Ashtray
Legacy Name: Ashtray

She was bored. It was raining outside so she didn’t want to go outside and play. She didn’t want to spend an hour or two on the train traveling to somewhere it wasn’t raining and she didn’t want to play inside. There was just nothing for her to do and she was making it quite clear.

“Moooooooooooom,” she yelled.

“I’m literally right here, you don’t have to yell,” replied a young woman who was sitting in an armchair reading a book, “The living room isn’t that big. In fact, I’m pretty sure the entire block heard you.”

Ashtray faked a long laugh. They didn’t have any neighbors nearby; it was one of the perks of living near Veta Lake. There was plenty of open space and fresh air to enjoy. Except when it’s raining.

“But I’m bored,” Ashtray told her. Her mom replied, “So read a book.” Ashtray sighed again; she didn’t want to read a book. Books were lame. It was just spending time sitting still in silence and that was boring.

Ashtray rolled her eyes and got up off the floor. She wandered around the house, looking out the windows as she passed them and cursing the pouring rain. She eventually made her way into the kitchen.

Ashtray opened the fridge but there was nothing she wanted. One by one she began to open cabinet doors but nothing appealed to her. Finally, she managed to find a plastic bag full of loose popcorn kernels. At least she could play with some tiny flames if she made popcorn.

She dug out a metal pan, poured some kernels and butter inside and began to heat up the mixture.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The kitchen did smell good Ashtray had to admit to herself when she was done making a small bowl. She began tossing up pieces into the air and catching them in her mouth. If she missed and the piece of popcorn came close to hitting the floor, she’d just snap her fingers to incinerate it. There were more than a few piles of ash on the floor.

“Ooooh, popcorn!” said Voracious as he wandered into the kitchen, “Will you make me some too, pretty please?” Ashtray rolled her eyes at him but obliged. It wasn’t so much that he wanted her to make him popcorn as much as it was how much popcorn that little guy could eat! She had no idea how he managed to eat what he did and as much as he did but she knew it had to have something to do with his species. Experiment pets were quite baffling.

Ashtray pulled her used pan out of the sink and filled it up again with kernels and butter.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Voracious thanked her vigorously after she had made him a very large bowl of popcorn. He began to munch away when she heard more voices enter the kitchen.

“Oh popcorn, that smells divine,” said Eyeliner as she walked up to the bowl of popcorn that Ashtray had yet to return to. “Would you please make me a bowl too?” she asked sweetly, flashing her big eyelashes. Ashtray rolled her eyes at Eyeliner but proceeded to make more popcorn.

About a half hour later there were a dozen more pets in the kitchen all submitting their requests for popcorn. Ashtray wasn’t one to turn down a performance for a crowd; she really did enjoy setting things on fire.

Kettle Corn! Cheese Popcorn! More BUTTER!

“How about we watch a movie?” one voice cried out. “Oh, a SCARY movie,” another shouted. “NO!” was said in unison from a small flock of tiny avians. “Let’s go get some pillows for the den.” “How about a blanket fort?!”

Different sizes and colors scattered around, grabbing their popcorn and toppings from the counter to move into the den. Some grabbed sodas from the fridge. Chip bags crinkled as they were snatched from the cabinets. A few bolted to find spare pillows and blankets. In no time there was a large gathering settling into comfortable places to watch a movie in the den. While they never actually did decide on a movie, Oval took charge. She was one of the older pets and often left in charge as it was. She picked something that wouldn’t terrify the smaller pets but nothing too juvenile that the majority of the group would lose interest.

Lights dimmed and soon all that was left was the crunching of popcorn.