When Calvin was six, he didn't have the world's best life. He was bullied and isolated by his classmates, failing school and his only friend was a stuffed tiger. When he looked back on it now, it was pretty sad. Now at sixteen, it unfortunately wasn't much different. The only major difference from then and now, was that back then, he had Hobbes.
At some point in his life, he wasn't sure when, reality hit him hard. It came slowly at first, as he went up in grades, the material they studied become more interesting and his marks improved, he slowly became more aware of his surroundings. He struggles to avoid it, but soon enough things start to change. The hill he once road his wagon and sled down he now sat upon, thinking about whatever, instead of talking about it. His wagon was tucked away in the attic now, and he was pretty sure that his sled had been given away to some charity. His comics had been sold at a garage sale and a majority of his toys were with some neighborhood kid. In fact, a majority of his old things had been sold or given away. The only thing left was Hobbes.
Calvin didn't play with Hobbes anymore. One day he when he was in third grade, he was out in the woods walking with Hobbes and he realized That Hobbes wasn't walking with him. He was dragging a stuffed tiger around and talking to himself. The tiger now sat on his bed and lay with him every night, though the stuffed animal no longer provided the comfort it once did. Sometimes when he had nothing better to do or think about memories of childhood would seep into his brain and he would smile sadly at the lost treasure that was his innocence.
Long after Calvin accepted his forever changed world, unwilling as he was, Susie's family had a garage sale, and she sold Mr. Bun. Calvin who happened to be passing by at the time bought it out of pure nostalgia. Placing the faded brown rabbit by his worn out tiger, Calvin sighed. The pair reminded him of his two man club, G.R.O.S.S. and his many childish fights with Susie. The very same day, a new family moved into the neighborhood and Calvin, he had entered high school by this time, had some how gotten roped into being their baby sitter. Upon meeting their three children, he gave them these instructions, "Entertain yourselves, leave me alone, and be in bed by nine." The set up suited everyone nicely.
Keith was six years old. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, and he most certainly did not need a baby sitter. His older sister was ten and his younger sister was four, they may need one, but they were girls and HE was a boy, so he didn't. When he met their sixteen year old sitter, he made sure the guy knew what he was getting into. "These two girls may need you but I don't, so just stay out of my way and we'll get along fine, and if you don't, I'll tell my parents that you hit me." The guy hadn't been paying attention. In fact he ignored them for the entire night. What a jerk! When his parents came home and he told them what a loafer the teen was, the dismissed him, paid the teen and drove him home.
His family had moved in July and throughout the month, Keith found himself in the company of the distant teenager and more often than not a brown haired girl named Susie. Everyday while had and his sisters played, Susie would spend her time trying to get Calvin to talk, and more often than not she failed in getting him to speak. On rainy days when Keith was forced to stay with Calvin, he would find himself looking through the teenagers room. Despite the vast amount of papers and books, the only things of real interest were the note books marked 'Tracer Bullet' and 'Spaceman Spiff', an odd photo of a six year old boy and a stuffed tiger and the tiger in the photo that sat on Calvin's bed. All in all, Keith was disappointed.
Suddenly it was august and he didn't see the guy again until September 6th. His parents couldn't take him school and the only bus in the area went to another school, so his parents paid the Calvin to walk him and his sister to school. The first time, the blond teen turned up five minutes late and dressed in the worlds most poorly kept uniform. Threads stuck out at the bottoms of his pants, his shirt was ruffled and his tie was crooked. The only neat thing on him was his hair, witch was tied up in a ponytail. Yawning, Calvin had shoved booth children out the door and at the same time managed to put on the glasses he had come to require three years before.
As they walked to the elementary school, Susie ran up to them and immediately stared talking to his lazy sitter. "Still not excited about school Calvin?" "Have I ever been?" "You will one day." "Sure I will, and you know what else, I'll be on the honor role one day too." As the passed the bus stop where three kids were waiting, the conversation shifted and began to include him. "You know Keith, your pretty lucky that you get to walk to school, back when I was your age, I had to take the bus into town to get to school. " Susie was talking to him, as Calvin had apparently put his headphones on. "Everyday I'd wait at the bus stop and almost every day this moron," she stuck her thumb at Calvin, "Would put up such a fuss about going to school. Every morning you'd here him and his mom shouting and struggling if he was late or you would see him walking as slowly as possible to the bus stop in an attempt to miss the bus. He was a real brat about going." Staring at the cold teenager who's only problem seemed to be a lack of sleep, Keith found it hard to believe the girl.
As time went on, Calvin and Keith found themselves pushed together more often than not, and as Keith made more friends, he warmed up to the teen. When Calvin went for walks, Keith fallowed him, and if Keith needed help with his homework, he went to Calvin, who promptly gave him the wrong answers. Despite this, Keith Clung to him. One day before heading to the hill that he used to ride down, Calvin got out his little red wagon. It was old, slightly rust, but it would hold a six year olds weight. When he got to his spot, he sat there and pondered the mysteries of the universe. When Keith arrived as he usually did, Calvin decide to test his theory. "Hey Keith you know what I used to do when I was your age?" "What?" Was the hyper child's response. "Used to ride this wagon down this hill, I was wondering if you would like to try…" he dragged out. Enjoying to look of bliss that graced the six year olds face. "I'd love too!" While the Small boy readied himself in the red cart, Calvin was his with déjà vu. How long had it been since he was the little six year old getting in the wagon with Hobbes pushing him down? Shaking off the feeling he watched the boy roll down, fall out and call "I'm ok!" up to him.
As the months came and went, Calvin was hit with more memories of him and Hobbes doing things together, and he avoid the six year old, becoming cold and even more distant than before. By the time winter rolled around, Keith's parents finally got the message that Calvin did not enjoy Keith and only asked him babysit on occasion. On one of these occasions, Calvin was reading on his living room couch while Keith stared out the window at the barren depressing street. Suddenly they boy began to do a strange dance and as Calvin watched, he swore he saw a tiger on the stairs. "Keith, what are you doing?" "Dancing to appease the snow gods, so it'll snow." Calvin stared. "It's not going to work." he said simply before going back to his book.
On the first day of Christmas vacation that was after Christmas, Calvin was outside, watching the snow fall. Keith ran up to him caring a toboggan. "Wanna go down the hill with me?" Against his better judgment Calvin agreed.
Up in his bedroom Hobbes watch as the tall teenager and the short six year old road down the hill. It was Hard to believe that it had been him and Calvin doing that not so long ago. History really does repeat it's self, he thought before curling up next to Mr. Bun for a nap.
Finished.