Olive Alive

• Kaitlyn Rich, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2022

Karla lies in bed, excitement bubbling inside her. It’s finally here! She has been waiting all week. Karla stares at her watch expectantly. ‘One more minute to go,’ she thinks. After what feels like forever the hand on Karla’s watch moves and instantly she jumps out of bed and runs into her parents’ room, no longer able to contain her excitement. As soon as Karla opens the door her mum shouts, “Happy birthday!” and she grins broadly.
Karla attacks her presents, ripping off paper and throwing it behind her. Soon the only present left is a brown box with a bright ribbon. Inside is a gorgeous, grey bunny, with floppy ears and an olive-green bow with a matching handbag. The pink nose is soft, and her navy dress and boots are so delicately made it looks like each stitch was done by a mouse. ‘Olive,’ she thinks. Her name is Olive. Almost instantly Karla decides she must take her bunny to school and show it to her friends. She stuffs the bunny into her bag and zips it up. The rest of the morning passes in a blur of pancakes, phone calls and hurriedly getting dressed.
“Hey everyone, look what I have!” Karla shouts to her friends. She reaches into her bag excitedly, only to find it empty of her precious bunny. Devastated, Karla ignores her staring friends. Fighting back her tears Karla starts to frantically search the bag room.
A loud bark startles the group of searching friends now gathered in the bag room. Karla recognises that bark as the class pet, Skittles. The playful golden retriever is sniffing a bag and Karla realises Skittles could have eaten Olive! He has a habit of eating other people’s belongings. ‘It was stupid to bring Olive to school,’ she thinks angrily to herself. Head dropping sadly, she notices tiny footprints on the floor. They look too round for human feet. Karla remembers the shape of Olive’s little shoes. Round, just like the footprints on the floor! The only question is…how?
Karla’s friends are quick to point out Olive can’t move by herself. Even so, Karla has a suspicion there is something about Olive she doesn’t know. Still thinking of this she asks to leave class for the bathroom almost as soon as it starts. Karla heads out of the classroom keeping a close eye on the ground. After several minutes of following the footsteps, Karla finds herself in the playground. It’s completely deserted except for a couple of magpies. No sign of a grey bunny. Just as Karla is about to give up, she hears a giggle from somewhere above her…
Looking up at the climbing frame, Karla sees something that makes her pinch herself. Sitting at the top is…Olive! She smiles cheekily and waves down at Karla. Relief and excitement wash over her as she stares wide eyed at Olive. There is definitely more to discover about her new toy than she thought. Olive is alive!