***
Lucy watched me walk up the stairs, “Mom, that’s not normal, Bobby is up to something.”
“I agree,” said Dad. “Where are all his excuses for NOT going to bed? How come he doesn’t suddenly have extra homework…why isn’t he feeling thirsty or hungry and why didn’t he want you to read with him tonight? Something is up,” said Dad.
“Oh you two are so suspicious! He just feels tired and he is starting to grow up. I’m proud of our Bobby and I think the dream-catcher is making him feel safer in his room. I am one brilliant mom!” she boasted.
My New Best Friend
Tonight I jumped into bed, pulled up my blankets, looked at the dream-catcher and whispered, “Boris, hey Boris, it’s okay to come out.” And whamo, he appeared straight away with a big smile on his face.
Guess what? Boris likes to play games. He loves to play hide and seek! But boy is he hard to find, especially in my messy cupboards! We dressed up as pirates and played sword fights. Not with his steel sword, but with my plastic ones. It is just like having a brother, but one who doesn’t argue with you.
Luckily I heard Mom coming up the stairs to check on me. Leaping into bed, I pulled the blankets up over my neck. I didn’t want her to see my pirate outfit. She thought I was fast asleep and gave me a kiss on the cheek, “Goodnight my beautiful son, I love you.”
Boris was sitting on my bed leaning against me watching her. He didn’t hide! How could Mom not notice a red monster. My Mom sees EVERYTHING! And then she left and closed the door.
“Boris, why didn’t you hide, Mom could have seen you,” I whispered.
Boris jumped onto my tummy, “Don’t stress Bobby, nobody sees me unless I show myself to them. You could say I’m invisible to everyone else but you.”
“So nobody can see you except me!” wow, that was a lot to take in.
Boris looked me straight in the eye, “It is like this Bobby, you needed to see me. Your dreams were totally out of control. I’m here to help you.”
“So I can take you anywhere and I’m the only one who can see you?” I asked.
“That’s right buddy, I decide who sees me,” he said looking rather smug.
“Would you please come to school with me Boris?” I pleaded, thinking about how much fun we could have. Boris agreed, but only on the condition that he stays invisible to everyone else and that included my best friends Kade and James. I felt disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to show them Boris, but I was sure they would understand.
I have a feeling that school won’t be so boring tomorrow and then I drifted off to sleep.
Boris Comes to School
This is going to be the most exciting day ever! I jump out of bed, dress quickly and scoff down my breakfast.
Everyone in my family is looking at me strangely. “Excuse me, but WHO are you?” said Lucy (in her older sister…I’m suspicious of you) voice. Mom smiled and Dad raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, it was hard to fool my Dad.
Maybe I should explain that normally I go into super slow motion when I am getting ready for school. Normally the neighbors listen to my parents calling out, “Hurry up Jack, I’m late…go and get dressed…eat your breakfast quickly…have you cleaned your teeth yet…where’s your bag…don’t forget your lunch box…have you packed your homework…put your shoes on…where’s your hat” and these are just a few of the things they say EVERY morning.
“Just looking forward to school Lucy, what’s wrong with that?” I asked, trying to look innocent. I quickly walked back to my bedroom, closed the door and whispered into the dream-catcher, “Boris, come out, it is time to go to school.”
I felt a slight breeze hit me in the face. It smelled bad, like rotten fish…and then Boris jumped out of the catcher.
“Yoo Bro, I can’t wait for this. My Monster School is so boring, I’ve never seen a human school before. Are we going in your Dad’s car?”
With my hands on my hips I shook my head, “No Boris, I have to maintain some degree of coolness, Dad and I keep our distance at school. ”And with that we high-fived and walked out the door, past my family who still couldn’t believe that I was going to school on time and without any nagging. We walked a couple of houses down to the bus stop.
Boris had never been on a bus. You would think he would be nervous, but no, Boris was like an excited tiger cub after a ball of wool. He ran to the back and jumped up onto the back seat smiling.
Luckily my house is the first bus stop. I quickly walked down and told Boris that we couldn’t sit there.
“Why not?” asked Boris.
“Because this is where the cool tough kids sit, I’m not allow to sit here,” I explained.
Boris looked thoughtful, “But Bobby you are cool and I am tough, so combined we can sit here,” he tried to explain. Boris was going to get me killed before I even got to school. I tried to pull him off the seat and we were pulling back and forth, back and forth.
The bus driver, Sam, called out, “Are you okay Bobby?”
“Sure Sam, I’mmm just doing some exercises,” I replied. I’m going to have to be more careful or people will think I’m going crackers. I left Boris in the back seat and went to my normal seat towards the middle. He is just going to have to understand there are certain rules. The nerds sit up the front (as far away from the backseat as they can), the normal kids sit in the middle and the naughty and cool kids sit at the back of the bus. That is just the way things are.
As the bus started to fill, Boris could see that I was right, the back seat was definitely not a good place to be. Jack (the class bully) was sitting next to him, swearing and saying mean things about everyone as they got onto the bus. I turned around and had a quick look at Boris. He had a very grumpy look on his face, he wasn’t happy.
“Hey Bobby Boo Boo Bear, teacher’s pet, I’m your worst nightmare. You’re going down today!” Jack yelled at me so that everyone on the bus could hear.
I pretended I couldn’t hear him, but I could feel my heart racing and my face turning a bright shade of red. All the kids around me put their heads down…it is called trying to avoid being picked on. The kids at the back of the bus all laughed and the nerds (who were used to being bullied) just shook their heads.
Why did Mom have to still use that silly nickname, it was okay when I was one, but not 8! Jack heard her call me that at a parent day (about 2 years ago!!!) and he hasn’t let me forget it.
“Aarrrrrrgh, who did that!” Jack yelled. I turned around and he had yoghurt dripping down off his head. At first there was stunned silence, then everyone on the bus, including the nerds, started laughing and cheering.
Boris walked up the aisle with a huge smile on his face. “That will teach him to be mean to you Bobby,” he said as he licked yoghurt off his fingers.