Too Many, Too Close

Jonathan, a cockroach, wants his own room. Picture book story idea.

                                                  Too Many, Too Close

                                                    By Daryl Campbell



         “I want my own room,” the reddish brown cockroach said. “It's too crowded in here.”

         “Jonathan, you have too many brothers and sisters to have your own room.” Mom smiled.

         “But I'm already five months old and...”

         “No buts,” she interrupted, “you'll just have to make due for now.”

         Jonathan watched mom leave to get food for supper. She was usually right, but he was the oldest of a hundred and twenty three brothers and sisters and wanted his own room.

         “I can already fly too,” Jonathan spread his long wings, jumped and landed on the far wall. “Mark, Joseph, Anna, Michelle, Jack, or Roger can't fly yet.”

         He walked along the wall and searched the dark for any of the big 'human things'. Young cockroaches knew about the horrible monsters that lit bright lights across the world and enjoyed scaring them. Jonathan saw one once that yelled and ran around the room. It grabbed one of those stick weapons with the yellow straws on it and tried to get him.

         Jonathan looked at all the places he could use for a room the rest of the night. He liked a wide crack he found in the wall behind the refrigerator, but a family of wood spiders were already there. There was a wide open room under the stove, but he noticed other insects there. Too much traffic for what he needed. Under the door and into the garage was where he went next.

         In a far corner of the garage was a white box with dirt and goop along the bottom. Rubber stoppers at each corner raised it off the floor. Jonathan climbed under the metal box to a warm, damp space.

         “This is my new room,” he announced.

         Happy, Jonathan went to his home under the kitchen sink. On his way, he grabbed a few things from the floor to snack on: a piece of cookie, an old french fry, and tiny bits of crumbled meat the 'human things' had dropped.

         “Your late,” Mom said when Jonathan came in. “Everyone's eaten, but I saved you some cheese I found earlier.”

         “Thanks,” Jonathan took the cheese, “but I have something to tell you.”

         “And what's that?”

         “I found my own room,” he answered.

         “Where's this room at?” Mom asked.

         “It's in that garage place. I think it's...”

         “You're still too young to go so far,” Mom interrupted.

         “It looks like a good place. It doesn't seem like anyone ever goes there.”

         Mom shook her head, worried about the dangers in the garage. She kissed him on the head and waited for him to finish eating.

         “We'll take a look at this room tomorrow. If it's as good as you claim, you can move in and see if you like it. Go get some sleep,” Mom said.

         Jonathan hurried off to bed. He frowned a little when he got to where he slept. His brothers were all over one end of the room and his sisters were at the other end.  Jonathan, very tired, climbed over a brother or two, wiggled past a few sisters, and found a spot to sleep. He stretched out his flat body and closed his eyes.

         The next night came quick. Breakfast was a mix of stale bread, old bits of candy, and a rotted banana. Jonathan ate as fast as he could and led Mom across the kitchen, under the door, and to the metal box. A long way from under the sink, but Mom liked the fact that there wasn't much evidence of 'human things'. She gave him permission to move in and talked to him about being safe.

         “Remember, run if you see a human monsters. If you need anything, you can always come home.” Mom kissed him and left.

         “I'll be okay,” he said.

         The first day was great. Jonathan stretched out as long as he could without touching anyone. When night came again, he woke, stretched his legs, and got up to eat. He didn't find any food in the garage and climbed under the door into the kitchen. He found a few drops of pudding near the refrigerator, but the light came on. One of the 'human things' walked to the garage door with a green basket in its hand and Jonathan hid under the refrigerator.

         The 'human thing' didn't come back to the kitchen and Jonathan decided to go to his room. With the light still on, he crossed the floor and climbed up the wall to the top off the door to wait until it was safe.

         After a few minutes, the 'human thing' returned to the kitchen. Jonathan backed up on the wall, but the monster saw him and screamed. It grabbed a wooden pole with straws on it from the side of the stove. Jonathan barely avoided being hit when the broom slammed against the wall. Scared and confused, he jumped from the wall, spread his wings, and landed on the floor. He went under the door and into the garage as fast as he could.

         The door opened behind Jonathan and dust scattered across the ground when the broom hit the floor. His heart beat fast and he was out of breath, but ran to the metal box, slid under the edge, and came to a stop.  After a few minutes, the monster left the garage and Jonathan fell asleep.

         The next night, Jonathan felt more uncertain. The 'human thing' was scary and he was lonelier than he thought he'd be. He took a trip to his old home, ate dinner with his mom and all his brothers and sisters. Though old enough to have his own room, he thought he might want to move back for just a little while. He was the oldest of all his mom's kids and it would help if he stayed to make sure everything was okay. He'd have his own room when he wanted it and might use it to camp out. He waited until his brothers and sisters climbed into bed before he talked to Mom.

         “I think I should come home and help out here for a while.” Jonathan said.

         Mom smiled. “I can use the help, Jonathan, and the little ones miss their big brother. I'll wait up until you get back.”

         “I'll be a few minutes.” Jonathan ran to his new room and got everything he needed.

         Before daylight shone through the kitchen windows, Jonathan was back home. He told Mom he loved her and went to the room where his brothers and sisters were already asleep. He climbed over Alex, wiggled around Natalie, and squeezed in between Carla and Charles. Happy to be back, Jonathan fell asleep with a big smile. He had his own room now, but sometimes things just needed to be a little too close.