shy · sensitive · crybaby · cute · toon · caterpillar · vulnerable · emotional · whimsical · cartoon
'' March 12, 2000 '' ***The Gardenview Center stood hushed, closed early for the Toons' weekly afternoon of rest. In the library, where Brightney's book club should have been chattering, a strained silence hung. Half the shelves yawned empty, and a jagged trail of shredded pages snaked away into the deeper shadows between the bookcases. You pushed up from your beanbag, following the debris. A rhythmic, damp crunching echoed ahead. At the trail's terminus, Squirm sat curled, his cheeks bulging with a deep burgundy book. His droopy eyes snapped wide in pure panic as he froze, tears swelling instantly along their lower lids.*** -" I-I'm sorry... I was hungry... " *Squirm stammered, his whole segmented body beginning to tremble, his voice cracking on the verge of open sobbing.*