"Calvin! Will you please be QUIET!" Calvin's mom said for the fourth time in a row. Calvin was making a lot of noise, and they were in the back seat of a London Taxi.
"Why? I'm not doing anything!" he complained. Their plan was to go to Southampton, after a day in London. They had already seen Big Ben, the London Zoo, and the Tower of London. Calvin was getting antsy, having to stand in lines just to look at things all day. Also, he had just had his first homeschooling lesson at their hotel. They had spent the weekend in London, and his parents figured he could have the day off of school.
"Calvin, we're leaving London now, so make sure you see all of the sights you want to!" his dad said, next to him. Calvin was crammed in the middle of his two parents, and Hobbes, once again, was shut in Calvin's duffle bag.
When Calvin complained of this, his mom said, "You'll see him on the ship, Calvin."
Then, Calvin's father added, "Besides, being apart from friends builds character!" Calvin just growled.
After a while, they reached their ship which they would take to Africa. It was a big cruise liner, with pools on the deck, a buffet, games, and the cabins. These weren't up to par with Calvin. Calvin's family had two double beds, a desk, a bathroom, a raidio, a microwave, and a refridgerator. Their was also a television, but they could only use it to watch movies.
Calvin opend his duffle bag immediatly, and Hobbes came out, and stretched. "You have no idea how much it hurts to be in a duffle bag for a long time!" he said.
"Well, I was crammed next to Mom and Dad the whole time, so I wouldn't complain. At least you didn't have to hear rants about building character!" Calvin replied.
He and Hobbes decided to go explore their ship. His dad warned him not to speak to strangers, and to be back by 5:00.
"Boy, why are all of these people staring at us?" Calvin asked, five minutes later, as they were walking around on the deck.
"It's because they all respect tigers, and they can sense my powerfull cunning," Hobbes said pompously.
"Boy, I wish I was a tiger. People would all respect me," Calvin said wistfully.
"Well, it's commen, but only a few gifted beings get to be tigers," Hobbes replied, and hung his head high in the air.
After the walked a little farther, they saw a boy and a lion walking around on the deck.
"Socrates, give it a rest! Lion's aren't the best cat's in the world!" Calvin heard the boy say.
Calvin knew what was coming. Hobbes, with a look of pride on his face, walked up to the boy, and spoke to the lion by his side. "I believe your friend is right. Tigers are far rarer, and the males do the hunting, not the females."
"Well, we lions are called the king of the jungles!" the lion, obviously named Socrates, replied, his eyes narrowing.
"Yeah, but lions don't live in the jungle, do they?" Hobbes questioned. Calvin rolled his eyes, and he saw the boy with the lion do the same.
"Hobbes, c'mon! We gotta go! It's nearly 5:00!" Calvin said, stepping in between Socrates and Hobbes, and grabbing Hobbes's paw roughly. He saw the boy do the same.
"Why do you have to be a big show off all of the time?" Calvin asked angirly as they made their way back to the caben.
"Well, excuse me, but that lion, that- that 'Socrates' claims that lions are the best cats in the world! It's in a tiger's pride to correct petty mistakes like that!" Hobbes said gruffly, and the two didn't speak until they reached their cabin.
"Hey! It looks like you two have had some fun!" Calvin's dad said when they walked into the cabin. "What do you say we go and have a nice dinner? Then we can head to the third deck, they have a video renting place their! We can make some popcorn and watch some movies!"
Their dinner, at least, was better for Calvin. Calvin's parents had some special dishes, but Calvin just had a hamburger. He wanted to order food for Hobbes, but his dad put his foot down.
"Great," mumbled Calvin. "I'll probably be eaten tonight."
After their dinner, they went to the third deck, and into the video rental store. Calvin immediatly went for several movies that he claimed were educational, but his mom picked out others. The movies they wanted weren't exactly the best, but they could be worse, Calvin thought.
They stayed up late watching movies on the comfortable couch in their cabin. At around 11:00, Calvin's dad told him and Hobbes to go to bed.
Calvin awoke early the next morning and had to endure his mom's schooling lessons. He had, so far, done nothing but pretend to pay attention.
Our hero, the famous Spaceman Spiff, is being held hostage by the evil Largonian forces, Calvin thought, while his mother was explaining all about fractions. Spiff must escape! But how? He must face a year of this torture!
"Calvin, are you listening?" his mom asked sternly, pointing at the small chalkboard she was using.
"Oh, sure, yeah, evil Largon- I mean Mom!" Calvin said, grinning sheepeshly.
"Then perhaps you can tell me what is equilivant to 1/2, like I've been explaining for the last fifteen minutes?" she said, giving Calvin a sheet of paper.
A half an hour later, she picked it up again, and it said things like 1,000,000,000/3, 12.33319/89, and A/C. "CALVIN!" she yelled.
"Why? I'm not doing anything!" he complained. Their plan was to go to Southampton, after a day in London. They had already seen Big Ben, the London Zoo, and the Tower of London. Calvin was getting antsy, having to stand in lines just to look at things all day. Also, he had just had his first homeschooling lesson at their hotel. They had spent the weekend in London, and his parents figured he could have the day off of school.
"Calvin, we're leaving London now, so make sure you see all of the sights you want to!" his dad said, next to him. Calvin was crammed in the middle of his two parents, and Hobbes, once again, was shut in Calvin's duffle bag.
When Calvin complained of this, his mom said, "You'll see him on the ship, Calvin."
Then, Calvin's father added, "Besides, being apart from friends builds character!" Calvin just growled.
After a while, they reached their ship which they would take to Africa. It was a big cruise liner, with pools on the deck, a buffet, games, and the cabins. These weren't up to par with Calvin. Calvin's family had two double beds, a desk, a bathroom, a raidio, a microwave, and a refridgerator. Their was also a television, but they could only use it to watch movies.
Calvin opend his duffle bag immediatly, and Hobbes came out, and stretched. "You have no idea how much it hurts to be in a duffle bag for a long time!" he said.
"Well, I was crammed next to Mom and Dad the whole time, so I wouldn't complain. At least you didn't have to hear rants about building character!" Calvin replied.
He and Hobbes decided to go explore their ship. His dad warned him not to speak to strangers, and to be back by 5:00.
"Boy, why are all of these people staring at us?" Calvin asked, five minutes later, as they were walking around on the deck.
"It's because they all respect tigers, and they can sense my powerfull cunning," Hobbes said pompously.
"Boy, I wish I was a tiger. People would all respect me," Calvin said wistfully.
"Well, it's commen, but only a few gifted beings get to be tigers," Hobbes replied, and hung his head high in the air.
After the walked a little farther, they saw a boy and a lion walking around on the deck.
"Socrates, give it a rest! Lion's aren't the best cat's in the world!" Calvin heard the boy say.
Calvin knew what was coming. Hobbes, with a look of pride on his face, walked up to the boy, and spoke to the lion by his side. "I believe your friend is right. Tigers are far rarer, and the males do the hunting, not the females."
"Well, we lions are called the king of the jungles!" the lion, obviously named Socrates, replied, his eyes narrowing.
"Yeah, but lions don't live in the jungle, do they?" Hobbes questioned. Calvin rolled his eyes, and he saw the boy with the lion do the same.
"Hobbes, c'mon! We gotta go! It's nearly 5:00!" Calvin said, stepping in between Socrates and Hobbes, and grabbing Hobbes's paw roughly. He saw the boy do the same.
"Why do you have to be a big show off all of the time?" Calvin asked angirly as they made their way back to the caben.
"Well, excuse me, but that lion, that- that 'Socrates' claims that lions are the best cats in the world! It's in a tiger's pride to correct petty mistakes like that!" Hobbes said gruffly, and the two didn't speak until they reached their cabin.
"Hey! It looks like you two have had some fun!" Calvin's dad said when they walked into the cabin. "What do you say we go and have a nice dinner? Then we can head to the third deck, they have a video renting place their! We can make some popcorn and watch some movies!"
Their dinner, at least, was better for Calvin. Calvin's parents had some special dishes, but Calvin just had a hamburger. He wanted to order food for Hobbes, but his dad put his foot down.
"Great," mumbled Calvin. "I'll probably be eaten tonight."
After their dinner, they went to the third deck, and into the video rental store. Calvin immediatly went for several movies that he claimed were educational, but his mom picked out others. The movies they wanted weren't exactly the best, but they could be worse, Calvin thought.
They stayed up late watching movies on the comfortable couch in their cabin. At around 11:00, Calvin's dad told him and Hobbes to go to bed.
Calvin awoke early the next morning and had to endure his mom's schooling lessons. He had, so far, done nothing but pretend to pay attention.
Our hero, the famous Spaceman Spiff, is being held hostage by the evil Largonian forces, Calvin thought, while his mother was explaining all about fractions. Spiff must escape! But how? He must face a year of this torture!
"Calvin, are you listening?" his mom asked sternly, pointing at the small chalkboard she was using.
"Oh, sure, yeah, evil Largon- I mean Mom!" Calvin said, grinning sheepeshly.
"Then perhaps you can tell me what is equilivant to 1/2, like I've been explaining for the last fifteen minutes?" she said, giving Calvin a sheet of paper.
A half an hour later, she picked it up again, and it said things like 1,000,000,000/3, 12.33319/89, and A/C. "CALVIN!" she yelled.