The raggedy teddy bear that the two-year-old boy had been slobbering on suddenly became very uninteresting and dull, through no fault of the stuffed animal. After all, how was a worn-out bear like him supposed to compete with the shiny, black metallic thing perched precariously on the edge of a nearby table?
With a squeal that rivaled the pitch of a soprano singer, the now-forgotten bear landed with a thud against the couch, its stuffing spilling out of its stomach like blood leaking from a fatal wound to the gut.
The blond boy bobbed over to the table and, after a notable struggle, managed to send the stapler clattering to the ground. He sat down with the new toy and turned it over in his hands greedily, admiring the way the light gleamed on the slick metal edge. It certainly looked appealing... Maybe if he could just test it to see if it tasted as good as it looked...
His sister Thalia rushed in moments later at the sound of her brother's wailing, and when she took in the scene before her - the bloody lip, the staple, the tears - she cried, "Jason Grace! What have you done?!"