A World of Stuffies - Book 1 of Stuffy World

Teddy

After Lulu went downstairs, I beckoned Pandy to come. "So, what do you think?" I asked. "Of the human?" Pandy asked. "Yes, and we should stop calling her that. She is called Lulu." I said.

"Well, I think we should be careful. We still don't know if she is kind." Pandy said, ignoring the last part. "She is nice." I insisted. "Fine." Pandy sighed. Arguments aren't going to get us anywhere.

"Well, let me get to the main point. Do you agree with this 'club' thing?" I asked. "Yes. I do. That way, we have a better chance of meeting more stuffies. I guess Lulu is kinda useful." Pandy admitted. Woohoo! Victory! I lifted my paws into the air in my mind.

"Yep, she is very useful." I said, making an encouraging pose."Fine, Lulu is nice, I guess. She offered to help us. That's something. Usually, humans just mind their own business. Lulu is different, though, in a good way." Pandy said, looking embarrassed.

"See? Lulu is nice!" I said. "I guess." Pandy didn't look very sure, though. "Well, I have another thing to say," I said, hesitating. "Do you think.....there's any chance that the stuffies at home......are still alive?"

Pandy froze, then said, "Of course. They are strong." I nodded in agreement. I didn't want to bring up the subject because it pained Pandy as much as it pained me to think of what situation the stuffies who didn't escape were in.

"Yes. So.....Do you think we should listen to the Stuffy Show tomorrow?" I said, quickly switching the topic. Pandy looked thoughtful. "Hmmm......I think so. But the question is how." Pandy said.

"Why? Do you think there will be a problem?" I said, confused. "Of course, Teddy. We can't just walk there and say, 'Hey there. We're real. Let us listen to the Stuffy Show!'. We don't know if the other human is nice or not yet." Pandy said dryly.

"Oh, okay. Well, I was just asking..." I lowered my head. "It's fine. Look.....I'm sorry for the tone. It's just that it isn't like before.....before we escaped," Pandy said softly. I took one look at his face and understood. "I know," I said quietly.

We just sat there for a few moments thinking about our life in the Stuffy World. Then a loud voice rang outside the bedroom, "Wait, Lulu. I'll be back." I listened closely and realized the voice belonged to the other human.

"Quickly, we have to hide!" Pandy whispered urgently. "Where?" I whispered back. "Just....I don't know. Let's sit over there and not move." Pandy pointed to the closet, at least I think that's what it's called.

We hurried over and sat down, looking at the bedroom now. Then the door opened. "Ah, good. I knew I left it here." The other human said. She walked to the bed and picked up something, then returned to the door. "What a nice room...." The other human murmured to herself.

"Hmmm, interesting. Lulu's got a necklace, yes, that's nice. And also some toys. Oh, and there's the-----" The human scanned the room while talking and cut off when her eyes landed on us. She froze completely. "No, no, no." The human muttered.

"You....you cannot move or talk. Right....? No, what am I doing? Talking to a stuffy. Silly me." The human laughed nervously. She took a last look around and hurried out of the room. Pandy and I let out a relieved sigh.

"What.....what do you think about that?" I said after I regained my composure. "I think-----" We both started to talk. "You go first then, Pandy," I said. "Okay. Well, I think the other human might have a suspicion that we can move....and even talk." Pandy said, looking a little uncertain. "I think so too," I said, a little nervous. "Well, let's just be careful. We'll be fine."

"Yeah, okay," Pandy replied, brightening a little. "I think Lulu is coming back! We can ask her a few questions about her life as a human." I suggested it when I heard footsteps coming upstairs.

"I think we should stop talking and moving just in case it's the other human again," Pandy said, tensing a little. I nodded in agreement. We both fell silent and looked at the door. Lulu came bounding in, looking a little confused.

Pandy and I both relaxed. "Hi, Lulu!" We both said. "Oh, hi guys! Why did you stop talking and moving when I came in? Is something wrong?" Lulu said, looking anxious. "Oh, no. Not at all. It's just...." I trailed off.

"Your mom came in, so we didn't know if it was you or your mom." Pandy cut in. "Yeah," I said. "Oh, what happened?" Lulu asked, furrowing her brow. I told Lulu about how her mom came in, and we hid in the closet. Then Pandy said the rest.

"Oh.....well, that was close. But why would my mom react like that?" Lulu said, looking a bit unnerved. "I'm not sure. But Pandy and I think your mom might have a suspicion that we can move and talk." I replied.

"Oh! Really?" Lulu didn't look that surprised. "Why aren't you surprised, Lulu?" Pandy asked. "Well, I saw my mom this morning. Her behaviour was similar when she saw you guys. But it's not possible. How could she know....?" Lulu trailed off.

After a moment, I asked, "How did she react?" Lulu snapped out of her daze, "Oh. We were just listening to the Stuffy Show. Then my mom just started saying, 'No, no, no. They are not real.' That's weird...."

"Yes, it seems that it is the same reaction Pandy and I got from your mom when she entered this room," I said. "Yep," Pandy added. "Well, I've got sort of a plan. It's kind of simple, actually...." Lulu said.

"That's fine. Simple is the best plan!" Pandy chirped brightly (not literally, of course). "Okay, well, I have a plan like this. You guys can stay here for now, please don't wander around the house. My mom might notice. Tomorrow I'll take you guys downstairs and ask my mom about stuffies." Lulu said.

"Okay." Both Pandy and I said. "Right. Well, I still have one more thing to tell you. This is actually very good news. So, when I was looking out the window, I saw------" Lulu started to talk, but was cut off by her mom, "Lulu, dinner's ready!"

Lulu shot us an apologetic look, "Sorry, gotta go, I'll be back later." She whispered to us. She straightened up and walked out of the bedroom. I heard Lulu saying to her mom, "Coming!" before there were footsteps that indicated that Lulu was going downstairs.

Pandy and I exchanged a look. "At least we'll get to hear later, I think," Pandy said, in an attempt to cheer us both up. "I hope Lulu's mom doesn't distract her this time," I said. Pandy nodded, then looked thoughtful.

"What are you thinking about, Pandy?" I asked, feeling curious. "Oh....I was just thinking about what Lulu would have said before she got distracted. Maybe.......No, it's too much to hope for. If........Well, it's unlikely. Never mind."

"Tell me," I said, feeling even more curious now. "Well......." Pandy hesitated, then gave in, "Fine, I'll tell you. I just had a feeling......that maybe Lulu saw one of the stuffies when she looked outside...." I understood immediately. "I'm not sure. Let's just wait for news when Lulu comes back. Pandy nodded, and we both fell into silence.