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Snorpy would come to the conclusion in his life that he and Chandlo were star crossed lovers. After all, it seemed everything was against him, from the Grumpinati to parasitic bugsnax. However, it was quite the opposite, at least in the beginning.
It had all started back in the second grade. Snorpy was starting out in a new class, one where he knew absolutely no one. As expected of a shy kid with no friends, he spent most of the day keeping to himself. The only other grumpus he knew was his sibling, who was two grades above him. So needless to say, when Snorpy was put with a random grumpus in gym class he had no idea what to do.
"Funkbun!" The gym teacher called to a short green grumpus sitting on the floor. He turned his head to look at her.
"This is Snorpy" she gestured to the timid grumpus next to her who was wringing his paws. "Show him the ropes ok?"
Then the teacher left, leaving Snorpy standing next to this "Funkbun" grumpus silently. Snorpy wasn't sure whether either of them would say anything. He hoped this wouldn't be one of those situations where they would sit in awkward silence until the bell rang.
"Hey."
Apparently it wasn't. The grumpus next to Snorpy had a relaxed smile on his face, so that "hey" was probably one of greeting rather than hostility.
"I'm Chandlo" he said with a wave. Guess Funkbun was his last name. Snorpy took it as an invitation to introduce himself.
"O-oh!" Snorpy awkwardly started. "M-my name is Snorpy! Though, I guess you already knew that... C-cause the teacher introduced me..."
Chandlo laughed. Was it at him? Did he do something wrong?
"I like you! You're funny" Chandlo said. He patted the hard floor next to him, signaling for Snorpy to sit. He knew it would be cold, and probably dirty, but he obliged. Chandlo was being what Snorpy assumed was friendly after all.
"So" Chandlo gestured to the room around them. "This is the gym room. Uh, gymnassiam?"
"Gymnasium." Snorpy corrected him.
"Right" Chandlo said, seemingly not offended by it like a lot of other grumpuses would be.
The room they were in only looked to be a bit larger than the classroom. Maybe a classroom and a half. It was more long than anything, and two opposing sides had mats on the walls. There was also a heavy curtain separating it from the cafeteria.
"Kind of small" Snorpy noted aloud while he looked around. Just as he was contemplating whether that was the wrong thing to say, Chandlo spoke.
"Yeah. Coach is always complaining about it" Chandlo said. "She sometimes has these days where she talks about the really big gyms some other schools have. I bet if she could she'd make this gym a lot bigger so we had more space."
Snorpy looked down, in thought. "I see."
Chandlo smiled. "Don't worry about her though. Coach's bark is worse than her bite. She mostly just lets us play fun games and sports the whole time." Chandlo paused for a minute. "Except for the days where we talk about nutrison and stuff but those aren't very often."
Snorpy thought the way Chandlo mispronounced big words was hilarious. He almost corrected him on the way he said "nutrition" but he knew it would get annoying after awhile. He'd have to learn to speak a little less of what was on his mind. At least he wasn't as bad as his sibling.
"And that's really all you need to know." Chandlo said. I" think we're gonna start soon, I hope we play with basketballs today."
That was the first time Snorpy had spoken to Chandlo, but it certainly wouldn't be the last. They would occasionally see each other out of school, or every morning when they were hanging up backpacks. For being in the same class, they spoke surprisingly little to each other. There'd be a greeting every now and again, but for the most part Chandlo was just another classmate to Snorpy, if not one he liked a little more. Until the day the science project were assigned.
Snorpy stood in his treehouse, facing the grumpus who's been assigned to him as a partner. He had mixed feelings on the matter. On one paw, he was grateful that if he had to have a partner it was the only grumpus in his class he kind of knew. But on the other paw, he was worried this would be just like every other situation when he had partners, where they'd either expect him to do all the work or ignore him so they got nothing done. Everyone always told him that he needed to stand up for himself. Well, that's exactly what he would do this time. No more getting pushed around.
"Cool treehouse" Chandlo said, looking around at the interior.
"Oh." Snorpy stuttered. "Thanks, it's- I mean well it's-"
He was getting off topic. He couldn't be distracted by Chandlo anymore than he already was.
"Uhm, not what we're supposed to be talking about" Snorpy said, setting his backpack to the side.
"Ok, here's what's going to happen."
Snorpy closed a book loudly in order to get Chandlo's attention, and to seem threatening.
"We're going to work on this together. As a team. We're going to split the work, a-and it'll be a really good project."
Snorpy thought he looked really cool and tough at the time, standing up for himself like that. But considering the fact that he was a small, lanky seven year old who couldn't keep a stutter out of his voice, he probably did not.
"Sure, what do you want me to do?" Chandlo asked.
"Wait, really?" It was that easy? Any of the grumpuses Snorpy worked with in the past might've had a worse reaction. But this one seemed willing to help. Snorpy wouldn't have expected it from someone like him.
By the time Snorpy realized that he had expressed his shock aloud, Chandlo was already responding.
"Yeah, of course!" Chandlo said. "Though, you might have to help me figure out what to do, I'm not really good with this smart stuff."
"Hm, I see." Snorpy said. "Luckily for you, I already had some ideas. I think we should do a chart on the phases of water" Snorpy pulled out a paper from his backpack with a rough sketch of his ideas.
"Oh, water!" Chandlo piped up. "I know about water, it helps me stay hidratted when playing sports."
"Hidratt- you mean hydrated?" Snorpy asked.
"Yeah that's it! If I don't stay hydrated I get all tired and stuff."
"Yeah, that'll happen." Snorpy said, only half paying attention as he pulled out a pencil and tapped the chart.
"Here's what I'm thinking: you can write about solid, and I can do liquid and gas-"
"But I thought you wanted to split the work?" Chandlo said, borderline interupting Snorpy. "You don't have to do more, you already thought of the idea."
"Well, yes, but I mean-"
"How about we do things your way" Chandlo said. "But let me draw pictures for it! We gotta get extra points for decoration!"
Snorpy pondered on that for a moment, but ultimately agreed. It was nice to have a partner that really wanted to help, and it's not like he found do much harm, right?
Apparently not, because Chandlo had some of the worst handwriting Snorpy had ever seen. His drawing skills were somehow worse. How do you mess up a cube?
Snorpy tried to help Chandlo's writing become more legible, but in the end the best he could do was help him spell words. They spent hours up in that treehouse, occasionally getting distracted and talking about whatever crossed their minds. Snorpy's mom would bring them cookies most days Chandlo came over, and while Snorpy thought it made him come off as starved of company, Chandlo enjoyed them. In the end, the grade they got for the project was a C-, the worst grade Snorpy had gotten all year. It wasn't that the project had bad information or wasn't finished, it's just that Chandlo's parts of the project couldn't be read. But Snorpy didn't mind. While he may have lost one thing, he gained another, as Chandlo started inviting him to play at recess instead of read all by himself.
Come on Floofty where are you?
Snorpy was starting to get impatient. He tapped his foot restlessly as he waiting outside the building, his sibling taking forever to show up. He was pretty sure he had already missed the bus.
It was just a couple of days into the school year, and it was already off to a rough start. Snorpy and Floofty would always meet in front of the building and get to the bus together, and from there they'd be taken home. However, Floofty had not shown up. Snorpy just had his paws crossed that he hadn't missed them going to the bus. He didn't think that Floofty would abandon him... At least he hoped not.
Snorpy sighed in frustration. He didn't know what he would do if Floofty didn't show up. Sure, they'll have still missed the bus, but at least Snorpy wouldn't be alone. He wasn't sure if he felt braver with Floofty because they were his sibling or because they were a fifth grader. Fifty graders were a lot bigger.
Just as Snorpy was about to go call his mom from the office, a vehicle pulled up on the side of the curb. Snorpy would've felt nervous if it wasn't for who he saw when the passenger seat window was rolled down.
"Snorpy?" A familiar green furred grumpus questioned.
"Oh, Chandlo. Hello" Snorpy said, still looking around for his sibling.
"What're you still doing here? Most everyone's gone home already."
"You're still here" Snorpy said, half muttering to himself.
"Yeahh, let's just say I got waaay invested in a game of football" Chandlo said. Snorpy couldn't help but crack a smile at that. "But seriously Snorp, what are you doing?"
Snorpy sighed. "I'm waiting for my sibling. That, and I think I missed the bus."
Chandlo wasted no time feeling bad, or thinking up solutions for his friend. "Hey, how about we give you a ride? My dad would be cool with it!" Chandlo must've been referring to the bigger grumpus in the driver's seat.
Snorpy would've loved that. But what if Floofty was still around? He couldn't abandon them.
"But what about-"
Chandlo knew what he was going to say before Snorpy finished his sentence.
"Don't worry, we can still wait for a bit. Hey, I can even wait with you!"
The two didn't actually stand around the building, they ended up going inside and taking a look as suggested by Snorpy. Eventually, when stopping by the office, they were pulled aside by some grumpuses and spoken to. Apparently Floofty wasn't there. They had been taken home early after getting in a fight with another grumpus, and the office had forgotten to tell Snorpy. They were also suspended.
Snorpy crossed his arms, feeling quite unhappy about the situation. Not only did he miss the bus because of some mistake, but he also wasn't excited to talk to Floofty. He knew they would probably be bitter and go on a rant about the situation, especially since Snorpy knew they wouldn't have actually fought another grumpus. They probably started the argument though. Hearing all this, Chandlo gave a suggestion.
"Hey, would you want to come over to my house? You could call your mom and ask."
Snorpy had never been to Chandlo's house before. Chandlo had been to his, but never the other way around. If he was sure...
"Uhm, ok!" Snorpy said. "I'll do that!"
The car ride was full of conversations. Chandlo was getting excited over doing simple things. Like showing Snorpy his trampoline and playing with the tetherball in his backyard. He seemed to be making a mental list if everything he wanted to do. Though Snorpy knew he would probably just make things up on the spot. They did everything Chandlo wanted, and even some extra activities. One if which was make microwaved s'mores, during which Snorpy saved their microwave by stopping Chandlo from putting a fork in. They had eventually decided to make a sleepover out of it, being that it was the weekend. It was one of the best days of Snorpy's life, and by the next day he had completely forgotten about everything at home.
"Chandlo?"
Snorpy was picking absent mindedly at his latest project, while Chandlo sat on the floor doing sit ups, daydreaming. It wasn't a thing he did often, but reminiscing was a good way to fill the silence. Snorpy didn't talk much when he was deep in a project, so Chandlo was a bit surprised when he heard him speak up.
"Yeah dawg?" Chandlo asked.
"Would you say our relationship is... Doomed?" Snorpy had that tone in his voice where it sounded like he was trying to be casual, but failing miserably.
"What? Why would you think that?" Chandlo asked.
"I-It's just that-" Snorpy sighed. "It just feels like the universe is conspiring against us. I've been remembering some things and it just seems like-"
"Dude. What memories?" Chandlo asked. They couldn't have been the same ones he was thinking about if Snorpy came to that conclusion.
"Well- ok, remember that time I accidentally killed all your parent's plants with some concoction Floofty came up with, and I wasn't allowed to come over for awhile?" Snorpy said.
Chandlo had to think for a minute to remember that. "Ohh right. That. Snorp-dawg, we weren't allowed inside for the longest time either. That stuff apparently had a lot of poisonous chemicals and had to be aired out."
"Wait, really?" Snorpy questioned. "So it was because your parents were mad at me?"
"No dude! They loved you!"
"Oh. I see." Snorpy paused for a moment, like he was thinking of something else. "Well, what about my grandfather? You know, the one that didn't approve of you or our friendship?"
Ah yes, Snorpy's grandpa. The old grumpus didn't like Chandlo at first because he thought he was a bad influence. Well, Chandlo sure showed him.
"Well, if he had liked me from the start I never would've taken you guys on that day out to that resteraunt" Chandlo said with a smirk.
"Chandlo, you landed him in the hospital" Snorpy said. "He broke his arm!"
"He likes me now doesn't he?"
Snorpy sighed, but it was one of those sighs infused with a laugh so you could tell they were smiling. "I suppose so. But I'm pretty sure those chefs get flashbacks everytime they see you."
Both went silent. The sound of a clock ticking away at the time could be heard. Chandlo finished his last sit up, pulling himself off the floor and standing up. Just as he was about to walk away, a small voice spoke up.
"But what about Snaktooth?"
Chandlo quirked an eyebrow at Snorpy, who now had his back turned and was facing the wall. "What about Snaktooth?"
"Chandlo" Snorpy turned to face him. "We almost died on that island. It was like some other force was trying to get rid of me! Or you! Or-"
Chandlo stepped forward and took Snorpy's paws in his, looking him straight in the eyes. "Snorp-dawg" he started to say. "If we had never gone to that island, our relationship wouldn't be where it is today."
Snorpy had nothing else to say. He just stared into Chandlo's eyes for moments longer.
"And guess what?" Chandlo asked softly.
"What?"
"We're alive dawg!" Chandlo grinned. "No island could take us down! We're just too tough!"
Snorpy laughed, breaking eye contact as he placed a paw over his eyes and shook his head. Chandlo couldn't help but chuckle a bit too. Snorpy's laugh was contagious.
"I don't know what kind of memories you're thinking of" Chandlo continued. "But I remember being put with you any chance that came. Like that time we did a science project together, or our first sleepover, or the time we met!"
"I did always wonder why I was sat with you that time in PE" Snorpy wondered aloud.
"To be perfectly honest" Chandlo said. "It's probably because of how much time I spent in the gymnasium. That, and I was the most outgoing kid in the class."
Chandlo tapped his chin, suddenly struck with a thought.
"But I think it was the universe saying how we were meant to be, bro" Chandlo said. "And even if it didn't approve, I would punch the crap outta life until it did."
"Oh Chandlo" Snorpy replied, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Never change."