A Cockroach Who Wanted Love

• Kadyn Tregoning, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2015

“EW, EW, EW” as the ugly hearted monster screams. Roak dashes as he wants to live to find his treasure.

One Monday morning, a cockroach named Roak could sense that a female had crossed where he was now. He excitedly thought to himself that he needs to find her. He had been lonely all his life.

So he set off on his dangerous and wondrous journey. It wasn’t long when a child spotted him. He was about to go to school. The giant was eating cornflakes for breakfast and accidently dropped one under the table. He couldn’t have a quick nibble because the giant was after him. He want off track and hid under the cabinets. The human lost him. His mum called him to go to school.

Roak was safe. He quickly ran under the table. He was exhausted so he had a nibble at the cornflake. He set off again, this time he wasn’t careful. A great big man came running after him with bug spray. Furiously, the man tried to spray Roak. Even though Roak was scared, he turned around and hissed at the man. This time the human backed away.

Roak decided to climb the couch for a better view of the room. He managed to make it to the furthest armrest when the human mum sat down right next to him and blew him off the couch. It hurt him but saved him some walking.

Roak followed the scent until he finally got there. He was in the great kitchen. Roak realised the scent ended under the fridge. He happily sprinted under the fridge and couldn’t wait to see his destiny. He went under the fridge and was surprised, he stood staring. The girl cockroach was dead! He went through all that pain to see that she was dead.

But Roak wasn’t the only cockroach around the house. Several other cockroaches emerged from the dark. Roak looked at the dead cockroach again and immediately realised that mice had killed her. He looked to the right, there was cheese. Roak was hungry, he was going to take a nibble but Noke, the eldest cockroach, warned him that it was a mouse trap.

Suddenly, there was squeaking noise, everybody even Roak hid in the dark place where he met them in the first place. He watched patiently as the mouse nibbled on the cheese. “BOOM!” In a flash the mouse was dead. Noke suggested that everybody should make a run for food. Immediately the cockroaches all sprinted out, the pest exterminator was waiting for them. He sprayed poison on them and Roak dodged it. The other cockroaches were poisoned and dead. Suddenly the dad of the family stepped on Roak squashing him instantly. He was as flat as a pancake.