A World of Stuffies - Book 1 of Stuffy World

Lulu

"Knock, knock! Wakey wakey!" There came my mom's knocking. I rubbed my eyes and looked at my clock. I almost jumped out of bed. It was about ten o'clock. I usually wake up at eight. Well, I guess I could make an exception for this day.

"Okay, coming, mom!" I called back. I quickly got dressed and went downstairs. "Hi mom, good morning!" I said brightly. It was only my mom and me, as usual. My dad is on a business trip, so it'll take probably a month. "Hi, Lulu, come eat breakfast!" My mom said.

"Oooooh, shall we listen to something?" I asked. Listening to the news, a video, or anything else is kind of a tradition while eating. "Sure! Let's pick a random one today!" Mom said.

"Okay, that sounds great," I replied. I saw mom flicking through all the stuff we could listen to. "Hmmm..........I think this one sounds mysterious. Let's listen to this one! It's called the Stuffy Show, I think." Mom finally said after a while.

Mom turned on the audio. Then a voice rang out, "Good morning, everyone! And welcome to the Stuffy Show. Today we have big leads on where one of the stuffies is-----" Mom paled and quickly stopped the audio.

After a few seconds, mom said shakily, "W-wow. T-there couldn't.....couldn't possibly be...... a s-stuffy. No, no, no......" Then she muttered under her breath and didn't look at me. "Mom?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh, yes. Right. Right. Yes, Lulu?" She finally looked up at me. "Are you okay, mom?" I asked. "Right......yes, of course." Mom composed herself and said, "Yes, right. I suppose you want to hear it?"

"Um.....yeah, I suppose so," I replied. Mom looked at me again and sighed. "Are you sure?" She asked. "Yes," I answered. "Alright, then. I suppose you could. Just......just......it's fake, alright?" Mom said firmly. "What?" I asked. But before mom could answer, the voice rang out again.

"One of our sources says that a person reported having seen a very unusual scene in the house. The Department of Stuffy Protection raced to the scene, but the stuffy was nowhere to be seen. But this is still good news! We still have leads. Right, we're very close to gathering more members! Now, we have one more announcement to make. Please check your stuffies!"

Then no more sound came. "D-don't......believe it, alright? It's just.....just fake. It's very fake, just a joke." Mom murmured, just loud enough to let me hear her. "Okay.....Can I go?" I said, averting my eyes from my mom's. "Yes, yes. Of course." Mom said, still looking a bit shaken.

I raced upstairs and went into my bedroom. I locked the door and took a deep breath. Right, I could do this. I quickly looked at my stuffies, Teddy and Pandy. "You're not real, are you? Can....can you talk? And walk?" I asked Teddy and Pandy.

No answer. I tried again, "I won't hurt you if that's what you're worried about. I only want to help you. I heard the Stuffy Show, and I just want to make sure. Please, just talk to me." Only silence greeted me.

I was feeling ridiculous talking to stuffies, so I turned to leave. "Prove it then." A voice said quietly behind me. I whipped around and gasped. Teddy was walking. Moving, and also talking.

"Y-you can move and talk? H-how?" I stumbled but quickly caught myself. "Yes, we are very much real. But no human believes it. Pandy, I think we can talk now. This human is kind, I believe." Teddy said.

The next thing I knew, Pandy also came walking. "Okay, Teddy. But I'll only believe that she is kind when I see the proof." Pandy said. "I am kind! I just want to help. B-but I don't understand. Don't you have your planet or something?" I asked.

Teddy burst into tears. Well, if you could call it tears. Teddy wasn't exactly crying, but he did look very, very depressed. "What's wrong?" I asked, as soothingly as possible. "Oh, everything," Teddy said. "Planet gone. Everything!"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Sit down and tell me." Teddy sat down on the bed and told me about their planet and the monster and how they escaped from their world. "Oh......" I said, not knowing what to say next.

"Well, don't worry. We'll find a way! We'll defeat the monster and save the Stuffy World!" I said, a new determination burning through me. "Y-you think?" Teddy said, hope creeping into his voice. "Yep!" I said.

"Okay then," Teddy said, looking more hopeful. I brightened. "Let's go for a walk outside," I said. "That way we can have more fresh air, though I don't know if you guys need air to survive...." I looked at Pandy and Teddy.

"But anyway, let's just go." I declared. I carefully put Pandy and Teddy in my arms and tiptoed downstairs. Mom was nowhere to be seen. I ran to the front door and out through it.

"Okay, please don't talk for now. I need to think things through." I said while walking and keeping Pandy and Teddy secure in my arms. "Okay. No problem!" Teddy said. Once I thought it through, I became calmer.

"Right, I'm ready. So.....I think the first thing we should do is forming a club to help the stuffies." I said. "What's a club?" Pandy asked curiously. "It's.....it's.....like a group of people that has the same goal," I answered.

"Well, I think we should have a name. Then we'll decide on all the other stuff. Like the jobs and who gets to be the leader and stuff like that." I said to Pandy and Teddy after thinking for a while. "Okay, sounds great!" Teddy said.

"I think it should be Phoenix because that's a sign of hope," I said. "And we need some hope now," I muttered the last part under my breath. "I agree," Pandy said. "Me too!" Teddy added.

"Okay, great," I said. "Now, let's work on gathering members. So, do you know where any stuffy would be right now?" I asked. "No, I only just escaped with Pandy," Teddy answered, a pained look on his face.

"Okay, well, I'll just keep listening to the Stuffy Show and maybe take a walk tomorrow to see if any stuffies are there," I said, though not hopeful we would be lucky tomorrow. "Okay, sounds good to me," Pandy said.

I walked back home and went inside. I saw mom sitting at the table. "Hi, mom," I said. "Hmm? Oh yes. Hi, Lulu." Mom said absently, not even asking where I was. "So....I'll go now," I said hesitantly. "Right," Mom answered, twitching her fingers.

I went upstairs and locked my bedroom door. "Should I tell my mom about it?" I asked. "No." Teddy and Pandy said together. I took one look at their face and knew they were not changing their answer anytime soon. "Okay, then." I sighed.

"Cheer up!" Teddy said. "Yeah, we've even got a motto for the Phoenix!" Pandy cut in. "Oh, okay. What is it?" I asked, my mood lifting just a little. "Phoenix forever!"

"Yeah!" I lifted my hand and placed it on the bed. Pandy and Teddy lifted their paws, I guess, on the bed too. "Phoenix forever!" We said it together.