The Adventures Of Baxter: The Super Baby

• Anthony Vassallo, Grade 2
• Short Story
• 2008

Mum says everybody is special and different and my baby brother Baxter definitely is. My name is Joseph and I am the big brother of Naomi and Baxter which means I’m the one who gets blamed for most things!
A while ago things in our house were getting moved around a lot. Mum and Dad would get up and trip over the table, a chair or even the piano. Each morning Mum would yell out “Joseph! What have you been up too?” It didn’t matter how many times I said it wasn’t me, she wouldn’t believe me. Naomi and I thought there must be a ghost or a monster in our house. So one night we stayed up to see who or what was moving the furniture. We could NOT believe what we saw.
It all began when Mum and Dad gave Baxter his bedtime bottle. Naomi and I pretended to be asleep when Mum and Dad put Baxter to bed and went to their room. When Baxter finished his bottle, I heard some strange noises. I looked down from my bunk and saw Baxter bounce out of his cot. He landed on his feet and walked to the lounge room. Baxter can’t even crawl, so I was shocked!
I leaned over to see if Naomi saw it too. She had very wide eyes and her mouth was wide open.
“Did you see that? I asked.
“Uh-huh,” she mumbled.
I climbed down and we both ran out to see what Baxter was doing. We found our ‘monster’ moving the lounge to the kitchen. “Baxter, I’m telling Mummy,” Naomi shouted and we both ran into Mum and Dad’s room.
Mum and Dad were not happy to be woken up but came to the kitchen. The lounge was in the doorway but Baxter wasn’t anywhere. We went to our room and there was Baxter in his cot all snuggled up! Mum said we mustn’t lie and would have to clean up the lounge room and kitchen in the morning.

Every night Mum and Dad would give Baxter his bottle at bedtime and after he finished it he would turn into ‘Super Baby’! Naomi and I realised it must be the bottles that changed him! Every morning we got in trouble because the house was a mess and the furniture had been moved. Mum and Dad wouldn’t believe that it was Baxter and said we were being rude and silly for saying it was.
One Sunday the whole family went to watch the Rugby League Grand Final. The Roosters were playing the Tigers and it was a great game. With two minutes to go it was a tied game and the Roosters had the ball when their star player got injured. They had three tackles to go and needed to get the ball half way up the field! They needed a superhero to help them.
“Maybe if Baxter had a bottle he’d become ‘Super Baby’ again and help them win” Naomi whispered to me. I quickly got the bottle from his nappy bag and fed him while Mum wasn’t looking. Suddenly, Baxter unstrapped his stroller straps, jumped up and ran onto the field. He was so quick he was just a blurry dot that no one else noticed. He caught the ball and kicked it straight through the goal. The Roosters won! Everyone thought Mitchell Pearce kicked the goal, but Naomi and I knew the truth.
Baxter ran up the stairs, jumped in his stroller and closed his eyes. Just then Mum looked at him and said, “Look at our little man; he’s slept through the whole game! Oh well, we’ll always be able to tell him the story of the grand final when he’s older.”
Naomi and I will certainly be able to tell him a super story!