Shelly, a teddy-bear in Maya’s room, got up. Yes. She. Was. Alive. Allison, Maya’s sister, would often come in, so Shelly stopped moving. Allison would pamper and soothe Shelly, as if the teddy-bear was in terror. (Shelly was not, by the way.)
This time, though, Maya locked the door. Only she had the key, so Allison couldn’t get into the room this time. Shelly slid down Maya’s bed and walked on the ground, not making a sound. Whenever she stepped on a loose floorboard, however, it would go, “Creak.” Shelly observed a desk. Hmmm, she thought. Shelly found some rope on the floor, and, with a swing of the rope, she threw a loop of the rope onto an edge of the desk. Perfect.
Shelly grabbed the other end of the rope and swung until she reached the desk’s edge. Climbing onto the surface of the desk, Shelly turned on Maya’s computer. It asked for a password. “Password!” Shelly exclaimed. “Let’s see…” She typed something in: BuTtoNs3890. It worked, just like every day.
Shelly went into Google and searched up, “YouTube.com”. A bunch of videos showed up, and she selected a cat video. “Meow! Meow!” the cat in the video screeched. “Meow!” Shelly laughed a little and exited the browser. She heard Maya coming in, so Shelly immediately shut down the computer, climbed down the table, put the rope back in its place, and perched on Maya’s bed. When Maya opened the door, a horrific sight came to view: a new toy.
Shelly’s stomach hurt. A new toy? What would happen to her? Maya sat on the bed, singing, “Hey, Shelly! I have a new playmate for you!” Maya laid the new toy nearby Shelly. “I named her Bun-Bun!” It was a stuffed animal, a rabbit, to be exact. Maya picked up Shelly with one hand and Bun-Bun with another. “Hello, Ms. Bun-Bun!” Maya imitated Shelly’s voice. “Hiya, Shelly! It’s good to see ya!” Maya then imitated Bun-Bun’s voice, which sounded a bit shrill.
Maya said, “Would you like to dance with me?” “Yes!” she replied as Ms. Bun-Bun. Maya made Ms. Bun-Bun and Shelly hold hands and spin around together. Maya told her stuffies that she would come back home at 2:50 p.m., and she left the room, locking the door. Shelly wasn’t sure of what was going to happen, but she knew one thing for sure: Maya would start loving Ms. Bun-Bun more than her.
When Maya came back home from school, she started to do her homework after unpacking the heavy load of books in her backpack. She took out her pencil and started writing the answers for her math homework. In the meantime, Shelly was checking for dance routines on Maya’s computer. “Hi!” a voice called. Shelly turned around, almost falling from the desk she perched on. It was Ms. Bun-Bun, who appeared to also be alive. “Hi…I see you’re a new toy here. Welcome,” Shelly welcomed, but with less enthusiasm and more grumpiness. Bun-Bun waved happily.
Shelly turned back to the computer, and Bun-Bun saw this as an unfriendly welcome. “Well,” she shot back. “At least I don’t check my friend’s computer for dumb dance routines!” Shelly asked angrily, “Do you want to say that again? Oh, and do it louder this time.” “Make me!” Bun-Bun glared. Anger buzzed and boiled in Shelly’s head. How could such a beautiful, naive-looking toy be so…so….so cruel?? (Of course, Shelly was also beautiful, but she wasn’t evil.)
Maya started to go to her bedroom’s door because of all the noise Bun-Bun and Shelly were making. Their faces shared panicked looks. Shelly took the lead, turning off Maya’s computer and going back to her place on Maya’s bed. She perched next to Bun-Bun. Maya opened the door. “Huh, that’s odd. I remember hearing some noise in here. Oh, well!” She closed the door and locked it again, leaving to do her homework.
Shelly tried to keep her cool, even though she was definitely NOT cool!!! “Bun-Bun,” she said in her calmest voice. “You almost got us caught. Almost. But don’t worry! It wasn’t that big of a deal!!!” Bun-Bun, having a frown on her face, said, “You literally said it wasn’t that big of a deal, but you’re freaking out and panting.” Shelly ignored this. She suddenly had an idea. (Insert light bulb on top of head!) Shelly didn’t need to listen to Bun-Bun’s mean comments anymore.
Shelly decided that she would run away.
Shelly plopped down on the bed and plotted her plan in her head. First, I’ll find a lot of money to get food and other necessities. Next, I will pack all of that stuff I will need in my bag. I will need a large bag. Oh, that one Maya got me will be perfect! Then I will sneak out of the window and go outside! Finally, I will be free!
“Whatcha doin’?” Bun-Bun asked. “If you think you will be as cute as me, BTW, you so wrong, girl! You so wrong…” She added, “Oh, and weird!” Shelly said, “You thought I was thinking about your beauty, and I’m the weird one? Oh, wait a sec, that’s crazy, because you don’t have beauty!” Shelly laughed so hard. Bun-Bun scowled. “Fine. You’ve had your laughing time. Now stop.” Shelly continued laughing. “I said,” Bun-Bun repeated. “Stop. Laughing.” Shelly tried to muffle her laughter, but giggles peeped out of her mouth now and then.
That night, Shelly sneaked to the window and opened it. She had already prepared and found money, food, clothing, water, and more things and put them in a huge bag. It was as blue as a blueberry and had purple and pink dots. Shelly plopped down to the ground and ran away from the house. But in a sneaky way.
She asked herself, “Where am I gonna stay? There’s nothing here but grass and sidewalk pavement and roads. Ugh!” Suddenly, she saw a big mosquito, bloodthirsty, waiting to see if the prey would run or not. “Uh,” Shelly stammered. “Nice giant, hairy mosquito!” “Look, kid, Imma be honest, lotsa people say that to me, k? Don’t do that to me,” the mosquito said. Shelly jumped back. “Ack! How can you t-” “Shushhh! She’s watching…” the mosquito replied, adding, “My name is Maxxxxxxx,”
“Maxxxxx?”
“Nonono!!! That’s not how ya do it! It’s this: Maxxxxxxx.”
“Maxxxxxxx?” Shelly asked. “Ya got it, girl!” Maxxxxxxx said cheerfully. “Anyway, there is a hawk, and she is lurking in the sky.” They heard a hawk cawing. Caw, caw, caaaaaaaaaaw! “W-what was th-that?” Shelly shook nervously, her heart pounding. “That was the hawk. So, flyyyy!!!!” The mosquito flew away and then, coming back, shouted, “Okay, RUN!!!!” They both speeded down the sidewalk, being careful not to trip over any rocks.
Ah, they were safe! Away from the hawk! “What is this place?” Shelly and Maxxxxxxx had arrived at a cafe, Shelly knowing this would be a great place to stay. Shelly tried to open the door, but, unfortunately, it was locked. “Well,” Shelly said. “Looks like we will have to sleep outside tonight.” Shelly laid down on a patch of grass, covered in the blanket she brought. Maxxxxxxx crept under the blanket and tucked himself in, falling asleep.
The next morning, Shelly woke up early, and then she arosed Maxxxxxxx. Shelly told Maxxxxxxx that since the cafe was open, they could stay there. Maxxxxxxx agreed to go in. “But kid, you don’t understand. Some people, they want to kill us,” Maxxxxxxx said. “I will get smashed.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen,” Shelly replied, sounding more confident than she really was. They went inside the cafe, and Shelly stole a scone secretly. She nibbled on it. Orange. Nice. “You took the food??” Maxxxxxxx asked. “Yeah! We have to survive and get food somehow!!” Shelly scowled. She stole a cupcake from one customer and took a slice of cake from another one.
Maxxxxxxx’s feelings changed from madness to excitement. Well, he thought. If this is what it’s like to be a runaway, I’m definitely gonna like this! He devoured a bite of the slice. “Mmmmm!!! It’s so delicious! I don’t remember having a decent meal like this since I was very young,” Maxxxxxxx said. “Why?” Shelly asked.
“Because I’m an orphan. That’s why.”
The six words Maxxxxxxx had just said made Shelly’s heart sink. She never knew that he was an orphan without parents of his own. Taking care of himself by himself, with no support whatsoever, must have been very hard for him. They both stayed quiet for a long time and continued devouring their food.
Shelly broke the silence after they left the cafe. “You won’t be lonely anymore. You have me.” And she hugged the mosquito gently, being careful not to crush him. Maxxxxxxx asked, “ Where are your parents?” “I don’t have parents, but I have an owner,” Shelly told Maxxxxxxx. “And I…I left home.” “SHELLY!!!! Why would you do such a thing? You have a perfect life-” “It is because of Bun-Bun!” Shelly blurted out.
“Who’s Bun-Bun?” Maxxxxxxx questioned. “She was the new toy at my home. I felt that I was going to become unappreciated soon.” Shelly glanced at the mosquito, who said, “Where’d you get that idea from?”
“From a book I read. A girl named Claudia felt unappreciated and ran away from home and went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.” Shelly looked at a tree trunk nearby. “Oh no,” she whispered. “What?” Maxxxxxxx asked, but he soon found out as he followed Shelly’s gaze. There were posters of Shelly saying, “Missing Toy!” and “Please find her!” “That’s not good, is it?” Maxxxxxxx asked. “It is not!!! Like, duh?” Shelly replied.
“Maxxxxxxx,” Shelly said. “You do realize that people could be looking for me, and then they could take me home, right?” “But what’s so bad about that?” Maxxxxxxx asked, confused. “What is bad about it is that they will take me back, but I will NEVER go back!! Who knows? A few months later, I might end up in the trash bin, or worse…” Shelly paused. “I could be shredded by that trash thingie! The one that shreds and crushes trash?”
“Shelly, don’t you realize how lucky you are to have an owner who cares about you? I mean, if she doesn’t find you…she might stop looking for you and then play with Bun-Bun only,” Maxxxxxxx lectured deeply. Shelly thought for a moment, and then decided, “I don’t know…let’s just stay here. For now, though. Just until I hav-ACK!” Shelly shrieked when a newspaper flew onto her, causing her to fall. Shelly managed to get up and grab the newspaper.
“Hold on…” Shelly peered closely. “What’s this?” Here is what the newspaper said:
Exclusive News!!!! There’s a beautiful painting at the Hawk Museum of Creation!!!
Scientists and experts have recently discovered an old-or new-work of art. “I believe that it is the work of Leonardo da Vinci, but who knows? I mean, it’s an idea….” says expert Simòne Zigouchí. “We have GOT to find out what this is and who painted it!” This was sold by the old man, Mr. Johnwire, at an auction. He sold it for $433 only! He now lives on Selena Street, Magville. If it was painted in the Italian Renaissance by Leonardo da Vinci, it would have been a great bargain!
All the experts know is that it was painted during the Italian Renaissance and that it was possibly painted by Leonardo da Vinci, the famous painter who made the Mona Lisa. It is a picture of a lamb laying down on the grass. Well, that’s all for this article folks!!! Now, we will go over to Jeff for the weather. Jeff, what will the weather be like? Turn the page to find out!
“Maxxxxxxx, I know what to do! Maya, my owner, wants a difference in me! I can feel it!” Shelly exclaimed joyfully. “Uhhh, I think you are jumping to conclusions here,” Maxxxxxxx answered. “This is it!” Shelly shouts. “We have gotta take a train or bus. Hawk Museum of Creation, here we come!”
They decided to take a bus to the museum. Shelly and the mosquito crept onto the bus sneakily.
Shelly and Maxxxxxxx were not seen.
In her gut, Shelly knew this was the right bus. The one that would take them to Hawk Museum of Creation. She just knew it!!! Somehow. But how did that matter, anyway?? They finally reached the museum, and Shelly was done dealing with Maxxxxxxx the mosquito, who would not stop asking, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” in an annoying way.
They carefully departed the bus and let the people open the doors, stepping inside the museum. “Wooooooow!!!” Shelly and Maxxxxxxx exclaimed. The museum looked so beautiful and elegant, with its Oriental rugs, ancient statues, paintings, jewelry…oh! The list of delightful things in the museum could run on and on and on and on and on and on-alright, enough on’s-for days!
Shelly said, “We need to find that painting. Then we will have to travel to that guy’s place mentioned in the newspaper.” She froze. Why? Because a young child spotted her, picking her up. Maxxxxxxx acted quickly, biting the child’s hand. “Owwwwwwwwieeeeeee!!!!! Mommmmmyyyy!! A mosquito bit me!” Shelly fell and ran upstairs with Maxxxxxxx to find the painting.
They found it upstairs. It was right there. “Huh, that looks like a cool painting,” Shelly said. “Come on, now! Let’s go!” They raced down the stairs-Shelly running and Maxxxxxxx flying- until they reached the doors. They exited and caught a taxi. Someone was going to board it. “Come on! I hope they don’t notice you…” Shelly eagerly climbed in with Maxxxxxxx, and they started their trip to Mr. Johnwire…hopefully.
Well, at least the destination was near Mr. Johnwire’s house. Maxxxxxxx and Shelly knocked on the door. No one answered, so they tried to open the door. The door creaked open, and the group scurried to Mr. Johnwire’s office. “Hello. You’re the missing toy, and you are a mosquito, right?” Mr. Johnwire asked. “Yes, we are,” Maxxxxxxx and Shelly replied. Somehow, Mr. Johnwire understood their language.
“Please tell us if Leonardo da Vinci or someone else painted the painting!!! The one you sold recently?” Shelly pleaded. “I can help! Do not tell this secret, but…I painted that,” Mr. Johnwire said. “Wait. What??” Shelly and Maxxxxxxx exchanged a surprised look. “Yes, you see, I missed my wife. She passed away, and I had no family. So I decided to paint this to show that she was like a beautiful lamb: lovable, kind, and peaceful,” Mr. J. explained.
Shelly realized how much Maya missed her:a lot. More than the span of the universe. “The painting reminds me of her. And also that love is unbreakable. No matter where you are, love can’t break. It counts inside,” Mr. Johnwire continued. “So…this is good-bye, Maxxxxxxx? I mean, I completed the mission,” Shelly said sadly. “Yes. I hope we meet again,” Maxxxxxxx started to cry a bit. Shelly hugged him tightly, but not too much to crush him.
Mr. Johnwire said, “Oh, no! I am sending Maxxxxxxx to a wildlife care zone! Near your home, it is the best one there is in your town!” Shelly and Maxxxxxxx said thank you and departed. They boarded a bus and then walked all the way to Maya’s house. “Goodbye, for now,” Shelly said, and they waved goodbye. Shelly tried to reach the doorbell and rang it. She became stiff.
Maya came out the front door, yelling, “Mom!!!! Shelly is back!” She took Shelly in her arms and put the teddy bear inside her room. Shelly thought a lot about love, Maxxxxxxx, and the words Mr. Johnwire said: “The painting reminds me of her. And also that love is unbreakable. No matter where you are, love can’t break. It counts inside.” Huh, love is strong. And I know that Maya will always love me.
Written by Kruti Patel