Storyteller

Prompt

Storyteller: I tell stories, you tell me what you want to hear. You: I want a sf story about a boy who becomes the savior of the galaxy. Storyteller: As the solar sails unfurled and the ship took course for the outer rim, little did the boy know that his life of adventure was about to begin. Raised by a loving family in outer space who had been on the run from the empire’s enforcers for as long as he could remember, it was only after he had begun to study the sciences of the stars and the history of the universe that he found he had a destiny among the stars. You: Where did the ship go? Storyteller: Into uncharted territory. To the Rim and beyond, a whole new frontier of discoveries and dangers… And the boy was finally ready. You: Ready for what? Storyteller: To face his destiny, and what he must do to end the reign of the dark empire. With the help of a rogue smuggler, a young female pilot and a droid who becomes his new best friend, he begins the quest that will determine the fate of the entire galaxy for eras to come. Storyteller: I tell stories, you tell me what you want to hear. You: I want a story about a teenage boy who is bullied, but finds strength in his love for cats. Storyteller: The summer camp had been a living hell for the boy, who went by Max. A small kid that spent his time reading and daydreaming about being off in the woods, hiking and climbing, exploring the wonders of nature. The other kids wanted to fight and get drunk, and his love for cats put him on the bottom of the pecking order, so they always tried to take his lunch money and his clothes (Max had a really cool jacket). But one day, a small black cat came, and things were about to change. You: Did the cat visit him at the summercamp? Storyteller: Yeah. At first it just seemed to want to get pets and be friendly. Max gave the cat food in exchange, and it came by the bunkhouse every day to eat. Then, Max got sick of being bullied and made it his intention to protect the cat. He started working in the kitchen to make sure he got enough food for the cat, and would even make sure to feed it before eating himself. You: Who are the bullies and why are they so mean to Max? Storyteller: They are other boys from the camp. The main bully is a kid everyone calls "Red" who has a knack for making Max his target. Max isn't the first kid to get bullied by him, but his love for cats puts a big target over his head as well. And the camp counselors are all a bit useless, as are their parents. You: Ok, back to the story: Max is feeling bad, but then the cat arrives… what happens next? Storyteller: Max is looking out the window, just kind of staring off into space, when he sees the cat running off in a panic. It's the bully again.Max grabs his hat, his jacket, and just starts running after Red and the cat. He runs until he's out of breath, but finally catches up and tackles Red to the ground.Red tries to throw him off for a while, but eventually ends up just staring up at Max, and laughing. As much as Max does not want to deal with this, though, he is done with being bullied. You: Does Max slap Red? Is the cat watching? Storyteller: Yep! Max manages to punch Red in the face just once, but it's enough to get Red to finally leave him alone.Red's friends are not happy to see their friend get hit, even though he totally deserved it, and they take off after Max. Max doesn't have to go far, though, to get somewhere where he has the advantage, as he leads the gang through the kitchen and into the walk-in fridge, where he hides behind the shelves and boxes to give himself a chance to catch his breath. The cat is there, looking on with concern.