Chapter 25: A Talk With Slappy
Stine
"Alright class, you did a great job on your three paged stories from the other day," I praised, handing them back their homework. "You're writing skills are great," I continued my praise, stopping at one of the desks that is being occupied by a boy that is next Zach. "Well, almost all of you." I handed his homework back to him. "You used the wrong 'there' multiple times, Adam," I told him. A few of my students snickered. "With people it's t-h-e-i-r, and one that is 'they're' short for 'they are.' Look it up in the dictionary," I advised him.
"Yes, sir," the kid answered, his face turning red, looking very shamed and, at the same time, embarrassed. "They just sound the same... Like the word 'one'."
"You're lucky that you got a B," I replied to his accuse. Normally I don't like accuses, but the kid's right. The word 'there' sound the same when either using 'their' or 'they're', along with other words that would sound the same but spelled differently, like the word 'one.' Sometimes it has to be 'won', which is the past tense of winning. "Here you go, Zach." I gave him his homework back. "You did a wonderful job," I said. "I was expecting that you'll lack off of your English homework since you're dating my daughter..." I saw his pink circles form on his cheeks, knowing who I'm talking about. "Turns out I was wrong," I smiled.
After I finished handing everybody's homework, I went back to the front of the room. "Okay, class," I began. "Let's talk about the homework you did last night of The Hobbit that you had to read from chapters one through ten. For those who didn't get up to chapter ten, you'll have to keep reading that chapter." Several of my students sighed with relief; two girls at the right side of the classroom, the other a boy that is in the second row to the left. "We'll be learning about The Hobbit all week, then we'll move on to the next book." I clapped my hands together. "Now who would like to talk about the first chapter?" I asked.
One of my students raised her hand and I let her speak. "You have a daughter?" she said.
"Yes, I have a daughter, Sophie," I expererated, not the words I was looking for. "But we're talking about The Hobbit. Not about Hannah. I'm pretty sure you seen her walking down the hallways. Now let's get back to The Hobbit before our minds swim away from it."
"Can you tell us about your daughter?" a boy in the last row responded. "Does she have a mom?" he asked.
I sighed. "No, she does not have a mom...nor a dad..." Confused faces filled the room except from Zach and Champ since they know she really is. "She was at a foster care for a while so I...adopted her." No way was I was to tell the class that she was a ghost at the very beginning. I know that they know about my Goosebumps monsters, but I don't want anybody else to walk up to her, asking if she's still a ghost since I had to write her back to where she's not a ghost anymore. Good thing that Zach picked up what I was saying. "Alright, enough with my daughter," I broke the silence. "Who would like to talk about the first chapter?"
"I will!" a red-haired girl volunteered, raising her hand.
"Good, now we're getting back on track," I smiled. "Go ahead, Maygen."
She began talking about the first chapter of the book. I was proud that she remembered every detail of the book, even when she took notes, which I didn't tell them to do when they had to do their homework last night. But I didn't mind. Not one bit of it.
Once she finished telling us about the first chapter, I told her to pick another student to talk about the next chapter.
"Jake," she chose. Jake dropped his pencil that was in his hand, the other covering up a small piece of paper.
Jake was about to tell us about the second chapter when I interrupted.
"Jake, what do you have there on your desk?"
"Nothing!" he quickly answered. "I have nothing, Mr. Stine." I gave him a suspicious look, walking over to him. "Uh, you don't need to see what I have, sir. I'll throw it away in the-" Right before he can get the last words out, I snatched the paper out from underneath his hand. "-trash can," he manage to let out with defeat.
The piece of paper was folded in half. Unfolding it, I saw that there is some writing on it. "Maygen, how did you get your hair to smell so nice?" I read out loud. Bursts of laughter filled the room, having Jake's face being filled up with red. "Are you passing notes, young man?" I questioned by the time the laughter died down.
"No!" he proclaimed, his face still on that red color, refusing to go away. "I was going to give it to her after class," he swore.
"That's still passing notes," I replied, crumbling up the piece of paper in my right hand. "The next time I see something like that, you'll get a week of detention," I warned. "Is that clear?"
Jake lowered his head. "...Yes, sir."
"Now, tell us about chapter two," I said. I then saw a guilty look on his face. "Jake... did you do your homework last night?"
"Well, I-I did but..." A sigh escaped from his lips. "No," he confessed to me. "I was...busy doing stuff..." he mumbled with me barely able to hear him.
"You were busy?" He nodded after I repeated his words. "What were you busy with?" I asked, crossing my arms in disbelief.
"Stuff," he repeated.
"What stuff?" I asked further. Don't give me a lame accuse, kid, I thought, wishing for it not happen.
"...YouTube..." He hung his head with shame. "You see, I have this channel and it's really popular. My followers asks me for more videos and I do them..."
"YouTube?" I let out a heavy sigh. "Kid, YouTube is nothing," I explained, rubbing my temples.
"It's not nothing!" Uh oh. He's picking up an argument with me. This happened before when I gave out my class their first homework assignment on my second day of teaching English at this school. "Go to my channel and check it out!" he simply demanded.
"Jake, I don't want to argue with you..."
But he wouldn't listen. "Go to my channel!" he yelled, getting more demanding. "Just go and- Hey!" I grabbed him by the shirt as he let out a cry of alarm. I hauled him over to the door, swinging it open. Then I shoved him out of the classroom.
"I'll let Principal Harrison know that you'll be there," I spoke in a harsh tone. He opened his mouth to protest, except I stopped his before he can. "Go to the office!" I ordered strictly.
"Fine," he gave up. "I'll go." Grumbling him to himself, he made his way down to the principal's office. It wasn't the first time he was down there, too. He's been seeing my boss three or four times every week for not doing his homework and trying to pick up fights with. But I wasn't going to have it.
I went back up to the front of the classroom. "Zach, can you please tell us about chapter two?" I requested.
"Yes, sir," he grinned. He talked about the second chapter. Once he finished, he picked one of his classmates, and one by one, they talked about the chapters, except the ones who didn't get to chapter ten.
By the time we're finished with that, I began teaching them about semicolons. I barely use semicolons. Actually, I never used semicolons, but I know where to put them. I picked up a marker, writing an example on the white board. The marker squealed, getting on my nerves a little.
I wish we had a smart board. Setting the marker down, I turned back to my class. "Here's an example for semicolons," I continued to teach, directing to the sentence. "They're a little difficult to where to put them in sentences. A semicolon is a punctuation mark indicating a pause, typically between two main clauses, that is more pronounced than that indicated comma. I know, I know, it can be confusing and hard at first; you'll get the hang of it." My eyes surveyed the room. "Sophie, would like to read the sentence that I put on here?" I pointed to her and directly at the white board.
"Sure." Clearing her throat, she read the sentence. "I went to the basketball court; I was told it was closed for cleaning."
"Nice," I gave out a praised smile. I then wrote another sentence, only this time, I didn't put down a semicolon. "Would any of you like to put down the semicolon?" I asked.
"How about me?" a blonde-haired boy answered. "I've been practicing my grammar and spelling back when I was in grade one," he told me.
"Really?" I was impressed. "Why don't you come and show us?" I presented the sentence to him.
He didn't hesitated as he walked up the front of the classroom, grabbing a different colored marker, a green one, unlike me who used a blue maker. He took the cap off, the sound making a very satisfying pop sound. He placed the tip on the board where the semicolon should be, doing just that.
He turned to me with a brilliant smile. "Well?" he said. "Did I get it right or what?" The proud smile of his didn't wash away from his face.
I checked it. "You got it right," I smiled back. "Go sit down now, please," I ordered him politely.
He walked back to his desk and sat down, leaning against his chair, like he was trying to be cool or something. However, I'm not going to let that bother me.
The one thing that's bothering me is Slappy, wondering why he released the monsters months ago, along with doing that five years ago back in two thousand and ten. I wanted to know, to ask him, if he was doing that to get my attention, like a small child would do. He may not be a child, but I do see him as my son.
During those years and those last several months, I felt really, really guilty for what I did to him. Lock him in a book, turning my back to him. He was right about blaming me for everything; for trapping him inside leather and paper.
When me and my daughter moved from Columbus, Ohio to Chicago a few days ago, I was unpacking my books, when I dropped one by mistake. Do you know which one that is? That's right. Night Of The Living Dummy. I hadn't realized that the lock broke at that time of day until I found out after a few years later that we needed to move again to keep our secret before other people found out about us. Especially me.
That was the day when I discovered something. While we were moving the night before, I saw the wrecked moving truck on one of the streets. The one that the men used that I hired to help me move out of my house. I was actually wondering where my stuff was at. The thing that I discovered is that one of my boxes was empty. The one that held all of my manuscripts.
Come to think of it, I was wondering if Slappy drove the moving truck. I bet those guys would never crash into anything.
Throughout that day, all afternoon until evening, me and Hannah had to find all the books, finding them in the woods, putting them in the car, and one by one, we had to capture each monster that belonged in that book. It took up most of the evening, but once I trapped the final ghoul; Slappy, with the help of some young girl at the Grand Centra Galleria in the library, it was time for me and my daughter to get to Madison by Friday. It actually took a whole week to get to our new home.
By the time we arrived to our new house, I had to wake Hannah up because I didn't want her to help me trap the monsters of how overprotective I was with her. So whenever I see a monster, I'll tell her what book I need, and she'll hand one over to me.
After I trapped Slappy back in his book and since the lock was broken, I had no choice but to place the book between my seat of the car and consol. And when I unpacked my manuscripts, I made sure that his book was tucked tightly with the other books so it wouldn't open.
At that year, the year that me and my daughter moved into our new house, I couldn't help but to glance at all of my books that are on the shelves that had been in my study room, wondering what he was thinking about.
Revenge.
That's what he wanted. Revenge.
To be honest, he was my best friend ever since I created him. After I found out that my wife, way before I met Lorraine, cheated on me back in Ohio, I was so angry, so upset, so...disgusted at what I had witnessed. Especially when she confessed to me through tearful glare in her eyes, saying that she only pretended to like me.
At that point, I had to kick her out of my house, demanding her to leave to her live with her new boyfriend, getting into a quick divorce.
That's the time where I started writing my Goosebumps series to all the people who made fun of me, selling them to my bullies. At first they scoffed at my books, thinking that they couldn't be that scary.
Well, they were wrong. Ever since I sold my books; four hundred million copies worldwide, they never made fun of me ever again. But those books didn't have the monsters pop out of them, unlike my special manuscripts that were written on my special Smiths Corona.
However, my bullies still try to make fun of me. So I had the courage to release my monsters.
Big mistake. Right after I did that, they would scare away my bullies at first, but then they'll go out and hurt them. Even the children! I had no choice but to trap the monsters back into their manuscripts that they belong in.
Through those times, I wrote Slappy into the world, had him out of his book for a long time from my early adulthood until the year where I had to trap him back in his book for what he had done to my bullies; his scares getting way to far...his pranks not funny anymore...and... getting out of control...
I shook my head, forcing that memory out of my head. He's released again from you, Stine. He's weak right now. Go back to teaching. You can ask him why he released the monsters after work.
So that's what I did, and I have to say, teaching does help keep my mind off of Slappy. Except when me and Hannah had to go home. I don't want Hannah to deal with Slappy since she doesn't trust him nor her friends and boyfriend.
But what about Hazel? How would she react when I tell her the news?
I can't forget about Lorriane, either. She doesn't know that I let Slappy out, too.
I'll tell Lorraine first whenever she comes over for a visit, I noted to myself.
When the bell rang, everybody got up from their desks, walked out the door, heading to their buses or cars, right after I told them to read chapters ten through twenty for homework when they get home. They don't have study hall today because we have a teachers' meeting. I told Hannah to wait for me at the library when the meeting is over ahead of time since I got the call from Ms. Cooper, wanting to talk about how we can set up for The Spring Dance.
I can't believe my daughter asked me if Zach could be her date. I mean, they are boyfriend and girlfriend, so why would I say no? I told them to be on their best behavior though for that dance that's coming up in three months. May to be exact.
Since Ms. Cooper is in charge of the meeting, Zach also has to go to the library to stay with my daughter.
Let's hope I don't catch them doing PDA. Schools; high schools, have a strict rule when it comes to that sort of term. Students know that they can't do that kind of thing in school. But for Hannah and Zach, I know they wouldn't do that. They're good kids. Except when Zach unlocked one of my books before Slappy burned it, like he did with my other books.
Grabbing my briefcase, I headed out the door, making my way to the teachers' meeting that is taking place in the teachers' lounge.
Hannah
Since I have never been to a real school for a few years of dad homeschooling me, teaching me about his monsters that he created before me created me, I wasn't completely used to having homework.
When I first started school the day after my dad brought me back to existence to where I wouldn't be a ghost anymore, my dad decided that since he's the new English teacher after the school was fixed from the monster invasion, he believed it was a good idea for me to start real school.
I was happy to hear those words from him. I always wanted to go to a real school, make friends, and be a normal person this time, including my dad. Ever since we kept moving from one town to another, he never gave me freedom, never let me have any friends, always keeping me in the house, being overprotective, which I hated.
Back in Chicago, a few weeks after we moved into our new house, I remember the day when I heard a knock on the door. Right before dad had a chance to answer it, I did it first.
The person was a male about my age, telling me that he saw me and my dad moved in that house that is two houses down from his own home.
The boy was pretty nice, and I thought I made a new friend from the nice conservation to the point where I was about to step out of my house.
At that point, dad had came over, grabbing me by the shoulders, pulling me behind him. I was a little startled to be honest. I mean, I was just going to step out of the house and that's all.
Only dad wasn't too friendly to this new person I met, saying that he should leave.
The kid asked him if it's alright for me to hang out with him. I was hoping dad would say yes, but my hopes fell away when he said that one word.
No. He said no to this resident, telling him to scram. Or in other words, to get lost. He also threatened that he'll call the cops on this young lad.
The person who was going to be my friend told dad that he only lived two houses down from ours.
However, dad didn't budge, doing something to make the person leave our yard. I didn't know what he did, but it sure made that kid be afraid of him.
You know how I felt after whatever my dad did to make that kid leave our yard? If your answer is mad, you are correct. I wasn't happy. Wasn't happy at all. I asked him why I couldn't make friends every time we moved into a new home into a new state.
"I don't want you to make friends because then people would find out my secret," is all dad would answer with.
It did not make me feel any better. In fact, it made it worse. There are times when dad would go out to do errands, I would ask if I can tag along with him.
Of course his answer was this: "You may not come with me, Hannah." After he'll say that, he'll leave the house, closing the door, locking it in the process so I wouldn't go outside. He did the same thing to our back door, too.
It may sound like child abuse, but it wasn't. He was just overprotective. I mean, I love my dad, but I don't love it when he's overprotective of me.
There are times when there'll be a knock on our door, dad would make me go upstairs to my room.
I didn't like that. Not one bit. But I had to, doing it anyway to avoid us having arguments.
Years went on, with us moving from one town to the next. I understand why dad would want us to do that. To keep his secret safe, including me because that was the time where I wasn't...real. I guess he didn't want any strangers to know that I was a ghost before I was actually real when dad wrote me back so me and Zach can be reunited.
I was also happy when dad burned my new book, throwing it in the medal garbage can.
When Hazel saw me walk out of the door with Zach, she had this confused look on her face. I would be confused if I were in her shoes.
But when she started leaving, I asked her if she was glad to see me again, thinking that she wasn't.
Turns out I was wrong. She said that it's not from me. And even though she never mentioned Zach, it's not from him, either.
I was going to say something else, except I can only bring out one word before she walked away from us, leaving us behind with confusion in our eyes.
Now thinking about it, it's all that damn dummy's fault for telling her such lies. Including the Invisible Boy.
I wish dad hadn't released that dumb dummy before I never even knew. And what's worse, Hazel is terrified of Slappy. I bet she's gonna scream bloody hell when she sees him whenever she can return home to us.
Dad kept telling me he would deal with him, making sure he'll apologies to her, which isn't going to be easy since he's an evil doll.
Evil things never change... They never change. When dad first wrote me, I was not like the other monsters. I wasn't evil nor cruel to the world. I was written to be sweet and nice spirit, unlike those Sadler spirits that I accidentally released from their Ghost Beach manuscript just after my dad created me, curious as to why the manuscripts are locked.
When I unlocked the book, it flew out of my hands, and I let out that scream of terror when the wind knocked me to the lamp, having it fall on the floor, breaking it.
I was glad that dad sucked them back into their book. He was disappointed in me for awhile, but I learned my lesson to never do that ever again.
Sitting down at the library table, I closed up my math book, pushing it to the side, setting my pencil and homework on top of it. Then I crossed my arms onto the tabletop, placing my forehead on top of them, closing my eyes. I needed to clear my mind.
"You okay?" I let out a startled cry, jerking my head up, my hair getting in my face. "You okay?" When I pushed the hair out of my vision, I saw my boyfriend looking down at me, the one strap of his backpack hanging at his right shoulder.
I smiled. "Yeah... I'm fine, Zach," I answered. Whenever I looked at him, I couldn't take my eyes off of him of how handsome and cute he is. Even when we both saw each other for the first time, we knew that we had a connection before we became official. "Sit down," I invited, patting my hand on the chair that is next to me. "Dad's at a teachers' meeting and Ms. Cooper is in charge of it."
"I know," Zach replied, pulling the chair. He set his backpack, unzipping, pulling out The Hobbit book. "Stine says we're going to be talking about this book all week," he told me, flipping the book to chapter ten. "It's a very boring book," he admitted. He chuckled. "But I have to read it or else I'm gonna flunk."
"You want me to sit somewhere else?" I asked. I didn't want him to lose his concentration on his homework.
"No, you're fine," he said. "You better do your homework, too," he grinned.
"Alright, scaredy-cat," I smirked jokingly.
"I'm not a scaredy-cat," he playfully complained. "Why do you keep calling me that anyway?"
I shrugged. "It's because you jumped ten feet high when I startled you. Why else would I call a scaredy-cat? Hm?"
He chuckled again. "I don't know. Guess I wanted to be called something else."
"Hmm..." I thought, tilting to the side. "How about... chicken?" I suggested.
"Shut up!" he exclaimed.
"Shh!" the librarian hissed, bringing our attention towards her. "Keep your voice down," she scolded, her eyes off her desktop computer, the screen glowing.
"Sorry," Zach apologized in a softer voice. He turned to me. "Shut up," he repeated in a playful manner. "I am not a chicken."
"I guess now I'm gonna keep calling scaredy-cat Zach," I smiled.
"That doesn't make sense," he remarked.
The smile grew bigger on my face. "To me it does." I went to kiss him, only to stop myself. In school we can't do PDA. And for those who don't know what that term means, it means Public Displays of Affection.
I have to wait until we get home. "Did Champ leave?" I wondered, going over to a different topic.
"Yeah." Zach now has his eyes down at the book in front of him. "Taylor's mom is giving him a ride home. He told me he called his parents to pick him up, and they refused to."
"That's so mean!" I declared. I clapped my hand over my mouth, realizing I spoke to loud. I saw the librarian looking at us. "Sorry," I said. "That's so mean," I pointed out towards Zach. "What kind of parents refuse to pick up their own children?"
"Apparently they do," he sighed, flipping the page. "I asked him if he goes on a bus, and he said no because he's afraid of buses, like everything else in this world. He keeps telling me that he'll hear his parents; eavesdropping on them, recalling that they're still thinking about kicking him out."
"Why would his parents think that?" I questioned, keeping my voice at a low volume.
"From what Champ told me and Stine at Horrorland, they wanted to kick him out for being such a coward."
"What if he did get kicked out?"
Shrugging his shoulders. "...I don't know..." he responded. "I would like to help him. He's my best friend. But... I don't know how to help him in that kind of situation."
I nodded, agreeing with him. "Hazel has to start real school." I wasn't planning on saying it, but it just came out that way. Zach's attention was from the book towards me now, his brows knitting together. "Dad told me that he asked Principal Harrison if it's alright for her to do school online. Only the principal wanted her to start real school since she needs to...develop her social skills since she dropped out of school back in kindergarten," I explained. "The principal is getting school stuff for her and signing her up in classes, one of them being my dad's class, which would be her last classroom that you go to."
"Won't she get mad?" he said after hearing what I told him.
I clicked my tongue. "Probably. She does get angry quite easily." I opened up my math book again. "Just like my dad," I added, remembering our argument several months ago to the point where he lost control where he almost sucked me back into my manuscript.
I wonder if dad still has it... That, or that wooden demon burned it. Either way, I never wanted to see that book, my book, at all. I don't want to be in that book with the Shadow Figure, even though he wasn't mentioned a whole lot in the book.
I do miss Danny Anderson from time to time. He was a great friend, and only friend during that time. In the book, I'll see him hanging out with two spoiled boys. Alan Miller and Fred Drakes. They always get into trouble. It's not a good idea to hang out with trouble makers. Not at all.
In that book, I thought Danny was a ghost, but later on, I found out the truth. About me.
How did I know the truth? It turns out that I died in a fire from my backyard campfire that me and my younger brothers made.
Was I surprised when I found that I was the ghost? The Ghost Next Door? No, I wasn't.
When I was released from my manuscript, I didn't know that would happen. Ever. And when I saw my creator for the first time, I was...hesitant to go near him. Hell, when he was talking to me in that gentle manner, walking towards me, and I took a step away from him, I didn't answer right away until I did, saying the word 'dad'. I don't know why I did it, but I did.
I even remember when dad was going to grab my book, only for me to grab it first. I didn't want to be in that book because of that evil Shadow Figure.
Good thing that my dad never did that, even adopting me.
Now since I'm not a ghost anymore, I won't have so many sweet sixteen birthdays like I had before. I can age now with my friends.
Even though homework is tough, I'm happy that I can go to actual school. And when The Spring Dance arrives, it'll be my first one considering that when I saw the dance during that one fall season to warn everyone about the monsters, I was...thrilled. Really thrilled!
"What are you going to wear for The Spring Dance?" I asked Zach.
"Hm?" he responded, cutting his eyes away from the book. "Oh. I'll just wear a simple tux," he answered with a crooked smile. "What about you?"
I breathed out of my mouth. "Well… since I have never been to a school dance in my entire life, I'll just wear a simple dress; nothing frilly or frou-frou-y."
"What about Hazel since she's going to start school here?" he replied.
I shrugged. "She can pick any dress she wants. I'm not going to choose for her. Besides, when May gets here, it'll be her first dance."
He nodded. "You think she'll be okay for going to an actual school?"
I tapped my pencil tip on the tabletop. "...I hope so. Besides, she'll have classes with us, that way she won't have to worry about anybody else. My dad said that she needs to work up on her social skills, considering that she doesn't talk to anyone else but us. However, we can't force her to talk to a person that she doesn't know."
"Yeah," he agreed. "Some people will make shy people talk to someone that they don't know."
"Everybody has their own personal space..." I sighed, scribbling on my math homework, getting the answers down on paper, finally. My mind is still on that devil doll, but at least I can finally concentrate, even though me and Zach are chatting softly together to avoid anymore 'shh' from the librarian.
"What was the first place you lived?" I spoke.
"Um..." I turned my head away from my homework to see him in thought. "Me and my mom used to live in New York," he told me.
"From all the noise?" I said.
"And to move because of my dad's death," he added. He closed his book. "I'll get do chapter twenty on this boring book once we get home," he decided, shoving it in his backpack, zipping it shut afterwards, taking out his cell phone.
"Put your phone away!" a harsh whisper spoke, coming from the librarian.
Zach, not wanting to get in trouble, put his cell phone back in his pocket. "Sheesh, she's strict," he commented, his voice low. "I just want to go onto my Facebook page..."
"Facebook?" I gave him questioning eyes. "What's 'Facebook'?"
"You never heard of it?" he returned, his face half filled with shock.
"Zach, since my last cell phone broke and that dad got me a new one, I'm not used to having technology," I answered. "So far, all I know is how to text and call. I never used any other...thing on those devices."
"I can show you after school," he offered.
I did a small smile. "Thanks," I appreciated. "You know, I'm gonna ask dad to see if he can get a cell phone for Hazel," I thought out loud, like my boyfriend wouldn't care anyway. "I have never seen her having a phone," I recalled. "Did you?"
"Not that I can remember…" he recalled as well. "She did try getting my wifi connection since my cell phone wouldn't work during that monster invasion all thanks to that wooden dummy with data, and I have no idea how she knew about that. She tried, but my cell phone wouldn't work anyway. When we stopped the monsters, it started working again because the people who work on the cell tower got it replaced and fixed within a few days later, and that's when you were still in that book that I had to finish."
"Yep." I closed up my math book, putting my homework between the pages of it, that way I won't lose it. I picked up my backpack, placing my math book inside it, then zipped it shut. "You want a ride home?" I asked.
"Nah. My mom is going to drive me home like she always does," he said. "Thanks for the offer, though," he added.
"Does she do that door locking thing on you?"
He chuckled. "Sometimes." He then frowned. "Stine should put Slappy back in the book," he stated seriously. "He's even more creepy with those marks on him."
"His monster friends attacked him," I explained. "They think it's his fault for not killing my dad, and not getting rid of me when I was trapped in the new manuscript."
"He's still a creep," Zach muttered under his breath. "I swear if that doll gets his hands on you, I'm gonna turn him into firewood."
"Don't worry. Dad would keep an eye on him," I assured him, secretly wrapping my fingers around his hand under the table. His face bloomed, giving out a warm smile, with me returning the same manner.
We sat there, waiting for my dad and Ms. Cooper to come get us.
It took dad and Ms. Cooper longer than expected. When I checked my phone when they got us, it was six o'clock and since it's March and since that's a winter month, it gets dark at that hour.
I gave Zach a kiss with him returning it to me, along with a goodbye hug. "I'll see you tomorrow," I spoke to him.
"Same goes for you," he said. We pulled away, heading in different directions, me going over to my dad's car who is waiting for me, and Zach going over to Ms. Cooper's car.
When I reached my dad's car, he was smirking at me. "What?" I asked confused. The only answer I got was a chuckle. "Thanks," I responded after he finished, saying it a bit sarcastically. I went over to the passenger seat, opening the door, and got in the car, placing my backpack on the floor in front of me before I buckled myself in.
Dad got in the car after I did. He bucked up, then put one of the keys, which is the key to his car, and started it up.
Once the car started up, we got off the parking lot, heading to our house.
"I need to finish my homework when we get home," I told him. "It's math, and I'm guessing math isn't my thing," I believed, brushing my hair behind my ears. I didn't put it up this morning, so I decided to let it loose for today.
"What type of math are you doing?" he responded, stopping at a red light.
I breathed out of my nose. "Fractions."
"Ah. Not easy, isn't it?" he responded again.
"Nope," I popped the word. "It also doesn't help because I keep thinking about that stupid dummy that you decided to let free from the new manuscript," I frowned.
"Hannah..." Dad sighed. "I just want to reform him."
"Reformed?" I scoffed in disbelief. "I don't buy it. Evil things never change. Besides, he will stab us in the back-"
"Hannah, I'm telling you; I can change his image," he insisted. "Don't keep saying that he won't."
"What if he doesn't change his image, dad? What will you do then?" I wondered.
Dad went into a deep thought, his brows knitting together as he made a turn on the road. "...I'm not sure," he whispered.
It was all he can give me. For now. I kept my eyes out the window, looking at the night sky, filled with little dots of stars, waiting to get to our house so I can finish my homework and to stay away from the evil dummy that's in our home.
Arriving at our house, we pulled up onto the driveway. Dad parked the car and got out as I did the same, grabbing my backpack in the process. I looked to see Ms. Cooper's car, indicating that they got home before we did. Unless they went on a different route then we did.
Shutting the car door, I followed dad towards our house. Dad grabbed the door, pushing it open. He walked in with me right behind him. He set his briefcase down after I shut the door and called out that devil doll. "Slappy, we're home," he hollered.
"I don't care!" came a rude shout from upstairs. I rolled my eyes after he said that. "Is your favorite with you?" he snarked, the rudeness not going away.
Better speak up before he starts getting more angry. "Yes," I answered for dad. "But you better not come into my room because I need to finish up my homework. I also don't want you to ever be in my sight," I warned. I felt dad place a hand on my shoulder, having me look at him. He gave me a stern look. "Okay, fine. But you better knock on my bedroom door," I yelled up the staircase.
"Whatever!" his voice cried back from one of the rooms, presumably the guest rooms. "Why would I want to go in a bedroom that has girly stuff in it?"
"My room is not-" I started to argue, but dad stopped me before I can finish my words.
"Do your homework and I'll deal with him." At first I gave him a disbelief like I did before. "I can deal with him," Dad repeated.
I can see that he didn't want to yell at me. With a sigh, I walked upstairs to my room, closing the door behind me. I went over to my desk, sitting down in the chair. I took out my math book, wanting to finish my math homework before tomorrow.
Let's make sure that I can get this done before that evil thing enters into my brain.
Grabbing one of the pencils from my pencil holder, I got started right away, glad to have quiet in order me to concentrate on my school work.
But I don't believe that evil can change. Evil things never change. At all.
Stine
Once Hannah is upstairs in her room doing her homework, I too, made my way up the steps, heading to one of the guestrooms that Slappy is in, wanting to talk to him, to ask him about why he released the monsters from their manuscripts, wanting to know if he did that to get my attention.
Reaching the room, I discovered that the door was closed. I grabbed the doorknob, turning it, and discovered something else.
I couldn't get the door opened. Slappy must've locked it after me and Hannah left, or he locked it the previous night without me knowing it.
Not wanting to be demanding, I released the knob, knocking on the door.
"What!?" Slappy growled from the otherside. "What do you want!?" He was clearly not in the mood for visitors.
"Slappy... Can I come in?" I waited for his answer.
"I don't know, can you?" I rolled my eyes when he let out sarcastic reply. "Yes," he finally allowed me, changing his tone, but kept his attitude from his voice the same.
"You need to unlock the door first," I told him. There was an annoyed groan. From the other side, I heard his formal shoes hit the floor, hearing him going up to the door. After a couple of jumps, he manage to unlock the door. I opened the door. "I should get you a stool," I chuckled heartily, wanting to lightin' things up before I gave him my series side. It didn't. "Well, uh, come sit with me so we can talk." I went in and sat down on the bed.
With a guttural groan, he walked over to me, having no choice but to do what he was told. I was about to help him when he smacked my hand. Hard.
"Don't help me..." he hissed like a snake would do. "I may be three feet tall, but I can get on this damn bed, Stine," he spoke with devilishion. He got a hold of the bed and, with a weak pull, he got onto the bed. "What do you want to talk about?" He didn't look at me when he questioned that.
"I wanted to-" I stopped for a short second. "You look better," I complimented. His scratches are still visible on his face, but he wasn't pal anymore like last night.
Slappy only rolled his eyes. "Thanks," he muttered, not helping him at all. "I thought you want to give me a serious talking," he said.
"I do," I returned. "I wanted to know about why you released the monsters from their books," I started, getting solemn right away. "Did you do that to get my attention?" I questioned him. Receiving no answer, I raised a brow. "Well?"
It took him about a minute or two for him to say anything. "...yes," he confessed. "I did that to get your attention," he admitted, crossing his arms over his wooden chest, his eyes staring at the floor, blinking every now and then. "It was the only way to get your attention." He then locked eyes with me, giving me an angry look. "But it didn't work!" he almost screamed out loud. "You just have to ignore your own son."
"Slappy..." I was shocked at what he had told me. "I didn't ignore you," I stated.
"Yes, you did!" he began to argue. "You did ignored me! You locked me up back in Columbus, Ohio from your first home, you locked me up again back in Chicago at the library of the Town Centre Galleria, and you crammed all of my monster 'friends' into one book!" he fumed. "You don't care about me at all! You hate me! You said I was your favorite and you lied to me! You lied and betrayed me, Four Eyes!" I opened my mouth to speak, only for him to continue. "Don't you dare say it!" he vented. "Don't you dare say it! I know you hated me ever since you created me and you still hate me to this day! You locked me up in my book twice, you replaced me, you thought it was a good idea to lock all of your monsters into one book that I have to get away from since they want a piece of crap from me, except that I failed, resulting these scars that I have now, and YOU DIDN'T EVEN CARE WHAT I WENT THROUGH!" He took a ragged breath in. A green tear emerge from his left eye, surprising me. "You think that just because what I did wrong, you have to give me that type of 'punishment'," he croaked, failing to control the green water works that are now rolling down his face. He lied down on the bed, his back to me, curling up into a ball. "I'm just a waste to you... a complete waste that you can just throw away in the trash, such as me, to never see again... That's what I am. I'm both a mistake and a waste..." He couldn't finish. The emotion was taking over him.
I just sat there on the bed, watching him cry. "Slappy." I finally was able to speak. "I didn't ignore you and I didn't lock you up in the book for punishment. I did that because you were out of control," I explained.
"Don't lie!" he infused. "Don't you dare lie to me, jackass!"
"I'm not lying," I protested. "And I didn't replace you, either. I just wanted to be human again."
"I don't care. I don't care, at all! It's your fault that this happened to me," he blamed. "Including Hannah," he added.
"Don't bring my daughter into this," I defended.
"You mean your favorite?" he snided.
"Slappy!" I warned. "That's enough! I'm trying to reform you!"
"Clearly it's not working, huh?" he conceded, turning his head to his back to give me sharp glare.
"It will work unless you believe what I did wasn't a lie." I was getting tired of this fighting. It reminds me of the days when he was released from his book...when he took his actions too far from beyond what he was supposed to do. "Slappy... I will never lie in my entire life. Ever. Plus what I did for you was right."
"What you did to me was wrong." Obsessively he wasn't listening to me. Being stubborn as he is. "If you did care for me, which you don't, you wouldn't let me rot in hell. You... You just abandoned me! Just like that!" His voice began to rise with anger, along with a mix of hiccuping sobs. "You- hic - had to do that to me. You could've told me what I did was - hic - wrong. Bu- hic- ut, you ju- hic- st had to lock me up in paper and leather… You - hic- don't care for me…" He turned his head away from me, not wanting me to see him cry like a child. "Also...seeing me like this...seeing me in an emotional mess...I bet you don't want to deal with a creation who cries," he spoke tearfully, making his words clear for me to hear them.
This broke me from what I heard this from him. He doesn't believe that I care for him. He thinks what I did was wrong, even though I told him what I did to him was right. What I did wasn't punishment. I did that because he was out of control.
I know it sounds wrong, but... I have to help him. I want our relationship to be fixed. I want it to be like the good days that we had before, back in Columbus, Ohio when I first created him. We always hang out together. We would always watch movies together. We would play board games together, such as Chess like I did with my other creations. I let him out of his book for a long time unlike the other monsters who took their job way too far. I thought he wouldn't do that. But when I saw the knife in his hand, covered in crimson, I was...sick to my stomach.
And when I yelled at him, I can clearly remember the look on his face. It was the first time I spoke to him like that. I remembered that I would be in my old study, crying, just crying, beyond horrified to the point where I just... Oh man... Slappy's right. I turned my back on him... I...turned my back on him... Abandoned him. Three times. In Columbus, Ohio... Chicago... and here, in Madison, Delaware...
I took my glasses off, setting them next to me on the bed, close to enough for me to reach them considering that my vision is a blur without them. However, water arose in my eyes, having my vision become worse.
Man... What have I done? It wasn't his fault, it was my fault. All those years of having someone by my side... someone to keep me safe from my bullies... doing a great job...
But when he took the scares and pranks too far from than he was supposed to do, it...it just...frightened me. I blame myself. For everything. It was my fault that I created these terrible monsters from my special typewriter. It was my fault that Slappy is like this now with all the scars on his face.
He was there for me and I...never returned the favor to him. It's like I didn't care for him like I have with Hannah ever since I created her. Not only that, Slappy thinks that I'd replaced him with my daughter.
I would never replace someone. Never. Except he won't believe me. It's just that...I wanted to be human, and not like a creepy guy that I was once like.
Not wanting my voice to break, I spoke. "Slappy... I'm sorry. I really am. It's okay that you don't trust me right away. It's okay for you not to believe me. I just wanted you to understand that I didn't betray you. It's my fault..."
"Oh, so now you admit it?" Slappy talked back with a croaking sob. "After all this time, you wouldn't admit it was your fault, blaming for things I did that I thought was right. Yeah, clearly you weren't smart enough to think that right away." He sniffled, his body doing a shudder. "I won't ever trust you for being such a liar to me. You had always been a damn liar. For being your favorite, which I'm not, you wouldn't put me through frickin' hell, but you did it anyway!" he railed on, forcing himself on his knees, turning around, but due to his weakened condition that he's in, he toppled onto his stomach, burying his face into the covers. "I know that what you're saying is a lie, just a lie. I wish you wouldn't do that to me. I wish you never created that stupid girl that you call your daughter..." My eyes narrowed, hearing him call my daughter stupid. "...who's a complete idiot," he continued to sob, making sure his voice is in control from it. "You shouldn't created something else. You should've just let me stay out of my book. It's all your fault!" he cried out loud, slamming his fists like a child would do. "However..." He sniffed, rolling on his side, facing me. "...since you think that I'm a mistake, then fine." He covered his eyes, not wanting to look at me anymore.
I didn't know what to say at this point. He didn't want to listen. To him, he's a mistake. He wasn't, however. Wasn't a mistake. But the more I'll tell him, the more he'll less believe me.
It's not easy trying to reform something that you created. Especially when they don't trust you right away. I want him to be happy...like how I want Hazel to be when her last treatment failed her.
That's leads me to another question. "Are you going to apologize to Hazel when she gets home?" I asked. I didn't say it in a hopeful tone in case he would say...
"...Sure."
Surprised, I gave wide eyes. "D-Did you just say...sure?" I stammered. I wasn't sure if I heard correctly.
"Yes." He uncovered his eyes. The tears remained, but they're under control for right now. "It won't be easy for me to do, but...I'll try as long as she doesn't...freak out over me." There was a hint of hopelessness in him when he said that. "I just hope she doesn't turn me into...chopped wood," he slightly punned. "Too bad that she's at that asylum."
I didn't want to correct him, that way he wouldn't get angry at me again. I picked up my glasses, placing them on my face, getting off the bed.
"It's a good thing you made that choice," I spoke. "It's a good thing that you decided to keep your promise-"
"I didn't say that it was a promise," he interrupted me, having me to shut up. "I don't like keeping promises. I'll not say sorry to her right away when she gets home. I'll do it when I want to."
"Okay, just make sure you don't forget." He only rolled his eyes, crawling his way to where the pillows are at. "I'll help you," I offered, reaching down to help him. "Ow!" I suddenly cried out, feeling his wooden hand slap my own hand.
"I don't need help," he declared. "And don't touch me, either," he put in. "I can do things myself, thank you very much." Finally reaching the pillows, he went underneath the covers, closing his eyes.
"It's still early..." I told him. "Do you want to watch a movie?"
It took him a moment to answer. "Why not? What movie are we going to watch?"
"How about you choose a movie?" I decided.
Thinking about it, Slappy tossed the blankets to the side of the bed, sitting up. Then, with a careful drop, he landed on the floor. He landed directly on the floor, but he since he's weak, he ended up falling on the floor back first, his head making a clunk sound.
"Slappy!" I gasped, quickly helping him up when he flinched and pulled away from me. "Are you alright?" I questioned with general concern.
"I'm fine," he grunted, shaking his head. I can tell that he didn't want to be shameful or, in fact, not wanting to be embarrassed of getting injured. He rubbed the back of his head, like he's getting rid of the pain. "Let's go and watch a movie that I want to watch." The way he said it didn't sound very thrilled at all. Probably because of how weak he is. He's used to be very happy before he was like...this.
I watched Slappy stumbling out of the room. I want to carry him into the living room, but I don't want him to snap at me. So I went with him, making sure he doesn't fall on the floor, like a parent, such as myself, stays with a small child who's learning how to roller skate for the first time.
He seemed to notice, quickly teleporting out of my sight, presumably the living room.
At least he's not too weak to do his powers...
Just as I past Hannah's room, her door opened when she stepped out. "Did he 'change'?" she asked me, making quotes with her fingers.
I ran my fingers across my chestnut hair. "He's the same as always. It's not like he's gonna reform right away. He's having trust issues ever since what happened to him. It's not his fault for the things he's done in the past, it's mine," I answered. "He did, however, say he's going to apologize to Hazel when she gets home. Only he didn't say that he promises to do so…and he's not going to do it right away, either."
"Figures," Hannah let out. "Evil things never make promises. I doubt he's gonna say sorry to Hazel for what he had done to her."
"Hannah..." I tried to explain, only for her to walk past me. I know she's upset with me for letting him out of the new book. She'll get used to him someday. Just not right away. I can't force her to get along with something, like Slappy, who tried to get rid of her in the last book she was in.
I shouldn't have put my daughter into that new manuscript. When I wrote her back to an existence where she'll be a real person instead of a ghost, I saw how a mess she looked. Her hair was terrible, she looked dirty, and she had a few cuts and bruises on her. There were even finger prints, basically from Dr. Maniac and Purple Rage, on her arms. I was ticked off when she told me it was from them before telling the boys about what happened to her, and at the same time, upset for her. Even though she had said this to me about this months ago - back in October. I was ticked off from what she went through. Not getting enough sleep, not being able to eat for weeks. I mean, when she came back, she ate everything from the fridge, including the snacks from the snack cabinets.
It's not my fault for what she's been through in that manuscript with all the other monsters; my enemies. But it's my fault for putting Slappy through much pain to the point where he won't trust me anymore. Trust takes a long time to fill into someone that has been betrayed or lied to.
Noticing moisture threatening to emerge from my left eye, I rubbed it away, making my to the living room.
"Stine says that I can choose a movie!" I heard an angry shout. I hurried down the steps, hurrying to the living room, wanting to know what's going on down there. When I arrive, I saw the two holding a DVD case that contained a movie disc inside it. I saw that Slappy was gripping it tightly, holding onto it as he dangled from the floor an inch or two. "Give it back, you rentless girl!" he commanded.
"Dad and I always watch horror movies together," Hannah returned unkindly. "Just me and him. Not a wooden block like you," she insulted. I can't believe what I was seeing. Hannah is never like this. "Let...go!" Grabbing the back of his collar of his tux, she forced him to let go of the object. I gasped when she threw him across the room like a rag doll, having him sail to the other side where the front door is at.
"Ow!" His head came smacking into the wall, letting out a painful yelp, falling to the floor in a sitting potion. "Ugh..." he groaned, rubbing his head for the second time that night. "Hey!" he yelled out. "That wasn't very nice, girl!" he declared with a sharp look.
"I have a name, you know," she responded back. "Get out of my sight or-"
"Hannah!" I intervened, stepping in front of him. "Stop it," I ordered. "Me and Slappy are going to watch a movie tonight. You can watch a movie with us." I was expecting her to take my invention. That wasn't the case, though.
"Watch a horror movie with you and that evil thing behind you?" she said in total disbelief. "No way would I watch a movie with..." She pointed directly behind me. "...that."
"Hannah, please..." I made sure she doesn't pass by me to get to him. "You don't have to be mean to him. You're always this nice girl," I said.
"I'm not being mean. I don't trust that dummy," she stated. "If you try to be nice to me, I won't buy it," she directed her words to him. "I'm going to bed." She was about to head for the stairs when I grabbed onto her shoulder. She stopped, turning her direction towards me. The frown remained on her face.
"Give him a chance," I said. "Please?" I released her. She didn't walk away or anything. She didn't speak for a long time.
Finally, she did. Turning her attention towards Slappy, she spoke. "I'll give you a chance, Slappy. I'll give you one more chance. Only one. However, if you decide not to change your evil ways, refusing to become good, then I'm going to have my boyfriend get an axe and chop you up into a million pieces." She gave him a warning look, pointing at him. "Don't think that I'll be nice to you at the very start. You hurt my dad, Hazel, almost killed me, and destroyed the town."
"I didn't destroy the town, the monsters did," Slappy corrected from behind me.
"You did it, too." She crossed her arms over he chest. "Don't say that you didn't. You were there when the school got destroyed," Hannah reminded, recalling the event.
Slappy growled. "You don't believe me, huh?!" I jumped, not expecting him to switch moods...like Hazel did... "You think that I destroyed the damn school!? It was from my 'fellow friends' that did it!" He teleported to where I was at, even though he could've walked towards her. "Since you don't trust me, I'll-"
"Slappy!" I shouted, stopping his threat at an instinct. I faced Hannah. "You can go on upstairs," I allowed. "I'll just spend my night with him. You go on ahead upstairs. It's not time to go to bed yet, so lay on your bed and read for awhile," I suggested.
Hannah sighed, pulling her fingers down through her hair. "I'll do that..."
"Good, and we don't want to hear your mouth."
"Slappy," I warned. He only grumbled, sitting down at the floor beside me. He looked down at the floor, pulling his knees up, resting his forehead onto them, his arms hanging at his sides. He mumbled something that I can't make out. I sighed. "Go upstairs, Hannah. Don't worry, I'll deal with him," I promised at her.
Hannah didn't say nothing else. All she did was nod before heading up the stairs, handing the DVD box for me to take, which I did.
Once I heard her bedroom door shut, my eyes went over to Slappy. "What movie were you and Hannah fighting over?"
"Dead Silence," he muttered.
"You want to watch it?" I asked after looking at the title when he told me what it is. "I haven't watched this movie in a long time. I don't remember the last time we watched this one together..." I tried to remember, only it was fuzzy and fogged up.
"It was the day that you released me from my book." My brain was interrupted when he recalled the memory before I did. "It was the first movie that you let me pick out," he told me, picking his head up. "I had a lot of fun watching it with you…" He turned his direction away from me, a green tear leaking at the corner of his right eye. "But now..." The tear ran down his cheek, hitting his gray pants. He didn't seem to notice though, watching it turn into a stain. "...now the fun is gone... all thanks to you..." Turning his body around, his back was now directing towards me, his head down.
Silence filled the room. The only sound that I'm literally hearing are his tears dripping onto the floor. There was no sniffling, just tear dropping.
I wanna tell him that just because what I did was wrong, doesn't mean that the fun is gone from between us.
Slappy wouldn't believe me. He wouldn't believe me for awhile after what he went through. It's like...lying to a child… After they've been lied to, they won't trust anyone. And being stated before, Slappy would not trust me for, maybe, awhile.
Don't worry, Stine, he'll trust you again, I told myself, running my fingers through my hair a couple of times.
How do I get him to trust me? That's what I'm wondering. I just can't ask him to trust me. He'll end up saying no, adding with lots of yells and sobs.
"You don't care that I - hic - cry," Slappy hiccuped a sob.
"I do care for you," I protested, my voice calm and steady, not wanting to start yelling. "Just because you're made to be evil doesn't mean you can't cry," I told him.
"Yeah right." He let out a scoff. As always, he doesn't believe me. "I bet you don't cry." He turned his head to his back, the thin strip of green water of tears continuing to run out of his eyes. It's like he can't control them anymore. "I bet you don't cry," he cracked in repeat. "You never cried ever since you trapped me my original manuscript and after you trapped me in the new one along with my so-called 'pals'... They blamed me for everything, that...my ego is now...gone. It's not fair that Hannah can be free forever and not me..." Forcing himself to turn away from me again, his sobs increased to the point where he couldn't speak anymore. It was only lots of sobbing.
I went over to the couch with the DVD in my hand, setting it on my lap. Watching him cry brought the water into my own eyes.
Somehow, it seemed that my sad feeling went over to him. He looked at me with unbelievable eyes. "I know you're faking, Stine," he spoke with a sniffle.
"I'm not faking," I answered. "I cry, too." Slappy just rolled his eyes in complete disbelief. "Really," I insisted. "After I trapped you I..." I took a deep breath in letting out slowly, feeling the dampness of my eyes going away. "...was pretty upset; felt bad. I was afraid to let you out again for what you did to my bullies. That's another reason I created Hannah. I always make evil beings like evil ghosts, monsters, demons, you name it. I never made a creation that is...good. She may not be evil nor keep me safe from those who picked on me in fear it'll happen to her. I always have to keep her in the house whether I'm there or not, and that's when she was a ghost before she became a...living human like me, here friends, her boyfriend, and everyone else on earth. But…" I picked up the DVD, tossing it back and forth in my hands. "...there had been times where I do want you to help keep my daughter safe." Slappy's eyes are now wide with shock. "I always thought that," I said. "Except I was afraid that you'll...hurt in anyway," I confessed.
"Why would I do that?" he responded after I finished. "I never hurt you," he stated, bringing up a good point for once.
"True..." I had to agree. "It's just that..." Better come up with something so that he won't get mad… "You're...uh... Let's just say that I didn't trust you..." I slowly managed to get out of my mouth.
Slappy's mood changed right away, just like Hazel… "You don't trust me?!" he exclaimed with clear anger.
"You don't trust me, so what's the difference?" I questioned with some anger as well.
"...Oh." His eyebrows went up. "Basically I'm the bad guy, right?" His eyebrows went down a bit.
"No, you're not!" I placed the DVD next to me. I took off my glasses, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "You're not a bad guy, Slappy. You just got out of control; you're scares getting to far and the pranks that you did," I explained the best as I could. "Now, do you want to watch this movie or not?" I asked, picking up the DVD for the second time.
Slappy sighed. "Why not?" Getting up at his feet, he carefully made his way over to me. "I need something to keep my mind out for those who betrayed me…" He narrowed his eyes at me before grabbing the couch cushion, lifting himself up. Or at least tried to. For not having a lot of strength that he should have, like the way I wrote him, he couldn't get onto the furniture. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath with a hint of frustration. He tried again. He failed, landing on the floor with his shoes and not on his bottom. I went to help him only for me to send me a look that could scare a mouse away. "Don't help me!" he sniped. "I can do things myself. I'm not a child, you know."
I shrugged, watching him grab the cushion and, with a weak pull, he finally was able to get onto the couch. "There you go." My praise didn't seem to phase him. The results I got was crossed arms from him.
"Put the movie in." At least his frustration is gone. "I don't remember what the movie is about but put it in anyway."
I got up from the couch. "It'll be better to say it nicely," I suggested, hoping it'll change his attitude.
"Please put the movie on, Stine," he said sarcastically, not caring about his rudeness.
I just rolled my eyes. Besides, he did say the word please and that counts. Except when you're only saying it in a sarcastic way.
I turned the TV on, going to the channel to get the DVD set up.
Once I did that, I grabbed the DVD remote, pressing the open/close button. The DVD player opened, waiting for me to put the disk inside it.
Taking the disc out, I checked for any scratch marks or dirt on it. I know that there are irresponsible people who don't take care of their stuff. Like DVDs. I even hated when people don't take care of their books.
I hope my books that I sold are taken care of, I thought. The disc was in good shape; no marks or anything on it just like is should be. I put it in the DVD player. I made sure it was in right before closing it.
Making my way to the couch, I sat down next to Slappy who still has his crossed over his chest.
"You look grumpy," I noted as the TV went through the previews and a few trailers of other movies.
"I'm not grumpy," Slappy replied, slumping. "I'm just…" A sigh left his wooden mouth. "I'm not grumpy..."
"You look grumpy to me." Looking at his scratched up face, a thought came into my head. "I should get you fixed up..." I said out loud.
All he gave me was a simple grunt. "I'm fine. I don't need to be fixed."
I can tell that he's lying. The one thing is that he'll keep feeling rubbish all the time. The second thing is that the marks made him more...scarier. I can leave the marks that are on his chin and nose, though... It makes him look unique in a way.
When the menu came onto the screen of the TV, I gave the remote to Slappy. "You can play the movie," I told him. "Just press the play button and the movie will start," I instructed. "I'm going to go to the kitchen to make a sandwich."
"Mm." He shrugged his wooden shoulders, taking the remote into his hand. "Sure."
Leaving the living room, I made my way to the kitchen, grabbing stuff to make a sandwich.
Once I finished making it, I set it on a plate, returning to the living room.
I was surprised to see Slappy now laying on the couch, his knees curled up in front of his chest. I was about to say something when he spoke first.
"I'm fine," he repeated as always. "I wanted to lie down."
"Alright, I just wanted to know," I said, sitting back down on the couch. I missed a small part of the movie. No big deal, anyway. I've seen the movie before so I know what happens in it.
As we're watched the movie with me chowing down on my sandwich, we didn't talk during the whole thing.
By the time the movie was over, which was an hour later, I took the disc out, placing it back inside the DVD box. "Want to watch another one?" I asked. No answer. "Slappy?" I turned my attention towards him.
There on the couch, I saw that he was sleeping. Fast asleep to be exact.
I didn't want to carry him back into one of the guestrooms that he slept in. Instead, I went over to the closet and took out a large blanket that me and him use every winter when we watched holiday shows and movies.
Great times... It was way before Hannah came into the picture. I used to give him gifts all the time.
Now when I think about it, I am a dad to him. He always calls me papa. Now he just calls me by my name. Last name to be corrected. The only person who calls me by my first name will be Lorriane. And most of my monsters except a few that would call me dad, which annoyed me. The only person who's allowed to call me that is my daughter.
What about Slappy? you may wonder. Slappy used to call you papa until now. Now he only calls you by your last name.
Covering him up with the blanket, I grabbed my plate that now has crumbs all over it, making my way back to the kitchen to wash it for the night.
After the plate is washed and cleaned, I put it on the dish rack for it to dry overnight. Then I headed upstairs for bed, even though it was a little past seven, but I was tired.
Before I went to my room, I went over to Hannah's bedroom, grabbing the doorknob. I opened the door. "Hey, sweetheart," I greeted, seeing that she hadn't gone to bed yet. She doesn't go to bed until nine or ten o'clock in the evening. "Whatcha reading?" I entered her room.
"The Hunger Games," Hannah answered, not looking at the title. "I'm reading the second book."
"What about the first book?" I responded, looking at her own bookshelf filled with all types of books. "Shouldn't you be reading them in order like most people would do?" I said.
"Don't feel like it. Besides..." She flipped to the next page. "I read the first book a bunch of times; I know what the story is about," she told me, not taking her eyes off of her paperback. "Do want anything?" she questioned while she kept on reading.
"No. No," I shook my head. "I was curious to what you are reading. I wanna make sure you're not reading any…"
"Dad," she spoke, placing the book on her chest. "I know the rule about books. You said, 'Hannah, you can read any book except the ones that are not appropriate for your age'," she stated the rule.
"Good thing you remembered it." I have a strict rule when it comes to her with books. She's only allowed to read books that are appropriate and nothing...well... you know...inappropriate. I actually get the books for her to read at Barnes And Nobles. I don't go there all the time, but when I do, I pick out the best books for her. "Well, I'm heading for bed," I told her, giving her a heads up.
She picked up her book. "Okay." She went right back to reading. "Goodnight, dad," she replied.
"Goodnight," I returned. I walked out of the room, stopping. "You want your door to be closed or opened?"
"Leave it open for now," she requested. "I'll close the door when I go to bed." She continued reading.
So I left the room, leaving the door open, heading to my own bedroom.
Stepping inside, I switched my work clothes to my night time clothes. I'll take a shower first thing in the morning.
Going over to my bed, I lied down, removing my glasses, setting them on my nightstand that has a lamp, the light filling the entire room. I made sure I can reach them. Like I mentioned before, my vision without them is a blur.
Pulling the covers close to me, I went onto one side, waiting for sleep to enter through me.
When it did, I closed my eyes, waiting for the next day.