\"Welcome to this floor meeting. We\'ll be discussing cleaning, movie rights, and recent outbreaks of migraines on this floor. We think the cause is environmental.\" The floor manager, a to do fourth year man, looked around at the sixty-some kids.

\"It\'s not.\" Cherrydrop said. \"It\'s behavioral.\"

\"Cherrydrop, be quiet,\" Suzie snapped. Then, catching herself, she added: \"Maybe I\'ll find out why I have so many headaches all the time.\"

Cherrydrop didn\'t answer.

\"Please raise your hand if you\'ve been having frequent bad migraines.\"

Suzie put her hand up, along with half the people.

\"Suz, put your hand down!\"

\"But...\"

\"Put it down.\" Cherrydrop repeated. His voice was sharper and edgier than normal.

\"Cherrydrop, are you ok?\" Suzie asked as the floor manager spoke of migraine triggers.

\"No. No I\'m not ok.\" Cherry drop was angry and Suzie could feel it all the way into her bones. \"When I met you, I thought you were different. I thought you were better than this stupid crowd. I was so wrong.\"

Suzie whimpered softly, trying not to cry. 2Why are you being so mean to me? I thought you were my best friend.\"

\"I am your best friend. That\'s why I have to keep you away from all these imbeciles, these whores, these losers.\"

Suzie scanned the room, seeing the people around her as Cherrydrop described them. Her eyes caught on Chris, who was smiling at her. He waved.

\"I have to keep you away from him.\" Cherrydrop said, noticing the smile on Suzie\'s face.

She fell to the ground, clutching her head. People moved away, not noticing Cherrydrop that had fallen on the floor laughing softly, noticing the blood from her re-opening wounds on her wrist.

Chris ran across the room and swooped her small body into his arms.

\"What\'s your room number?\" he asked her as she moaned in pain.

\"It\'s 358.\" Her roommate said. \"Here, she dropped this; I think it\'s her good luck charm.\"

The girl handed Cherrydrop to Chris.

\"Thanks. Can you come open the door so I can get her laid down?\"

\"Yeah, no problem.\"

They took Suzie back to her room, putting Cherrydrop on the night-table.

Suzie came out of her pain-induced daze for half a minute, long enough to reach under her pillow and take three of her large pills. She swallowed them and collapsed back onto the pillow. She moaned and mumbled till they took effect. When she came to, only Chris remained beside her bed.

\"Hi.\" He said. \"Your roommate had class, so she had to go.\"

\"I\'m sleepy.\"

\"S\'ok, you took alot of pills. You\'ll probably sleep the whole afternoon away.\" He bit his lip nervously, then continued. \"If you want, I could make you supper, that way you wouldn\'t have to worry about anything...\"

\"That\'d be nice.\" Suzie whispered.

\"Alright, I\'ll leave my door number on your fridge to make sure you don\'t forget it. Come whenever you wake up, alright? Good night.\" He got up. \"Oh here.\" He took Cherrydrop from the night table and put him in the bed with Suzie. \"You dropped him.\"

He smiled and walked out and Suzie fell asleep as he closed the door behind him.

--

\"You\'re in my dreams again, Cherrydrop.\" Suzie said quietly.

\"How can you tell?\" he asked.

\"You\'re big.

She was nestled between his legs, his burnt paw scratching away at her naked body, his large arms wrapped around her.

\"Oh, Suzie, where did I go wrong?\" he asked her, as he kissed the top of her head. \"You were my protégé, my little girl.\"

\"I thought I was your best friend.\"

\"But then, you had to go and get interested in other things. You had to go to university. Why\'d you do that, Suzie?\"

\"I wanted to learn...\"

\"I could have taught you so many things, though.\"

\"I know...\"

\"You could have been like me, one day.\"

His paws ran down her bare arms, making her hot and cold at the same time. \"You know I love you, Suzie.\" Cherrydrop turned her around and kissed her as she cried.

She gently pushed him away from him.

\"Why do I have headaches, Cherrydrop?\"

\"Because you\'re sick.\" He said.

\"Then why don\'t you make me better?

\"Because you\'re sick.\" He said.

\"Then why don\'t you make me better?\" She was crying and crying, barely able to choke out the words.

\"I can\'t do everything. You know, you\'re more powerful than I am Suzie.\"

\"I am?\"

\"Oh yes. You\'re so powerful your supplant even me. You make my mouth water with your pure energy. You are an aphrodisiac all to your own. You\'re so deliciously grand, and you only need the slightest push in the right direction.\"

Suzie leaned her head down. \"Do you push me?\" she asked.

\"Just a little bit, my darling.\" He reassured her. She stayed quiet as he made love to her. He finished and laid her down.

She curled into a ball. \"How did I hurt my wrist?\" she asked, staring at the bleeding gashes.

\"You hurt it on the shelf under the desk, of course.\"

In her hands lay a plastic doll, bright and smooth, shaped like a boy. \"He did it, Suzie.\" It said.

\"Chris...\"

\"Leave him. You belong to me!\" Cherrydrop hissed loudly. He started melting the doll, but Suzie protected it with her body; the skin on her back started melting off.

\"I can dream, can\'t I?\" Suzie yelled, holding the warped doll to her chest, her tears streaming down her face.

\"No!\"

\"Yes I can!\" She yelled, louder than she\'d ever yelled.

--

Suzie opened her eyes ans saw Cherrydrop on her pillow. She jumped out quickly and stared at him.

\"Get back in, Suzie.\" He said. \"Get back in bed.\"

\"No, I...\"

\"You\'ve got nothing to do out there, you\'ll just get a headache again.\"

\"Headache...\" Suzie\'s eyes opened up. \"I forgot to take my pills this morning!\"

She took the bottles out of got nothing to do out there, you\'ll just get a headache again.\"

\"Headache...\" Suzie\'s eyes opened up. \"I forgot to take my pills this morning!\"

She took the bottles out of her drawer and went in the washroom.

\"You can take them later!\" Cherrydrop yelled from the bedroom.

Suzie kept popping the lips and chugging the different pills.

\"You come back here now, Suzie!\"

She picked up a bottle that was almost full. She uncapped it as Cherrydrop\'s screams grew louder.

\"Suzie, no! No, not those! Please!\"

She swallowed them.

\"Please...\" Cherrydrop repeated quietly.

Suzie got out, surprised at how quiet he had gotten. \"I\'m gonna go see Chris.\" She said. Her voice was smooth and steady. She plucked a note off the fridge. \"I\'ll be in room 314 if you need me, alright? ... I guess you\'re asleep already, you big silly.\"

She picked up a sweater and smiled in the direction of her bed.

\"Goodnight Cherrydrop.

Cherrydrop lay on her pillow. He said nothing. Teddy bears can\'t talk.

--

The End.

--