Arthur and the not so Perfect Vacation
"ARTHUR, WAKE UP! ARTHUR! ARTHUR! GUESS WHAT?!?!" shouted D.W. Arthur abruptly awoke to D.W's ecstatic smile less than one inch away from his face. Extremely annoyed, Arthur pushed D.W away.
Thud. She fell to the floor. Slowly her smile turned into a frown, her ears turned red, her nose scrunched up, and, here we go again. She was sitting on the floor of Arthur's bedroom bawling her eyes out.
Arthur rubbed his eyes, yawned, and slowly removed the blanket off of his body. He sat up on his bed, angered, and put on his slippers. On his way going down the stairs he could hear the whining of D.W.
"Mommy, I was just trying to tell Arthur about it, and he just pushed me away, it's not my fault mommy! He should be punished"
Arthur took a deep breath, and waited for it…
"Arthur Read, come down this instance!" his mother shouted. "Here we go again," Arthur said inside his mind.
"Mom, I was sleeping, I hate it when she comes and wakes me up when I'm sleeping, no one likes it, mom I cant be punished, its her fault, she should just leave me alone!" argued Arthur.
"Arthur, don't blame your sister, it's really no body's fault. D.W you should have waited for Arthur to wake up before giving him the news, and Arthur, D.W. was just trying to tell you" –
"WAIT, mom, let me tell him" she smiled and walked over to Arthur. "Arthur I'm sorry, I jus wanted to tell you that Mom and Dad have decided that since March Break is coming up, we want to go to Toronto for vacation"
"TORONTO, are you serious? Oh my gosh, this is amazing, I cant wait to tell my friends. Hey mom, can I bring Buster, please, please?" pleaded Arthur with his puppy dogface.
"Yes you may bring Buster, and D.W. you can bring a friend too if you want"
"CAN I BRING THE TIBBLES? I've really grown to appreciate their comedy now, I think they're going to be a lot of fun!" asked D.W
"Umm, D.W are you sure, because the Tibbles CAN be quite a handful, I guess I will just call their grandmother and talk to her, and Arthur, I will call Buster's mom for you"
Arthur quickly ate breakfast, and ran to his room. He came downstairs, fully dressed, and ran out the door and into the garage. He put his helmet on, and he was off on his bike.
"ARTHUR! Your lunch!" Yelled Mr. Read, but Arthur was far too ahead to hear him.
Arthur locked his bike to the stand, and threw his hands in the air waving at buster. "BUSTER, BUSTER!" he shouted. He slowed down as he approached buster, put his hands on his knees and attempted to catch his breath. "Guess what Buster, me and my family are going to Toronto next week for March break, and the best part is, you can come!" Arthur was smiling so big you could see all of his front teeth. "Wow, that is amazing-" "And don't worry, my mom already told me that she will call your mom to ask her" said Arthur.
Before they knew it, school was out. Everyone was ready for vacation. The Read's, buster, and the Tibbles all packed their bags, loaded them into the cars (Because one car wasn't enough, Grandpa Dave lent them his truck for the week) and they were off.
"Are we there yet?" asked D.W. rubbing her eyes. "Yup, we got here just a few minutes ago," said Mr. Read. "Where are we?" Said the Tibbles together. "We're at the Hotel, Come on everybody get your own bags and wait for us in the lobby" Replied Mr. Read.
"Hey Mom, how did we get here so fast?" asked Arthur. "Well by the time we left Elwood city all of you were sleeping, I guess you didn't sleep last night because you were so excited, and so the time went by fast, and here we are."
It was about 10 pm by the time everyone unpacked and was sitting in the hotel room. Because no one was tired they stayed up until about 4 am discussing their lists of the places they wanted to visit. For example, Buster wanted to eat at Frankie Tomatoes, Swiss Chalet, Kelsey's, and a bunch of other restaurants no one had ever heard of. Arthur wanted to go to the CN Tower, Ontario Place, and Niagara Falls. D.W and the Tibbles wanted to go to watch the Dora the Explorer plays, and go to the Eaton's Center, and Center Island. Mr. and Mrs. Read wanted to go to the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Toronto Science Center. So it was decided that their first visit would be to the science center, because they wanted to save the best for last, but Mr. Read promised they would have a lot of fun there.
The next morning, everyone ate breakfast, and they were off to the science center. When they got there, they could smell popcorn, hear children and machines, and see so many people having a good time. While Mr. and Mrs. Read bought tickets all the children waited impatiently behind them. The Tibbles were having a staring contest, Buster was looking at all the vending machines, and Arthur and D.W were thinking at what a boring place this would be.
"Okay guys, this is how we are going to do it. Arthur and Buster, you may go on your own, but don't split up. And D.W and Tibbles, you will stay with us." Said Mr. Read. And so they were off, not knowing what the day held for them.
"Alright, lets go Arthur!" said Buster. Arthur and buster walked around the exhibits, but they didn't really find anything they liked. Until they reached the sports exhibit. They had contests at who could throw the baseball faster, who could ride the bike longest, and just like that, two hours had past.
"Hey Buster, don't tell anyone but, I kind of snuck Pal into my backpack. I know there aren't any pets allowed, but I couldn't just leave him. So please don't tell my parents" said Arthur. "Of course, what are friends for Arthur?" replied Buster.
They proceeded into the wildlife exhibit. They approached a door, and behind it was a rainforest. "Oh wicked, Arthur lets check it out," said buster. The two boys went inside and walked around, looking and the plants, and trees. After about 10 minutes they both realized it was time to meet Arthur's parents for lunch, and so they left to go to the cafeteria.
When Arthur was in line at Pizza Pizza he felt a little funny. "Hey buster, why does my bag feel so light?" he asked. "I don't know, let me check," said Buster. And it was at this point that they made a horrific discovery. Pal, Arthur's beloved puppy, was, missing. Of course Arthur couldn't tell his parents, because they didn't know he even brought pal. They ate quickly and were off on their mission to find Pal.
After lunch, Mr. and Mrs. Read were looking at the rocks, while the kids were playing around. The Tibbles and D.W. were having a great time. They were having races, contests, and running up and down the escalators in opposite directions.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Buster were worried sick. Arthur looked as if he was about to cry. His eyes were red, his face looked sad, his ears slumped, and he just hated the feeling of losing his best friend. They ran around frantically looking for pal. "What if the security found pal, they would lock him up, what if they torture him," said Arthur. "Come on Arthur, they wouldn't hurt him, if they caught him they would probably just make a announcement, and you would be in big trouble" said Buster.
The Tibbles and D.W were still enjoying themselves. They went into a booth, and posed, and when the lights flashed, their shadow was left on the wall. And then they were playing on the racecar machines, taking turns, and seeing who could win. Mr. and Mrs. Read were glad that the kids were enjoying themselves.
"Its hopeless" said Arthur. "We've looked everywhere". "I know, maybe we should just tell your parents, they might help us. I know we will be in trouble, but at least pal will be back," said Buster. And so they decided to go and tell their parents. They knew the consequences, but Arthur knew nothing could be worse than losing pal all together.
The Tibbles were inside the bat cave, hiding under a rock getting ready to scare D.W as she walked in, when suddenly something began to lick Tommy's foot. "Timmy, quit licking me," said Tommy. "Why would I lick you, I bet you don't even taste good" said Timmy. "Well then what is – AHHHHHH? RUN, RUN, RUN!" yelled Tommy.
Timmy came out of the cave shortly after carrying pal. "Relax, its just Arthur's dog. Haha, you should have seen your face! (Timmy made an imitation of Tommy's scared face). I wonder what he's doing here. Lets give him to Mrs. Read"
At the same time, Arthur and buster were finding their way back to the rest of the family. They were arguing about who was going to tell Mr. and Mrs. Read about pal. It was decided that they would explain all together. And this is how it went.
"Mom, I have something to tell you," said Arthur quietly, he was fidgeting with his toes and looking at the ground. "No need Arthur. Young man you are in so much trouble, I can't even begin to explain to you. How dare you bring pal without our permission. You know that they're aren't any pets allowed. What if something had happened to him, I know you would never want to harm pal." Explained Mrs. Read in a strict tone.
"I know mom, I'm really sorry," said Arthur. "Im afraid sorry wont cut it this time Arthur, we will discuss this when we are home" said Mr. Read
The next few days went by just as planned. They did all the things on their list, and before t hey knew it, it was time to go. Arthur was still upset, but he managed to stay happy and not ruin the trip for anyone. He knew what was coming, and he knew he deserved it. Over all, they did have a good time, they got whatever they wanted, and it was a trip that would be remembered forever. When they returned to Elwood City, Arthur was immediately grounded for a month, he had to do double the chores, and we know for sure, he learnt his lesson, that was the last time he did something without his parent's permission.