"Freedom! Freedom at last!" Calvin gleefully yelled as he and Susie Derkins got off the bus.
Today was the last day of first grade for Calvin and Susie. Once the two got home, summer break would officially begin for them. Calvin couldn't have been happier.
"I thought it would never end! It felt like I had been going to first grade for 10 years! But now it's finally over! Summer is here!"
Susie rolled her eyes as Calvin continued to show his excitement. "Yeah, three more months before you go back to first grade" she snarked to the energetic boy.
Calvin's face of glee turned to one of anger. "Shut up, Susie! I managed to pass the first grade! I got all D's – well, and a C, but I still passed"
"You passed? Man, the educational system is a joke" Susie said. She hoped with all her heart that she wouldn't have Calvin in her class again.
"Summer break just started! Don't you dare bring up second grade!" Calvin yelled, not wanting to be reminded that summer break was only temporary.
Susie rolled her eyes once more. "Whatever. Later, weirdo!"
Now that Calvin was done talking to Susie, he dashed to his house. He wanted to think about all the hijinx he was going to get up to over summer break.
"I'M HOME!" Calvin yelled as he opened the door. A second later, he began panicking on the inside. He realized what was about to happen – and it was too late to do anything about it.
Before he knew it, Hobbes had bolted towards the young boy, grabbing him aggressively. The duo crashed far into the grass.
"Wow! That must a new record!" Hobbes said eagerly.
Calvin was not as amused. "Oh. Wonderful. Well, at least this is the last time I ever have to put up with that."
Hobbes snickered when Calvin said that. "That is, until August when you begin second grade"
"Shut up, furball! I'll learn my lesson!"
When Hobbes heard that, he laughed his furry butt off. Calvin's glare intensified, but the tiger did not care. Hobbes thought that that was the most absurd thing to ever come out of Calvin's mouth, which really said something.
"You?! Learn your lesson?! Hahahaha! Flying pigs are more plausible!" the tiger continued to laugh. Between Susie and Hobbes, Calvin had enough of being heckled, so he stormed off into the house while Hobbes continued to laugh so hard that tears began flowing from his eyes.
Calvin laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
The boy truly had no idea how to start his summer break. He figured he would create a new invention, or try a new experiment with an invention he already created. He thought about his Transmogrifier, his Time machine, and his Duplicator. He had already modified his Transmogrifier box into a Transmogrifier gun, and there wasn't any way he could think of to modify the Time Machine.
But the Duplicator? That could work, he thought to himself. He thought about when he did modify the Duplicator so that a good Calvin would be brought about. He shuddered at the memory. The good Calvin was something Calvin felt he would regret all his life, as the thought of a good version of himself made him want to hurl.
He didn't know how to modify the Duplicator, but there had to be a way. He wouldn't stop until he thought of something. Just then, Hobbes came into the room. He let out a chuckle, still thinking about what Calvin said, much to the boy's annoyance.
"Gotta hand it to you. That was great!" Hobbes said. Calvin was not about to have his thoughts interrupted by his tiger companion, however.
"Keep that furry mouth shut. I'm thinking about what I'm going to do today."
"Relax!" Hobbes replied. "You just finished first grade, and school will only get harder from here. Just lay in bed all day"
"Well, it just so happens that I've already thought of something, Hobbes" Calvin said with a smirk on his face.
Hobbes raised an eyebrow. "I'm not gonna like this, am I?"
"It's time for a third duplicator test!"
Hobbes sighed with a great amount of exasperation. "Yep, I don't like it. This is what I was talking about, Calvin. You never learn!"
Calvin's smirk widened into a smug smile. "See, that's where you're wrong, Hobbes. I'm not doing the traditional duplicates like we did the first time, nor am I going to bring back that appalling good me."
Hobbes scratched his head. "Then…then what are you going to do?"
"I will….uhhhhhh…" Calvin pondered for a bit. He had not gotten this far yet.
"If you need me, I'll be taking a nap"
A figurative light bulb appeared over Calvin's head as he saw Hobbes heading out of the room. He knew exactly what he was going to do. "I got it, Hobbes! I know exactly what we're going to do!"
Hobbes turned around to face the young boy. The tiger really did not want to hear this idea, but he figured that Calvin would just harass him all day until the idea finally came out, so he figured he might as well hear it now. "I think we should duplicate you for a change!" the boy said.
Hobbes scoffed at the idea. Was Calvin trying to top himself with saying absurd things? To Hobbes, it sure seemed like it.
"Give me some time, Calvin. I gotta make a list of all the things I would rather do. It'll probably take a few hours"
Calvin groaned. "You're right, Hobbes. I mean, sometimes I can barely put up with just one of you. I'm just grasping for straws here"
"Well, you continue grasping those straws. I hear sheep that need counting"
Another brilliant idea struck Calvin's head. "No, wait – this time I got it! I'm gonna make several duplicates again, but this time they won't know they're duplicates. They'll have all my memories, and they'll all think they're me!"
Hobbes' eyes widened when he heard that. He looked genuinely impressed, much to Calvin's surprise. "Wow, Calvin! That is astonishing…ly idiotic!" Calvin's face sported a deadpan look. He should've known that Hobbes was faking that impressment.
Calvin groaned again. Those were the only two ideas he could think of so far. Maybe Hobbes was right. Maybe he should just take the day to relax before getting up to shenanigans starting tomorrow.
But then again, maybe he was wrong. Suddenly, a strange object in the sky caught the eye of both Calvin and Hobbes. The two initially had no idea what it could be, but as it got a little closer, they saw that it was a spaceship. More aliens were coming to Earth, just like the duo of Galaxoid and Nebular had just a few months prior.
As the spaceship got even closer, they realized that it looked familiar. Then it hit the two – it was Galaxoid and Nebular. Calvin and Hobbes rushed outside to greet the aliens as the ship landed in the woods.
When they got outside, Galaxoid and Nebular were emerging from the trees. "Greetings, Emperor Calvin of Earth" Nebular said.
"It is a pleasure to see you two again" Calvin replied. "But what brings you back to our planet?"
This time it was Galaxoid who spoke. "We want to check out how our property is doing. We meant to come months ago, but our emperor, Constellius, got mixed up in some crazy antics. Would you give us a briefing on how the Earth is doing?"
Calvin thought about it for a moment, but then a sinister gin appeared on all his faces, to the concern of Galaxoid, Nebular, and especially Hobbes. He was suffering the dilemma of not figuring out the next Duplicator, and now Galaxoid and Nebular have just arrived. Perhaps the two situations could meet.
"I'll give you a briefing on the Earth…on one condition." The aliens and Hobbes were even more confused now.
If Galaxoid and Nebular had eyebrows, they would have been raised. "What could you possibly want, Calvin?" Nebular asked.
"Oh, it's not too much. It's just…I've been wanting to try a duplicator experiment. I've done two in the past, but I want to shake things up the third time. Would you two help me?"
Galaxoid and Nebular turned around to whisper about it. Hobbes, meanwhile, whispered to Calvin. "What are you doing?" he said, with an even stronger tint of exasperation.
"Trust me, Hobbes. It'll work out" Calvin whispered back.
Just as he said that, Galaxoid and Nebular turned back around to face Calvin and Hobbes. "Alright, Calvin. You have a deal" Galaxoid said.
Hobbes' jaw dropped while Calvin cheered. "HOORAY!"
"Follow us into the ship" Nebular said.
As the four walked into the woods and towards the aliens' spaceship, Hobbes dreaded the thought of what was about to go down. 'There's no way this can end well' he thought to himself. He gulped and braced himself as he and Calvin entered the ship.