Last day in Elwood City
Arthur sat down on his desk with a pencil in his mouth. He felt like he didn't want to finish the last question on his pop quiz. It was because once Arthur finished the quiz, it would only be a matter of minutes until Arthur's family needed to move out of Elwood City.
"I can't believe this. Why do we have to move away? I'm about to loose my Dad, and my home. It just isn't fair," Arthur muttered to himself.
There were many problems going on with Arthur's parents. It seemed like almost every night, once the kids were in bed, that Arthur's parents would argue. Although they never noticed that at least one of them would still be awake to hear the endless yelling. Just thinking about the terrible nights Arthur experienced made teardrops come out of his eyes. Arthur tries to ignore the sad thoughts, but it was very hard. When the arguing was just too much, Arthur's parents decided to file for divorce. When news of the separation hit Arthur and DW, their poor hearts were torn apart. Each of them spent about an hour crying in their rooms. If that wasn't bad enough, Arthur's Mom decided to take the kids once they separated, and even the idea of moving crossed her head.
The thoughts were so unbearable. It only made Arthur cry even more. All of the teardrops were getting on the quiz. Arthur wiped his eyes, and continued to work trying to hide his sadness. Everybody seemed to notice anyway. Francine took a glance at Arthur. It's so sad to see him go. I'm going to miss that four eyes. I just hope he feels better soon. I'd be so sad if my parents were divorced. Francine makes a sad face, and continues to work on the quiz.
"Time's up! Put your pencils down!" Mr. Ratburn announced. "Hand in your paper at the front of the desk."
Many kids stood up, and started to walk towards the desk. Arthur looks at his paper feeling disappointed that he didn't finished the final question. He looks at the rest of the work on the quiz and realizes that it didn't look good. With a sad look on his face, Arthur takes out a red pen and writes the letter F at the very top. He grabs the quiz and takes it to the desk. The quiz is immediately buried by other quizzes that were put on top of it. Arthur slowly walks away, but Mr. Ratburn calls him back up.
"Arthur! Before I forget, I need to remind you that your mother called, and said she will pick you up in just a few minutes."
Arthur's expression becomes even more depressing. All he could do was respond back with a voice that sounded less than enthusiastic.
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."
Arthur returns to his desk. He sits down with all eyes looking at him. He stares back with a very confused look on his face.
"What?" Arthur asked.
"We all just feel so sad that you're leaving us! What do you expect?" said Francine.
"We've been through so much with each other! What am I going to do when I'm bored? Or when I can't figure out a math problem?" said Buster.
Soon almost all of Arthur's friends surrounded his desk trying to comfort him. They would tell him how much they would miss him, and how Arthur was one of the best friends they ever had. No matter how many students there were, Arthur was still in a sad mood. Sue Ellen pops out from the crowd of people, and grabs Arthur by the hand.
"Everybody please give Arthur some space! This is too many people!"
Sue Ellen manages to take Arthur out of his seat, and out of the crowd of people. Arthur could care less if he was taken out of his chair or not. Sue Ellen takes Arthur near the corner of the classroom away from the rest of the kids. She tries to give him some advice.
"It's very sad that you're about to leave, but I know how you feel. My family had to move all the time because of my Dad's job," said Sue Ellen. Arthur responds with a grim look on his face.
"Yeah, but at least your parents stayed together. I wont be able to see my Dad again!" Arthur once again begins to cry a bit. Sue Ellen puts her hand on his shoulder, and begins to speak.
"I would definitely be crying my head off if the same thing happened to me. Maybe I wouldn't even come to school, but you should remember that your parents still love you. They're just very confused right now. Just remember to try to make new friends, and most importantly stay in touch."
Arthur's face brightens up a bit, and feels a lot more happy knowing he got good advice. Sue Ellen gives him a big hug, and gives him a letter.
"What's this?" Arthur asks.
"Don't open it until you think the time is right," said Sue Ellen.
Once Sue Ellen returned to her seat, Buster immediately came up to talk with Arthur. He had a very disappointed look on his face, but he was clearly trying to turn it into a smile.
"Hey Arthur, It's very sad that you're leaving today. Maybe I can convince my parents to move with you!" Buster makes a big smile, and Arthur smiles back wishing that Buster's joke would somehow be real.
"I'm really going to miss you Arthur. We've been through so much. You're a real friend. I can't imagine coming into class without talking to you. I mean we have so much in common! You remember that one time when I saved a cat from a tree?" Buster asks.
"Yeah, I remember completely. You called yourself Cat Saver. I couldn't believe you thought you actually saved that cat! It just wanted your ice cream!" said Arthur.
"Hey, at least I saved you from that Piano! It was about to run you over!" said Buster.
"You're right Buster. Thank you. I also remember that one time when you solved the case of the missing quarters. You helped clear my name!"
"Lets not talk about me. What about you? You helped me prepare for that test. If I wouldn't had gotten at least a B then I couldn't go to the 4th grade, and what about that one time when you tried to find me a dad for the Father's Day Picnic? Do you remember those times?" Buster asked.
"Of course I do. How couldn't I? We're very close friends! I could never forget those times!" said Arthur.
Buster laughed a bit, and the two continued to remember good times. All of those memories made Arthur really happy and forget a bit about his problems. After a while, Buster stopped and begins to offer Arthur some advice.
"You know I have divorced parents, and it does feel very sad, but just remember that this won't be the last time you see him. I get to see my dad sometimes, and we always have a great time. Just remember that no matter what, you're all a family."
Arthur starts feeling a lot happier, and he thanks buster for the advice.
"You're a real friend Buster. Thanks for the advice. I hope we get to see each other again," said Arthur.
"I know we will." Buster says with a smile. The two give each other a high five before they depart.
One by one, almost every student came up to Arthur to say their final goodbyes, and give some advice. Francine came to discuss old times as well, and told Arthur not to forget her when she's a famous athlete. She even gave him "the glove that won last year's championship". Muffy gave Arthur 50 dollars before he left, and promised him a biography. George came up to amuse Arthur with his dummy Wally. Binky apologized for all the times he bullied him, and of course Arthur forgave him. Brain gave Arthur a book on Math, and many more kids came up. All Arthur could do was thank them for all the advice, hugs, and things to remind him of the people that miss him. Then a voice on the intercom was heard.
"Mr. Ratburn, would you please send Arthur Read to the office!"
Mr. Ratburn agreed, and told Arthur to pack his stuff, and get ready. Of course everyone said goodbye, and Arthur thanked all of them for a good time at Lakewood. You're all the best friends I ever had. Arthur picked up his backpack, and walked out the door. A small teardrop fell from his eye, and walked away sadly, but he felt happy inside. He was a very good student thought Mr. Ratburn.
Once Arthur entered the office, he saw both of his parents sitting on the chairs looking at him.
"I'm ready," said Arthur. "Let's get this over with."
Arthur's Mom stood up, and looked at Arthur.
"We're not breaking up anymore Arthur. After a lot of talking we decided that it's too much trouble for us to move and get separated. All we need to do is work out our problems, and we'll be a better family agai-"
Arthur's Mom was interrupted by Arthur jumping and screaming his heart out. His parents and the principal tried to calm him down. Arthur was so happy that he couldn't just calm down. He started to hug both of his parents very hard.
"THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD!"
Arthur was so filled with joy, but he really needed to sit down. Then he noticed the letter that Sue Ellen gave him, and opened it. After reading the whole letter, Arthur started to walk out of the office.
"Hey, where are you going Arthur?" said Dad.
"I'm going to grab my bike!" Arthur responded.
Arthur's Dad didn't understand why he wanted his bike, so he decided to follow him. Mom watched as Arthur ran down the hallways of the school. She noticed the letter that he got was on the floor. She picked it up, and it said:
Dear Arthur,
I'll really miss you, and I'm not the only one who will. Just remember the good times and you'll be all right, but if somehow you manage to stay I need you to do me a favor. I need you to go outside, and ride your bike three times around the school. Also yell "I'M STAYING!" as loud as you can so we can tell that you're not leaving us. Hope everything turns out alright for you.
Sincerely, Sue Ellen