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“I want the truth!”
“You can’t handle the truth!”

It’d been funny the first time Ben had heard the African grey parrot recite the lines. But the realisation that it was one of several movie quotes that Holly – short for Hollywood – recited on rotation had dawned early on their first day together.

It had seemed too good to be true. A fortnight’s stay right on the water at Penguin on the north-west coast of Tasmania. And all he had to do was take care of a bird. How hard could it be? The owner had provided a quick tour of the property and left a list of instructions. Holly had been asleep, a dark cover shrouding the cage which was located in the spacious living area. It had panoramic views of the water on one side, and a massive TV with a high-end sound system on the opposite wall. Ben was keen to unpack and have a look around the town, and hadn’t been really listening as Cheryl, Holly’s owner, had warned him that Holly was a bit eccentric.

It was only after Ben had returned from brunch at the local bakery that he’d sat down and read through the instructions. Holly was to be allowed out of his cage from 10 am to 6 pm, and the cage was to be covered overnight. The feeding schedule was easy to follow, and there was an emergency number for a vet who specialised in avian care. Ben’s eyebrows quirked at this. He’d minded more dogs and cats than he could recall, plus a few budgies and a cantankerous cockatoo, but thankfully had not needed to call a vet to date.

So he’d prepared fresh water and measured out the specific quantity of seed as per Cheryl’s instructions and headed into the lounge room. He placed them on the coffee table and unzipped the blockout shroud. Ben saw the flash of a bright red tail then the grey body as Holly ruffled his feathers. Using his beak, he gripped the cage and was examining Ben closely. Ben opened his mouth to say hello when Holly started to talk.

‘May the Force be with you. There’s no place like home. I’m the king of the world!’

Ben had laughed, delighted at the bird’s delivery. Only Holly didn’t stop. He’d flown out when Ben opened the cage door, landing on one of several perches dotted around the room. He kept reciting movie lines loudly as Ben cleaned out the cage and replaced the food and water bowls. When Ben spoke, Holly simply raised the volume of his litany. When he returned to the kitchen, Holly followed him, quoting a lengthy line from Forrest Gump.

Watching television seemed to excite Holly further, and he shrieked the now familiar lines louder than ever. Noise cancelling headphones were of limited use, and Ben began to despair when he realised that Holly talked in his sleep. It was going to be a long fortnight after all.

This piece was written to a prompt on the Writer’s Digest website. Good Boy Gone Bad: a pet sitter is in for something unexpected.

Photo: Penguin, Tasmania