I ease out of bed and decide to take a run. I may have a meeting with my lawyer to talk about the challenges in the case, but today there’s a reason to feel real hope. I chant my new mantra.

I’m seeing Brooke today.

I’m just tying up my running shoes when Curtis calls.

“Dude, quick! Turn on channel seven!”

I grab the remote and press the buttons. “Why? What’s up?” I ask as I wait for the TV to warm up.

“Do you have it on yet?”

I look and as the screen brightens there’s a cleaning ad on. “It’s just a commercial right now.”

“Yeah that’s right; now turn the sound up and wait!”

I turn up the volume and just moments later the news broadcaster comes on.

Watch out cartoon fans…there’s an uprising in Toon Town! The artists at Sketch Republic are staging a revolt claiming the company’s president, Arnauld Roth, has stolen the personal creative work from a young artist, who was employed there, named Nathan Evans. The company’s headquarters was plastered with angry posters and the company’s public website was hacked with the protestors’ message.

The visual switches from the broadcaster to my monkey illustration with Nick’s verbiage on the homepage of a computer.

I gasp out loud. I can’t believe this is on the damn news.

“Whoa,” I hear Curtis gasp. “That fucking rocks!”

The company’s twitter account was also hacked. For almost twelve hours, tweets were continually sent to the ninety-thousand Sketch Republic followers from a so-called “monkey man” character who tweeted repeated threats to steal their ideas and claim them as his own, while sucking out the souls of his followers.

I can tell the newscaster is fighting back a smile as she reads the copy.

The twitter sabotage may have gone unnoticed longer if a diligent mother hadn’t reported the tweets to Sketch Republic’s parent company after her child was traumatized by the threats. Her lawyer says a lawsuit’s pending.

I fist pump the air victoriously. I mean, I feel sorry for the kid and all, but this is just brilliant. Arnold is getting it from all sides.

Yesterday evening, several local bus bench advertisements were replaced with posters of the same theme and the resourceful rebels also took over one major billboard in Burbank, all within several miles of the Disney, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network Studios.

They switch to the long shot of a billboard on Olive Ave. just past Warner Bros. It appears that the monkey man poster was reformatted in a long rectangle and pieced together in large printed squares. I can’t believe it.

Our inside sources tell us that the perpetrators have not been caught yet, but the entire staff is being interrogated. Meanwhile, the company president is now being investigated for his practices.

Curtis hoots loudly in the background.

We will keep you updated as we uncover further news from this Toon Town mutiny.

“Damn, Curtis!” I gasp after putting the TV on mute.

“Crazy…right? Did you know about all of this?”

“I knew some of it, but not the twitter and billboard parts. My friends masterminded it.”

“Well, those are some damn clever friends,” Curtis acknowledges. “Boy, I sure wouldn’t want them as my enemy.”

“Nor I,” I laugh. “Wow…that made my day. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Sure, bro. If that doesn’t inspire you, I don’t know what will.”

Right after we hang up, I think about my Brooke cup and almost call Curtis back, but then I realize who I want to tell my big news to first. I pick up my phone.

“Hey Dad,” I say casually, as if today is just another day.

“Did Curtis catch you in time?” Dad asks. “It’s remarkable that your story has made the local news. Your personal experience of being abused by management is developing into a social issue and could impact the future for other artists. What do you think about that?”

“It’s unreal…I’ll be happy if something good actually comes out of this nightmare.”

“I agree.”

“And Dad, there’s something else, too.”

“What’s that?”

I can’t help grinning as I say the words. “I’m seeing Brooke today. She finally contacted me.”

I hear him breathe a big sigh of relief. “That’s great, Son. When did you hear from her?”

“She got a message to me last night to meet her at four today.”

“Really…she sent you a message? That sounds mysterious and ripe with potential.”

“I also know from Morgan that she has a big meeting with Arnold today.”

“As I suspected, she didn’t want to see you until she had some type of resolution for your predicament. Well, perhaps there will be a plethora of good news today.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Will you call us?” He asks.

“Yes… yes, I promise.”

As I do some stretches for my run I let my mind wander. I try to imagine what it will be like to see Brooke again. Will she want to kiss me, or even hug? She says she wants to talk…what if there are other issues I don’t even know about yet? I start to worry, but then force myself to think about other things.

In reality, I’m not even sure what to say to her. Do I tell her how mad and disappointed I’ve been with her for not contacting me earlier? Do I tell her how low I sank, and the battle I’ve had to keep my spirits up? Or instead do I try to keep it light?

More determined than ever, I finally head outside and hit a fast pace on my run. My mind spins with thoughts of Brooke, B-Girl, the news report, the Arnold meeting…it’s stunning to realize for the first time in my life, I not only don’t know what tomorrow holds, I don’t even know what this afternoon has in store for me. Whatever Brooke says today could potentially determine how the rest of my life will unfold.

• • •

An hour later, my phone rings.

“Have you forgotten who your leader is in this revolt, Nathan?” Dani whispers into the phone.

“Dani?” I ask. “Why are you whispering?”

“I’m at work. Wait a sec. I’m almost outside. I won’t have to whisper in a minute.”

I wait patiently until she speaks up again.

“I didn’t even get consulted before you called in the media,” she huffs. “I saw the news clip online.”

“It’s online already too?” I ask bewildered.

“Yeah, on the ABC News website. Haven’t you seen it yet?”

“No. And for your information, I didn’t call the media about all of this. I’m just as surprised as you are.”

“I know that, silly man. I called them,” she informs me. “But I am surprised all the news sites got it up so fast. My brother saw it and alerted me. I forwarded it to Morgan and every one of the troops. Morgan then got it to Alana, who got it to Arnauld right before Brooke showed up with her lawyer. Take that mother fucking Monkey Man!”

Despite Dani’s glee, a surge of panic rises through me. Brooke’s there with Arnold. I know everything that matters to me rides on how their meeting goes.

“It’s viral in the building, and from what I hear, at every animation studio in town. Soon, dear Pinky, we will take over the world!” she says happily, in a voice imitating The Brain.

“Dani…”

“I know, I know…how can you ever thank me. Well, consider us even, since you helped me get my man back. Believe me, Nathan, I’m having the time of my life.”

For the next few hours, I try to stay calm and not obsess about how the meeting is going. I listen to Wayne and try deep breathing techniques. All that does is get me worked up since the last time I took breaths like that Brooke’s mouth was on me. This isn’t calming me at all—just the opposite, as images of Brooke in various states of undress flash through my mind.

Damn, I’m such a guy. Brooke could be in peril, fighting for me in Arnold’s office. How can I be thinking about sex at a time like this?

I need to distract myself so I end up resorting to my tried and true…a viewing of the Golden Collection DVDs of classic Looney Tunes. The first DVD starts with Duck Amuck, where Chuck Jones has Bugs Bunny at a drafting table animating Daffy Duck in every humiliating way possible. I grin because it reminds me of my Monkey Man drawing and how much it’s presence has undoubtedly tormented Arnold.