‘Well, Tom comes up with all these plans to catch Jerry, right? And some of them are actually pretty good. Some of them would even work if he just tried them a second time. But, whenever a plan goes wrong, he immediately gives up and tries something else. Stupid, really.’
‘Are you telling me you were rooting for Tom?’
‘Of course I was rooting for Tom.’ I don’t understand why everyone thinks he’s the villain.
‘He wanted to murder Jerry!’
‘That’s a very strong word,’ I say. ‘A lion doesn’t murder an antelope. It’s the circle of life! Did you not watch The Lion King?’
‘Yeah, enough times to know that Scar is very much the bad guy.’
‘Scar did what needed to be done.’
‘He killed his own brother!’
‘He overthrew an unelected official!’
‘Oh my God …’
‘Besides, if Tom’s owners fed him properly, maybe he wouldn’t be so hungry.’
‘Wow, I bet you were such fun to watch cartoons with.’
‘Well, anyway, I’m telling you it’s a thing – Tom and Jerry logic!’
‘Is it a thing, or is it a Zach thing?’
‘A Zach thing,’ I admit. ‘But tell me I’m wrong.’
‘Why not Wile E. Coyote logic? Or the logic of Elmer Fudd?’
‘The Logic of Elmer Fudd sounds like a Netflix documentary where they dive into his tragic past and discover that he was just deeply misunderstood.’
‘For wanting to shoot Bugs Bunny?’
‘He’s a hunter; he’s got a family to feed. And Bugs is massive. He’s taller than Elmer Fudd! Imagine the meat on him!’
Kellen laughs at that. ‘Well, this is ridiculous, but I see your point. Tom and Jerry logic. The logic of Elmer Fudd. Maybe we should try again …’ He looks us both up and down. ‘Though maybe we should get dressed first?’
‘Want to borrow an outfit?’ I offer, just as Harrington’s car alarm starts blaring. ‘So you don’t have to go back and face Rhys again?’
‘Please,’ he says. ‘Just make it something cute.’
We don’t waste any time. We go straight back to Madzikanda’s office while everyone else is at lunch. Kellen is wearing a pair of my shorts and one of my T-shirts. They’re a bit tight on him, and I can’t really explain it, but I kinda like seeing him in them. Chase was a bit confused when we came back together, but he didn’t ask too many questions after Kellen told him he’d broken things off with Rhys. He just gave him a hug and left us to it.
This time, I decide I want to take a turn at breaking down the door. Kellen must be stronger than he looks, though, because I have to ram it a good five times before it finally bursts open. The bruise to my ego hurts more than the one on my shoulder.