All eyes turned to King, and in the end, even Beast’s father raised his hand for half a second. “It’s done then.” He threw Beast the ‘Vice President’ patch across the table and smiled in a way that seemed almost sincere. “Let’s go celebrate our new VP and drink to Davy’s health. We can talk about the clubhouse another time.”
Beast grinned, although he didn’t want to admit how happy the appreciation had made him. He would raise the topic of the clubhouse again soon, but this wasn’t the time to spoil anyone’s mood with serious talk any further. “Let’s.”
Chapter 7 - Laurent
Laurent all at once loved and hated the clothes Beast had given him. He hated their shape, their size, and the way they made him feel small in comparison, but then again, the fabric of both the trousers and shirt felt so soft to the touch he couldn’t help but enjoy the way the clothes enfolded him.
Hours must have passed since Beast left, and Laurent couldn’t sleep, sweating into the sheets and constantly worried someone would approach him while he dreamed and snap his neck. He couldn’t hear any sounds but the odd buzz that hung in the air and was starting to sink into the background. But Beast likely hadn’t yet returned to his rooms, and despite the furry monster guarding Laurent, he would need to relieve himself, and soon. There was no chamberpot in the bedroom, and with no other perspective in sight, he decided to take a leap of faith.
With his heart in his throat, he peeked out into the dark corridor, but the dog was nowhere to be seen, and the door to the large main room remained closed, so he was safe to pass to the bathroom. He would have appreciated if Beast told him that, not left Laurent to suffer with a full bladder.
On the wall of his room, he found the switch that illuminated the space and couldn’t help but play around with it for a while to work out how it sparked fire so quickly and efficiently, but it was no use. His physical needs were more pressing than his curiosity of this new world and its inventions.
The future was an amazingly advanced place. He thought back to the shower-bath that seemed to hold an unlimited amount of water, as if the tank above were the size of a granary.
His clothes were still on the edge of the bathtub, blood drying into the expensive fabric and making his heart ache at the possibly permanent damage to his best outfit. He pushed them all into the tub and looked at the levers above it, which looked very similar to those in the shower. If he could at least soak the clothes in cold water overnight, maybe they could still be salvaged. After a moment’s thought, he poured some of the pine ‘shampoo’ over them as well.
He looked around for a chamberpot, thinking that if it wasn’t there, he could always relieve himself into the shower, since it had some sort of draining system. But as he took his time examining the room on his own and wondering what new devices people could have come up with, it hit him that the ‘porcelain chair’ was strikingly similar to the drawings of self-cleaning lavatories he’d seen in books about newest technological advances. Granted, no one had one in Brecon, but maybe in 2017 the convenience such devices offered was no longer a luxury affordable only to the richest of men. He approached the lavatory and wondered at the lid that wasn’t even made of porcelain but the same light, resin-like material as many other items in the room, like the shampoo bottle.
He was relieved to finally urinate into the little pool of water, but with Beast not present, he took his time to take in the unfamiliar surroundings full of things he had no names for. As he turned to look at the stained clothes in the empty tub, he leaned against a metal piece on the side of the lavatory. It unexpectedly dipped under the weight of his hand. Surprised by the sound of gurgling water, he stepped back, only to watch more clear liquid flood the basin and wash away his urine.
Laurent laughed out loud when he thought of how this room was filled with freely available water in any amount one wished for. Maybe there was even no limit to it? Maybe people had worked out a way to perpetually pump water with no effort on their part? His excitement grew by the second, but there was no time to waste when it came to his clothes. Using the knowledge acquired during his earlier bath, he plugged the drain with a rubbery item laid out seemingly for that purpose, and then filled the tub with a bit of water. It was incredible how easy drawing a full bath was in the future!