App-propriations {A Poetic Short Story}

12-year old Alex discovers that the new app on his cell phone has a life of its own.

Alex walked through school that day
quite new to 7th grade,
and as he hit the classroom
it just felt like Heaven played,
him for a fool but nonetheless
he knew to hold his own,
besides there was excitement
from his brand new mobile phone.

His mom had told him it was
strictly for emergencies,
but unlimited data
had him knowing certainly,
that he could get his game on;
totally surrounding that,
new website he'd discovered
brandishing a thousand apps.

By lunchtime he'd met Connor,
Jason, Christopher and Jack,
Fernando, Mark and Devin
who were all such wizards at,
an interactive app
called 'Doggy Life' was crazy fresh,
it lets you through the cell phone
organize and raise a pet.

The app itself was free;
for Alex see the price was right,
he named his pooch Bobb Barker;
planned to give the nicest life,
a digi-dog could ever live
since he could never give,
a real dog his affections;
Al was such a clever kid.

The last bell rung and Alex
raced to catch the friggin bus,
his friends had moms and dads
who drove their cars to pick them up,
his own mom didn't have
a vehicle for such delights,
to get somewhere they caught a bus
or train but such is life.

The hour ride gave Alex time
to mess with 'Doggy Life',
it had him so immersed
he almost missed the doggone light,
which let him know his stop
was only one short block away,
his mind was focused normally
but oh no not today.

The walk home from the bus stop
was a non eventful trip,
he thought of how his mother
wasn't gettin in til six,
his plan to knock out chores and homework
wasn't hardly right,
but Alex wanted extra time
to play on 'Doggy Life'.

An hour later....

With homework done and chores all finished;
Alex settled in,
with phone in hand the youngster
really planned to get it in,
see he thought 90 minutes
was just more time than enough,
to get Bobb Barker straightened out
and earn all kinds of stuff.

The Doggy Store inside the app
had all that one could want,
but that required money
and Al wasn't one to front,
he'd get those treats the easy way
and earn 'em on the cuff,
and take his dog through countless days
until he earned enough.

CLICK!

Holy snap his mom was home already;
rightly quick,
he gazed the clock and saw it was
already 5 past 6,
she came into the living room
just looking dog bone tired,
from working as a waitress;
it should be a doggone crime.

His father left when Alex
was the baby's age of 2,
since then it'd just been him and mother
making like a crew,
just them against the world
and couldn't no one interrupt,
their bonding which was iron strong
by growing into trust.

"Hey there you," his mother said
while flopping in a chair,
her face was pale and joyless
with no luster in her hair,
the pics he'd seen told tales
of how she looked in days gone past,
vivacious, young and beautiful
with quite the shapely a*s (YUCK).

Alex smiled his brightest
cause he knew she'd had a day,
so bad she made the ref'rence
how she'd rather pass away,
"This new school is okay
and I've already made some friends."
"That's good." she said reclining
waiting for the day to end.

He put a pillow underneath
her feet then scampered off,
returning with a glass of lemonade
and dampened cloth,
she took both items gratefully,
"Thanks kiddo" all she said,
the a*s that once was shapely
she then hauled it off to bed.

Now Alex sympathized
with all the stresses that she felt,
and ev'ry night he heard her thanks
for blessings as she wept,
tonight would be no diff'rent
so he went off to his room,
reflecting on the days' events
he dozed while lost in gloom.

12:19 A.M.

Something wasn't right;
it jostled Alex from his sleep,
the tears long dried upon his face
lay frosted on his cheeks,
a dark red light illuminated
shadows by his bed,
the cobwebs slowly lift
becoming narrow in his head.

He sees his cell phone is the source
from where the light emits,
although quite dark in hue
the phone is still as bright as s**t,
he gets up out of bed his head
still somewhat lost in fog,
he squints his eyes surprised to hear
the barking of a dog.

Alex closed the app;
he def'nitely was mostly sure,
and didn't need his mom awakened
by a noisy cur,
he picked the handset up
expecting just a barking dog,
but what he got instead was just
a red and dark'ning fog,

that covered up the whole front screen
like wallpaper'll do,
the phone itself glowed purple
since it was encased in blue,
the redness parted; coming through
the mist and through the fog,
was ol Bobb Barker looking like
a Pixar movie dog,

except more menacing
than prior times he showed his tail,
he even wore the tophat
which to Alex told the tale,
it was the one he earned
from taking Bobb through one full day,
a growl of teeth to Alex
all but took the fun away.

He set the phone back on the dresser
slowly backing up,
his head shook disbelievingly
about this blasted pup,
he figured he was dreaming
and would snap up in a sec,
that is til Bobby's paw
reached out the phone and grabbed his neck.

The tophat is the first thing
Alex saw come out the phone,
the eyes and nose came after
and Al shook from doubt alone,
cause finally he saw
what made his heart increase its beat,
the mouth which showed off numerous
degrees of sharpened teeth.

"I got your friends" the Bobb dog said;
Al filled with utter dread,
cause that's just when he noticed
how Bobb's teeth were bloody red,
"You boys synced up your apps
which made it easier for me,
now you're the last to witness
just how being deceased can be!"

Bobb opened up his mouth
and then the last thing Alex saw,
was darkness as Bobb took
a messy bite and flexed his jaw,
the shell and bloody husk collapsed
with such a bloody thump,
the corpse was liquified and guzzled up;
Bobb what the f**k?!

The morning brought forth panic
right along with something weird,
the thing was how eight 7th graders
up and disappeared,
for Al's mom it was rough
but something helped to starve the pain,
she got her cell to sit and play
her brand new doggy game.....

©2014
The Cunning Linguist