm hm, this is
freaking awesome!”
Only a few moments pass before a skim over the right piece sends a happy tingle through her fingertips. With a hushed squeal, the girl extracts the prize from the drawer like a claw machine grasping a plush toy. Out comes the skirt, in all its tie-dyed blue and green glory. The silver sequins that adorn its seams refracting even the weak light of the early morning. It glistens and gleams like a wearable disco ball.
She has barely set the skirt aside when her tenacious hands return to the drawer to fish out the missing piece—a dark
turquoise tank top, sporting similar silver flecks. The girl hugs herself tightly, a joyful buzz sizzling in her bones. She
feels a slight shock of electricity when she rubs her feet on the worn tan carpet.
The steady black eyes remain fixed on the girl, watching as she holds her prized possessions out proudly. “What do you think, Speedy? Isn’t it perfect for today?” she asks.
The gecko responds with a quick lick of her lips, her eyes shiny little voids. The human does not waste time in yanking the skirt and tank top over her scrawny limbs and proceeds to twirl about the room as KidzBop tracks continue to fill the air.
“Just dance, gonna be okay, da-da do-do,” a child sings through the CD player, the audio crackling and popping like Rice Krispies. The girl clambers onto the bed, messing her flower garden sheets and sending stuffed animals flying with each
wild bounce. Speedy witnesses the chaos as it unfolds, unsurprised—the girl has been raving about the first day of school for weeks. The gecko’s quiet, deep eyes simply fixate on the child’s shenanigans from a distance.
The girl eventually plops down on the bed, her head reeling
and her heart racing from all the activity. Her heartbeat pumps
loudly in her ears, drowning out the music. Tha-thunk,
tha-thunk, tha-thunk.
A rapping knock on the door. “Breakfast is ready!”
The girl meets the gecko’s gaze, smiling fondly as she hops off
the bed and makes her way over. Delicately, she lifts her soft,
squishy companion out of the enclosure and cradles her as she would a baby doll, the subtle stink of molting skin and mealworms wafting into her nostrils. Speedy’s essence.
The girl brushes the gecko’s bumpy head gently with her index finger, prompting a slow blink and a quick lick. She can almost make out a tiny reflection of her reddened face in the glassy eyes. Speedy’s claws are like tiny needles in the girl’s skin, but she barely notices the prick of them anymore. After a few more tender strokes, the girl carefully returns the tiny spotted creature to her enclosure, placing her atop her cave. As she leaves the room to follow the mouth-watering summons of eggs and bacon, her dazzling skirt flowing about her skinny frame, the human glances back at her friend behind the glass. Speedy’s massive black eyes follow as she leaves. ▲
