Chapter 11
The car climbed the speed bump as it entered school grounds. To the right Andy saw two houses one with a smiling scarecrow in the yard and the other with some chickens in a coop pecking at the ground. Andy watched as the other kids left their parents' cars and waltzed through the large doors that gave way inside the school. The car stopped and Tyler quickly opened the door, grabbing his backpack and disappearing into the crowd. Andy grabbed his backpack and gazed out of the car, so many other kids. There weren't even this many at the orphanage. I hope I don't embarrass myself or say something wrong, or especially upset the teacher.
"Hey kid" the voice of Arther broke his thought process. "If you're nervous just remember, half of these kids feel the same way. You'll fit in soon." The ever present smile never left the butler's warm face. Andy finally built up enough courage and exited the vehicle.
"Thank you" he turned and said before heading into the herd of kids. Somebody must have stuck their foot out because no sooner than he came to the front doors Andy tripped and just managed to barely catch himself from hitting the ground. A few kids helped him up then went on but as Andy trudged on he noticed a nearby air vent that was strangely left open.
Chucky crawled through the air vents, careful not to make too much noise. In one hand he held Andy's schedule. The other held the cellphone he had stolen from the woman who drove him to Hartford. Maybe I should wait till Andy makes some friends, study his behavior so I can replicate it when I'm him. I've waited so long to become real again. I can wait a little longer.
I have about 5 days till I'm fully human. Chucky had been able to piece together why he turned human so quickly last go around. I still had the same skull and teeth from my first doll body. When I got burnt to a crisp in Andy's apartment. That head spent two years in an evidence depository before old play pals had me rebuilt. That's when I went after Andy at his foster home. Two years is definitely enough time to become human. I was doomed from the beginning. Now it's different, I have a whole brand spanking new body so my timetable resets fully. He would need to make his move eventually, need to leave the damn air vent. But what if someone sees me?
Chucky thought he might run into some snot nosed hall monitor. Gee, do you have a hall pass, little fella? No but I can squeeze your nuts real hard till they pop. No, he decided to wait, to bide his time.
Looking at the hallway through the cracks in the vent, Chucky thought about what the kids may look like. What Andy may look like. He's older now so maybe he's not as short as he was back in the day. He better not be short, a thirteen year old should be taller than an eight year old. He couldn't figure out why height concerned him so much. Then he remembered.
Yeah, Mom was a short girl, real small just under 5 feet, a midget. Of course, she had been bigger than the doll, but not by much. Chucky felt himself through his overalls. Yeah she had been a little bigger than this. And shit, did anyone get the irony? Did anyone else besides himself see the irony of this whole thing?
"Look at me now Mom, I'm just as short as you."