Carl Casagrande sulked at his desk as he looked around the Detention room, seeing two of his troublemaking classmates, Ricky and Julius. The final bell had just rung and everyone was on their way home. But he was on his last day of a week long detention for...one of the many things he had done. Just the one Principal Valenzuela found out about, that is. He looked down at the time on his phone
"Hurry up already" he thought "I've got someplace to be"
The door to the detention room swung open, and the school librarian Mr Brault, walked in. He was a middle aged man with a sour face and a grey streak in his neatly combed brown hair. His mouth was puckered and lined, making him look like he was sucking on a lemon. He walked up to the whiteboard and wrote each of the boys names on it in red marker. Then looked at the three boys in front of him in disinterest as he paced back and forth.
"If you see your name in the board, you're in the right place" he said "I'm not pleased with any of you, and I'm not disappointed in any of you. I'm here to lecture you, and I am not here to comfort you. I'm not your enemy, and I am certainly not your friend"
Carl leaned over to Ricky and whispered "The feeling is mutual" making all three boys snicker under thier breath
"What was that?" Mr Brault asked
"Nothing" Carl said
"You will sit here being silent for the next hour" he said "You may do as you wish, homework, studying, anything so long as you do NOT make noise. Anyone who makes noise will be sent to the library to re-shelve books. I will be reading in the hall outside the door and I will be checking on you over the hour. All you have to do to make it out of here without getting into further trouble is to be here, be quiet and behave."
He walked out of the room. The moment he shut the door, all three boys pulled out their cell phones and began texting.
"You'd think he'd get that we know the drill by now" Julius sent
"Yeah" Ricky texted back "I mean he's said the exact same thing to us everyday for the past four days"
Julius smirked "So how long do you think Carl will last before he talks" he texted
"10 minutes tops" Ricky texted back
Carl was staring down at his phone. He tapped a skateboard shaped Icon and sent a text
"Where are you?"
About a minute later, a reply arrived
"Outside on the school steps. I can wait a little while longer, but if you aren't here soon I'm leaving without you."
He frowned as a flashing panda shaped icon appeared on the screen. "Adelaide" he thought as he tapped it to reveal a new text
"Are you coming today?" it read
"Yeah, I'll be there soon" he replied "How are you feeling"
She responded with a green "nauseous" emoji face and the message "Still sick. But this morning I did the prank you taught me. I pulled my shirt over my head when I sneezed and told Sid I sneezed so hard I blew my head off"
A picture of Sid screaming in horror appeared on the screen. Carl burst into laughter "I told you it would be funny" he said as he texted back
The door swung open and Mr Brault walked back in "I distinctly heard laughter, gentlemen." he said "Laughter is NOT being quiet"
All three boys looked up from their phones simultaneously as he asked, "Who was it?"
Julius and Ricky both silently pointed at Carl "Mr. Casagrande" he said as he walked over to the whiteboard and erased Carl's name "What a surprise. Please follow me"
With a shrug of his shoulders, Carl hopped out of his desk, grabbed his backpack, and followed the teacher out of the room. Mr. Brault walked Carl down the hall to the library, and up to the front counter where a sandy blonde, ponytailed young woman sat. She was grading papers until she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She sat up straight when Mr Brault arrived, but her expression brightened when she saw who he had brought with him.
"Well, hello there, Carl" she said "Have you come to spend time with me again"
"You know me" he said shooting her a wink "I just can't stay away"
"Well I'm happy for the company" she said spritely
"Make sure you have him reshelving books on the high shelves" Brault said as he turned to walk away "Maybe some harder work will teach him some discipline"
Ms. Kuhn came out from behind her desk as Mr Brault left the library. She walked over to a cart filled with books and rolled it over to Carl "Well what do you say we get to work?" she said
"Sure" he said "But before we get started...do you know any good...bedtime stories I could check out?"
She gave a delighted gasp "I know just the one" she said as she walked over to a shelf "It's been a favorite of mine since I was your age"
She pulled a book with a deep purple cover off the shelf and showed it to Carl "Bedtime in the Barnyard?" he read
"It's a cute little story about sleepy farm animals" she said as she walked over to a computer and began typing in Carl's name "Hmm...It seems you already have a few books checked out "
Carl nervously rubbed the back of his head "I...still have some more reading to do over the weekend" he said "Can I still have this book, though?"
Ms Kuhn smiled knowingly "Of course" she said "I'm not going to stop a child from reading more. Just make sure you return at least one of the books by Monday"
She scanned the book, and handed it to him. Then she handed him a small stack of books "These need to go over on the back shelves" she said pointing in the direction he was to go in
Carl walked over to the back shelves and and slowly placed each book where it belonged. But as he worked...
VRMM-VRMM-VRMM
...his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a flashing panda icon, which he tapped with a finger.
"Are you still coming?"
Carl rolled his eyes "Yes Adelaide" he texted back "I'm in the library now. Gonna bring a new book"
"Library?" she texted back along with a surprised emoji "I didn't know you could read"
Carl snorted and texted back an expressionless emoji with the message "That joke isn't getting any funnier"
She sent back an emoji of her sticking her tongue out with the message "Please hurry. I'm bored"
"I'm on my way" he sent "Be patient". He smirked for a moment and then sent "Oh wait. You ARE patient. A FLU PATIENT. LOL"
Adelaide replied with her own expressionless emoji and the message "NOW who's telling bad jokes?"
Carl pocketed his phone and finished putting the books back. Once all the books in his arms had been re-shelved, all that was left was his copy of Bedtime in the Barnyard and a Manila folder Ms Kuhn had slipped under the books. On it were the letters , A.C, and a small post it note that read "Tell her I said hi"
Carl smiled to himself, took off and unzipped his backpack and removed a tupperware container and a small, glittery red ball. He placed the folder and book in his backpack, and zipped it shut. Then he grinned at the ball devilishly
"Now you see me..."
He threw the ball on the ground, emitting a loud POP and a burst of glittery red smoke. Startled, Ms Kuhn hurried over "What was that?" she said "Carl, are you...alright..."
She arrived at the aisle to see it empty, save for a few wisps of red smoke and a tupperware container. She approached it curiously, picked it up and saw three red tacos inside it. She licked her lips.
"Rosa Casagrande's red tacos." she said "Well I suppose I could go for a snack..."
Outside Ceasar Chavez Academy, Ronnie Anne sat on the steps, skateboard in one hand, cellphone in the other. She stood up, preparing to leave until a burst of glittery red smoke appeared behind her, almost making her board in surprise. She turned around to see Carl standing behind her, a smug smile on his face
"TA-DA!" he said before taking a bow
"Remind me to kick Lincoln's butt for teaching you that trick" Ronnie Anne said as she stepped on her board "Now hop on"
Carl got on the back of his prima's skateboard and together they went off. Down the sidewalk, past Bruno's hot dog cart, through the park, speeding ahead until they arrived at the Casagrande Mercado and Apartments.
Carl hopped off the back of the board and slowly stepped into the alleyway. His eyes darted around curiously as Ronnie Anne came up behind him. He slowly removed his backpack, reached into it, and removed a can of sardines. Pulling the top open, he threw the can into the back of the alley.
"Fish in the hole!" Carl shouted
As soon as the can hit the ground, a wave of feral alley cats jumped out of nowhere and attacked the can. Carl and Ronnie Anne ran past the cats, and up the fire escape, all the way up to Sid's window.
Carl reached for the window, only to have his hand stopped by Ronnie Anne. She cleared her throat expectantly, holding out her hand. Carl groaned, pulled a crumpled ten dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to her. She pocketed the money, and opened the window so they could both climb through into Sid's room.
"I'll be hanging out in here until Sid arrives" she said "Call me if you need anything"
"Okay" Carl said "And by the way, you better not tell anyone about this."
"Oh I won't" Ronnie Anne "At least until I want to tease you about it."
"Go ahead" Carl muttered quietly as he walked out of the room " Tease all you want. I still have a copy of your diary to post online if you do."
"What was that?" Ronnie Anne asked
"Nothing" he said
Carl made his way of Sid's room, through the hall, and up to Adelaide's door just as her mother Becca stepped out holding a tray and bowl. She smiled at Carl.
"Glad you could make it, Carl" Becca said
"Hi, Mrs Chang" he said "Is Adelaide awake?"
"She is" she said "She just got finished eating. But I also just gave her some medicine, so chances are she'll be getting sleepy soon"
Carl chuckled "That just means I picked the perfect book today" he said before taking off his backpack and pulling out the manila folder "By the way, here's her homework. I'd give it to her myself, but I don't want to make her feel any worse."
Becca giggled as she reached into her pocket, pulled out a folded-up face mask and handed it to Carl. He stuffed it in the front pocket of his hoodie and reached for the doorknob, only for Becca to grab his hand
"Before you go in..." Becca said "I just want to thank you. You've made this week so much better for Adelaide and I want you to know how much I appreciate that"
Carl shrugged "A promise is a promise" he said
Becca grinned and playfully ruffled Carl's hair "You're so sweet" she said
She walked away leaving Carl in the hall, rapidly fixing his hair with a comb and the emergency hair gel he packed with him. Taking a moment to ready himself, he opened the door and stuck his head in.
"Adelaide?" he said
He could see her laying in bed. She looked up and gave an enormous sneeze as her response. After which she gave him a croaky "Hi Garl"
Carl walked up to her bed, grabbing a nearby chair to sit by her bedside. Her skin was pale with a greenish tint, her nose was running, and her hair, while still in it's usual puffy pigtails, was much messier. Carl flinched at bit at the sight of his friend. She was suffering from a particularly nasty case of the flu. As sick as she looked, she still managed to smile when he approached.
"Still feeling sick, huh?" he asked as he sat down
"Yeah" she said sniffling "Bud I still veel bedder dan yezterday"
"Are you sure?" he asked "You don't sound any different"
"I'b sure" she said "By tubby stobbed hurding, add I cad keeb by food dowd dow. I haben't deeded to frow ub sids last dight so I...I thig I'b..."
Adelaide sat up quickly as another sneeze blasted out of her mouth and nose. After three more sneezes, she fell back groaning as her nose ran over her lips and chin.
"Still got that stuffy nose, though?" he said
Adelaide gave a weak nod "Lemme fix that" Carl said
He grabbed a tissue from a box on her bedside table and began to mop up the mucus on her face. Then he held it to the center of her face, gently pinching the bridge of her nose"
"OK" he said "Now blow"
Adelaide blew her nose forcefully, making a loud trumpeting sound as her sinuses cleared. Then she blew again, making a series of short trumpet like bursts. Carl laughed a bit "I know your mom is a zookeeper, but I didn't know she taught you to speak elephant."
Adelaide took deep breaths in through her nose as Carl tossed the soggy tissue in the trash "That's better" she said speaking far more clearly "You're reallly good at that"
"Carlitos is the KING of snot bubbles" Carl said "Especially during allergy season. If I can handle his nose, I can handle yours."
"Thanks for..." Adelaide began "Wait...where's your mask?"
"In my pocket" he said "It's too hard to talk in one of those things"
Adelaide's eyes widened a bit "But I have the flu" she said "What if I make you sick?"
Carl rolled his eyes "You already make me sick, Adelaide" he said
Adelaide giggled a bit, which turned into a fit of thick, phlegmy coughs. Carl handed her a tissue as she struggled to clear her throat. Then he took a step back as Adelaide reared her head back, then flung it forward as she spat into the tissue. Carl winced
"You're hacking up all sorts of good stuff" Carl said "Just don't..."
"Ewww!" Adelaide whined at the sight of the tissue's contents
"...look at it" Carl finished
Adelaide groaned as she crumpled up the tissue and tossed it in the trash "I feel as gross as that looks" she said
"And you probably look twice as gross as you feel" Carl said
"Hey" she whined "Be nice, Carl. I'm sick."
"Okay okay" he said " I know you don't feel good, so maybe you just need a nap. And I know just the story to help you get there."
He pulled a book with a purple cover out of his backpack."Your mom told me you'd be feeling sleepy around now" he said "Plus you fell asleep while I've been reading for the last four days so...I figured I'd read you a bedtime story today" He showed her the cover "Ms Kuhn gave me this one...by the way she says "hi". It's called Bedtime in the Barnyard"
Adelaide managed a feeble smile as Carl started to read.
The sun was setting on Gillington Farm
A quiet little place with a pleasant charm
With golden yellow wheat fields, and pastures so green
A beautiful farm like you've never seen
"It sounds so pretty" Adelaide said
Carl turned the book around to show Adelaide the farm, before going back to reading
A big bright red barn house stood on a hill
Right between a tractor and a windmill
And who was inside this cozy little keep?
The two best friends on the farm, Mr Cow and Mrs Sheep
"Wait..." Adelaide interrupted "Mr Cow? Cows are female. Shouldn't it be Mr Bull or Mr Steer?"
Carl shrugged "I dunno" he said looking up from the book "I didn't write it"
"Look out the window" said Mr Cow
"It's getting dark. The sun's going down now"
"In a few moments we'll see the moon"
"So we should both probably go to sleep soon"
And so Mr Cow stood up and went on his way
Making sure not to trip on a big bale of hay
Until he heard the words of his friend, Mrs Sheep
"I really don't feel much like going to sleep"
Mr Cow turned around with a look of surprise
"Why not" he asked "You just shut your eyes"
"Then you take deep breaths until you fall asleep"
"It's really as simple as that, Mrs Sheep"
Mrs Sheep blushed and shuffled her feet
Opened her mouth and gave a big yawning bleat
Rubbed at her eye with a hoof and she said
"I really just don't feel like going to bed"
"I know how that feels" Adelaide said with a wet sniffle
"Same here" Carl said "Every night my mom is like "Go to bed Carl. You have school in the morning Carl. I'll be there in a minute to kiss you goodnight Carl" And I HAVE to let her do it or she cries all night"
"I like it when my mom kisses me goodnight" Adelaide said
Carl frowned and his eyes darted around "Yeah well..." he whispered "I didn't say I didn't like it. And...I love my mom so..."
Adelaide giggled "Carl loves his mom-my" she said in a sing songy tone
"You're lucky you're sick or else I'd kick your butt" Carl said
"I've beaten you sparring at karate practice more times that you've beaten me" Adelaide said
"Yeah, but you're sick right now" Carl said
Adelaide wiped her nose on her pajama sleeve "So I'm lucky I'm sick or else you'd kick my butt" she said capping it off with sticking her tongue out
Carl growled in frustration "Do you want me to read to you or not?" Carl said
"Yes sir" she said giving Carl a little salute as she sank back into her bed
Carl went back to his book
"I know that you're tired, I just heard you yawn"
"And sleep's the best thing to do once the day's gone"
"Just look out the window, and then you'll see"
"That everyone on the farm is just as sleepy"
Carl turned the book back around to show Adelaide a picture of three goats sleeping beside each other in a field
"The billy goat brothers are nestled together"
"Having their rest in the cool evening weather.
He turned the page to show a duck and swan sitting together near water
"Mr. Duck and Ms. Swan are down by the stream"
"And I'm sure that they're both having a very nice dream"
He turned the page to show several pigs in a pigsty
"The Pig family sleep away their worries and troubles"
"Surrounded by cool mud and so many bubbles"
Carl started to turn the page, only to stop mid-turn and start chuckling. Adelaide looked up
"What's so funny?" Adelaide asked
"The book says the pigs are surrounded by bubbles" Carl said "I think that means they're all sleep farting."
Adelaide snorted a bit before starting to giggle "Carl, that's gross" she said
"But it's funny" Carl said before turning the page to show the inside of a chicken coop
"Every single chicken and all of the geese"
"Are quietly snoozing, enjoying the peace"
He turned the page to show a different corner of the coop where a rooster sat
"And don't forget Mr. Rooster, he's in the coop too"
"Just waiting to wake us with his cock a doodle doo"
He turned the page showing Mr. Cow and Mrs. Sheep in the barn again
Mrs Sheep sadly said "They have all the luck"
"They all have company. But not me. I'm stuck"
"All alone in the barn. The farms only sheep"
"With no one by my side as I fall asleep"
"Aww..." Adelaide said "So...Mrs. Sheep is...lonely"
"Sounds like it" Carl said "I wonder why? I mean I'd love having my own room"
"Do you ever get lonely when you go to sleep" Adelaide asked
"Nah" Carl said "I share my room with my brother. What about you? Do you get lonely?"
Adelaide yawned "No...not lately" she said as her eyelids began to droop
"To think that you're lonely when you go to bed"
"I had no idea you felt that way" Mr. Cow said
"I don't want my dear friend to be lonely tonight"
"So I'll stay in the barn with you. Is that alright?"
"He's so nice" Adelaide said in a groggy tone "You're so nice Ca...Mr. Cow'
They sat close together and started to cuddle
Side by side, happy in a warm, cozy huddle
Mrs. Sheep nuzzled Mr. Cow and told him "Thank you"
Mr. Cow smiled and said "It's what best friends do"
The full moon rose up into the night sky
And so we bid the Gillington Farm goodbye
Goodnight Mr. Cow, Goodnight Mrs. Sheep
The sun has gone down, it's time now for sleep
The End
Carl looked up to see Adelaide laying back in her bed, snoring loudly. He suppressed a laugh
"Really need to do something about that stuffy nose" he thought as he put the book back into his backpack.
He quietly crept back over to the front door, looked back at his friend and said "Sweet dreams, Adelaide"
He slowly opened the door, slipped out of the room, and nearly tripped on something. "What the..."
He bent down to pick up a camera. A very familiar looking camera
"This looks kinda like..." he began before a shadow loomed over him
Carl felt the temperature drop as sweat gathered on his forehead. He slowly looked up to see his mother, Frida. Her eyes were narrowed and set directly on him. She wordlessly held out her hand, and Carl gave her the camera.
"I didn't know they moved detention from your school to the Chángs' apartment" Frida said crossly
Carl began to sweat "Ronnie Anne ratted me out, didn't she?" Carl said
"No" Frida said "I got home from my art showcase early and saw you sneaking in through the alley. Carlino Casagrande! Have you been skipping detention ALL WEEK just so you could visit Adelaide?!"
Carl flinched, his mother used his full name AND her voice was trembling. That only happened when she was either near tears, or too angry to speak clearly. And Carl didn't think that the chances of her crying were very good right now. He was totally busted!
"OK" he said "Now before you get mad..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Frida had pulled him into a hug and was showering him in tears. "That's so sweet!" she wailed
"Huh" he thought "I guess she WAS about to cry then"
Becca poked her head in the hallway "Maybe you should give her the whole story" she piped up
Ten tear-filled minutes later, Carl was sitting on the living room couch, in between Becca and his mother. Carl cracked open a can of soda and took a drink
"So, it's like this" Carl said wiping his mouth on his sleeve "I came here to visit Adelaide on Sunday, but it turns out she had the flu. And I know what having the flu is like, but seriously she was a wreck! I mean, I saw her barf and then sneeze up a spiderweb of snot into hands. And that made her barf again. It was SO gross."
"She's just been so miserable all week" Becca chimed in "She could hardly eat anything without it coming back up"
Frida's eyes welled up "Poor Adelaide" she said as she took a tissue from the box Becca offered her
"I wanted to make her feel better." Carl said "And I remembered that whenever I get sick either you or dad read me a story to help me sleep. So, I read to her, and it worked like a charm. "
"I was surprised how quickly Adelaide got to sleep that day" she said "She hadn't been able to get back to sleep since she woke up throwing up at 3 AM. You've really got a gift for calming her down, Carl."
"I actually thought I might have just bored her to sleep the first time." Carl said with a laugh "But anywho, the next day I stopped by to see Adelaide before school. She was happy that I read to her so I told her...well I promised her that I would come back and read to her every day until she got better. And I meant it, but I got detention for a week that day."
"Which reminds me" Frida said "What DID you get detention for?"
"That's not important" Carl said with a wave of his hand "What's important is that I almost wasn't able to keep my promise to Adelaide. I didn't mean to get detention. I mean, nobody MEANS to get detention, but what can I say...bad things happen to good people."
"We'll talk about it at home" Frida muttered
"Detention is only an hour" Carl said "But the hour right after school was like the only free time I have. After that's it's "do your homework" "do your chores" "help in the mercado". And I'm not allowed to leave our apartment after dark. I didn't wanna break my promise, so I had to figure out a way to leave"
"And how did you do that" Frida asked
"Getting out of the room was easy since Mr. Brault was the teacher for detention this week." Carl said "He makes you reshelve books in the library if you talk, so I figured I could sneak out of the library. But he had Mrs Kuhn watching the library to make sure I stayed there."
"Adelaide's teacher" Becca said
"Yup" he said " I told her that Adelaide was sick, and I wanted to visit her, and it turns out she needed someone to bring Adelaide her homework. She wasn't sure about letting me leave early, but she had skipped lunch that Monday and I had some extra food leftover from lunch. Heh...thanks abuela. So after I shared it with her, we made a deal. I would bring her some of abuela's food all week, and she would let me leave early without telling Mr. Brault. She even let me check out extra books to read to Adelaide."
He emptied out his backpack pouring out a few books which Becca and Frida looked through
"The Frog Princess" Becca said "This is one of her favorites. And here's the Littlest Unicorn"
"And La Luna Blanca" Frida gushed "I used to read this to you when you were just a bebe' "
"So, after I got out" Carl went on "Ronnie Anne would take me back home on her skateboard. And getting her help wasn't cheap either, she charged me ten bucks every day"
Frida's jaw dropped a bit "You...paid her to take you to see Adelaide?" she said "You...MY SON, actually GAVE her money to get her to help you get home faster?"
"Well, I don't know the city bus schedule " he said "And...I wasn't about to ride the GLART without Adelaide"
"AWWWW" Frida and Becca said in unison
Frida grabbed Carl and hugged him tightly as she started crying "That is the sweetest most precious thing I've ever seen you do" she blubbered "I don't think I've even been so proud of you."
"So, you're not mad at me for skipping detention?" Carl asked
"How could I be mad at you for going so far out of your way just to keep your promise?" Frida said in between sobs
"So, I'm not in trouble?" Carl asked
"Of course you're still in trouble." Frida said "You're grounded for a week. But I'm just so proud that you'd be willing to risk getting in trouble for her. Mi bebé es tan amable!"
Carl's face fell "I knew it was too good to be true" he grumbled. A thought suddenly struck him "But wait...Adelaide is still sick. If I'm grounded does that mean I can't keep reading to her?"
Frida stared at Carl for a few seconds before crying harder and soaking him in another shower of tears "Even now...you're STILL thinking of Adelaide first!" she wailed
Carl began to grind his teeth as he could feel his face getting warmer. "How about this?" Becca chimed in "Since he's so eager to sneak into our apartment to see Adelaide, maybe he can help out while he's here by doing Adelaide's chores"
"That sounds perfect" Frida said as she dabbed at her eyes with another tissue "He was willing to ditch detention five days in a row just to keep his promise, and I'd rather let him have permission to see Adelaide than have him defying me too."
Carl frowned. He jumped through hoops, bent over backwards, snuck around and bribed people all week to keep his promise. Just to get grounded and made to do Adelaide's chores along with his own at home. He narrowed his eyes as he looked down the hall in the direction of Adelaide's room. And a smile upturned the side of his mouth as he heard himself say...
"Worth it"
"What was that" Frida asked
"Nothing" Carl said