Hazel And Bobo

• Abbey Robinson, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

Hazel and Bobo
Hazel awoke with a gasp. She turned around swiftly to see if anyone else was awake. She was alone. Hazel silently clambered out of bed and crept down the hallway of the orphanage.

With her bare feet padding softly on the creaky wooden floorboards, she carefully made her way to the kitchen. Cook was not inside. Hazel entered and tip-toed towards the pantry. She opened the doors and dug through the piles of food until she found what she was searching for. Two small cakes that had been left over from dessert. Just as Hazel closed the pantry doors, she heard the soft click-clack of Cook’s boots echoing down the hallway. Hazel froze with panic. She ducked down underneath the table and held her breath. Cook entered the room, clutching a lantern in her hand and said, “Who’s there?” She marched over to the fridge and turned her back to the door. As she did so, Hazel saw her chance. She crawled out from under the table and slipped ever so carefully out the door and down the hallway.

After cautiously navigating her way through the corridors and stairwells of the orphanage, Hazel finally reached the front door. She turned her head to see if someone was watching her, before proceeding to carefully opened the creaky wooden door. Hazel craned her head around it. Just as she thought the coast was clear, Hazel heard a loud thump. She whipped her head around to see what had caused it, her heart filled with panic. Hazel sighed. It was only Mr. Skinner’s cat. She tip-toed out onto the street and sat down. She turned her head once more to be absolutely certain that no one was watching. Hazel took a deep breath and in a loud whisper she said “Cake.”

Out of the blue, a strange creature with blue fur and yellow eyes came racing around the corner. He sat down in front of Hazel and smiled. “Cake time for me.” said the monster in a dark, gruff voice. “Cake time for me!” Hazel giggled at the monster. She placed a slice of cake down in front of the it. The monster squealed with delight. With one single gulp, it picked up the cake and shoved it inside its mouth. Hazel, on the other hand, used a spoon she had picked up in the kitchen.

“I’ve been thinking.” Hazel began. “Now that I have been coming to feed you almost every second night, you ought to have a name.” The creature paused. It took it’s sticky fingers out of its mouth and stared at Hazel. “A name sounds good.” She smiled and began to think. “What about Bobo? It’s hardly boring. And, it’s easy to remember.” The creature looked at her and smiled. “Yes.” Said Bobo. Hazel smiled and took another bite of her cake. She closed her eyes, but when she opened them again, Bobo was gone and Hazel was back in her scratchy orphanage bed.