The world seems different. The boy looks at his math book, frustrated, and slams one crumpled paper after another into the wastebasket beside his desk. It never made any sense to him anyway. He didn't understand why he bothered with this type of trivial information when he could be enjoying this time at his leisure.
He had complained to Hobbes countless times before, but it was always the same stories. The striped tiger was obligated to listen, but that certainly didn't mean he would be inclined to do so. No, Hobbes' gaze merely hardened at the maroon-colored drapes perched on top of the window, his mouth never moving, his eyes never twiching. His expression completely blank, he wondered when was the last time he dreamed of summer. Dreaming, what it came down to, was never enough. Like vegetables and bread, it never satisfied his constant hunger for more. This couldn't be the life he had imagined for himself.
But surely, there could never exist something more than this. At the very least, the boy still acknowledged his presence. "What on earth is a fraction? Miss Wormwood never prepared me for this!" Hobbes stole furtive glances out the window. An endless blue sky that provided no comfort, no consolation to alleviate him of this sorrow. He should've known what was coming, should've at least suspected that it could never last forever.
It started off with a few phone calls. Afternoon sports. A multitude of friends. School, of all things. To think! Life. Hobbes could never compete with these types of day-by-day demands. He had nothing to offer that could ever be equal in value.
Not even love.
Though change was approaching far from the horizon, horrified, Hobbes realized the world wasn't any different. Not for the boy. It was exactly what it ought be. Simply, it was just time to go.
He couldn't stay. Admidst the extracurricular activities, grades, and dates, the boy would forget him. And Hobbes yearned for summer, the golden eternal promise of forever he had learned to live without. It beckoned him, called out for him in the faraway corners tucked away in his dreams.
No, he couldn't stay.