The Teddy Bear Story

CHAPTER 1

Vanilla, my best friend, and I were lying perfectly still with our heads rested against the comfy, fluffy pillows. Our owner, the cheerful 12 year old Abby, had just then left the room and shut the door. I looked out the window. The birds chirping, the sun blazing, the little dogs walking on the sidewalks with their owners. Why couldn’t we be like that? Why couldn’t we happily roam around the streets with no problem of anyone getting freaked out that teddy bears actually live? Having a life like that has been my number one thought and wishes since my first few days in that store, and I would do anything to make it come true.
Lala, as I like to call Vanilla, sat up and looked at me. I met her in Toys R Us. We were in different aisles and never even glanced at each other until Abby picked us both up and purchased us 4 years ago. It felt good knowing that I wouldn’t be alone for my time here in this household. The ride home was pretty awkward, though. Neither one of us really spoke except for the usual “Hi, how are you? What’s your name?” Abby, on the other hand was just chatting away about all the kinds of things she could do with us, because apparently, we are the biggest ones in her group of teddy bears, and she could actually dress us up in fancy clothes. Right now I’m wearing a dark purple sequined sparkly short dress, matching sunglasses, and the most adorable little flats I have ever seen. Lala is wearing a pastel pink and white flowery sundress, a cute straw hat, and a pair of brown sandals.
I’ve never meant anyone as determined, daring, and straightforward as Lala. I mean, she sort of has two sides to her. She can also be really loud and fun at times, too. I don’t know what I would do without her. For one, her personality is the kind that you want to be around all the time. Plus, I probably would’ve been chewed up and ripped all over by now by either Abby’s little baby brothers or by Tessa, their puppy, if Lala hadn’t figured out a way to get away.
Well, Tessa’s not really a puppy now. In fact, she’s really matured and is now one of our closest friends. She doesn’t get that much attention, because of Lilly, their other dog. Ever since Lilly came, a few years after Tessa, no one really cares about her anymore. I feel sorry for her.
“You know what Peri?” Lala was talking to me. My real name is Periwinkle, like it says on my birth certificate. It changed to Peri only because the twin baby brothers, Max and Zack, could remember just that part of my name.
“I’m really tired of staying in this house and not being able to go anywhere. I want to go on an adventure. I need to get out there and explore the world. There’s more to the world than just this small pink bedroom.”
“I know Lala,” I said. “Trust me, I know. I want to get out too. But don’t you understand? We are teddy bears! We can’t do anything! And even if we go somewhere, where are we going to go? If we leave, Abby will be heartbroken. She’ll think that we got chewed up by her dogs, because she doesn’t know that we actually talk to them.”
“Who cares about Abby?” she yelled. “Abby’s not 8 years old anymore. She doesn’t need us. And no one even cares about Tessa. We could even bring her with us! And you know Lilly wouldn’t want to live out there, she’s perfectly comfortable in her little doggie house.”
It actually seemed pretty reasonable. She’s right. They don’t care about Tessa. Besides, I’m sure that she would want to get out of here on an adventure, too, and not Lilly. And, about Abby, well, she doesn’t need us. She has her friends, and a lot more stuffed animals. I mean, she probably won’t even notice that Lala and I are gone.
I sighed. “Lala, you’re right. Abby had her fun; it’s time to have ours.”
“Yes!” she exclaimed. There was a huge smile on her face. “We could go to the park, the fairgrounds, the beach! Maybe, we could even get out of the country by an airplane!”
I laughed. We have been living in America for a long time now. I’ve only been on a plane once, and that was from China to here, New York. I took the whistle on the side of the bed that Abby uses to tell Lilly to come. Only, Lilly isn’t here right now. They went to the vet. I blew in it three times until Tessa finally showed up.
“Tessa! Guess what? We’re getting out of this house and going on an adventure!” I told her.
She looked at me, quiet for a moment, and then got excited.
“But, where, how, when?” she barked.
We didn’t really think about the ‘when’ part, or the ‘how’ part, but that would be easy. All we would have to do is climb on Tessa’s back, and she knows how to open the door. She’s a smart dog.
Lala responded before I could open my mouth. “We can go wherever we want to go! And if we want to leave quickly, we better leave now. Lilly’s not scheduled to go to the vet again in about two months.”
“B-but now?” I stammered. “We have to pack our clothes and everything! We can’t just leave right away!”
“That’s the thing. You have to be quick, or you’re not going to survive. Come on, grab your backpack and start packing!”
Yes, we have backpacks. They’re pretty small, but so are our clothes so it won’t be a problem.
“Tessa, you’ll have to go to the kitchen and get your doggy food,” I said.
She listened and left, leaving Lala and I alone packing our bags.

We had finished packing our backpacks a moment later. Tessa was lying down on the bed, and Lala and I were just zipping the packs up.
“Alright,” said Lala, pushing in her clothes one more time, then zipping it up. “I’m ready.”
I looked around the room, trying to spot anything else we might need. Nope. That’s it. This is the big moment; we are finally leaving the house, maybe even for good.
I sighed. “Okay, Lala. Time to go on an adventure! Time to be free, explore, do whatever we want to do, go wherever we want to go! All with the risk of being in danger, getting seen, getting caught.” But that’s what makes it all the more fun, right? I was getting pretty excited about this big step. I remember, so many teddy bears in that store thought they were going to end up in the trash dump, and I did, too. But little did I know that I would be gaining close friendships along the way, getting prepared for something great. I’m one of the lucky ones, yes I am.
Tessa got up and stretched. Then, she hopped down to the white, vacuumed carpet. She looked at us both with anticipating eyes. Lala was the first to get on Tessa’s back. After she had settled down, I climbed on next.
“Are you okay, Tessa?” asked Lala, looking concerned about Tessa’s back.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine! You girls are as light as a feather. Now, are you ready?”
“Yes!” we both cried.
“Let’s go!” she said as she ran toward the door. The door was half open, so she could easily fit through. Then, Tessa trotted fast down the stairs, and that made Lala and me to start shaking.
“T-t-es-ss-aa, sl-oow do-w-nn”, she said, her head shaking as she spoke. We both giggled at the way she was talking.
We had finally reached the door. Tessa put her right paw up, and turned the door knob as hard as she could, and yes! She got it open. I saw her looking around to see if anyone was there. Usually, the neighborhood is quiet, because the large houses are spaced apart from each other. This morning was just as quiet as any other morning, so it was a perfect time to sneak out. She stepped outside, and closed the door behind her.
Tessa ran down the driveway, getting faster and faster after each step. The feeling was great, I could feel the wind in my soft, teddy fur. The sun was actually blazing, the warmth of it on my face. Lala was holding on to Tessa’s sparkly black collar with one hand, the other up in the air. To keep myself from falling off, I held on to Lala’s shoulders with both hands.
As Tessa reached the end of the driveway, she stopped. “Where to?” she asked. There was a small truck coming nearby, and she quickly lay down on her stomach to make it seem she wasn’t doing anything unusual for a dog. When the truck came closer, she stood up, it passed, and then she started chasing after it.
“Whoa! Tessa! What are you doing?” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Good thing no humans can hear us talk.
Lala and I had our heads forward and our arms both hugging the side of Tessa warm, furry body. Her speed got quicker, and then, she jumped up on the back of the truck!
I yelled. My whole body was dangling off the ledge of the truck, with only my little hands to keep me hanging on. I looked below me. The gray road was zooming by underneath my feet. I looked back up, seeing Tessa plopped on her side with Lala on her other side, because she had slipped off her back when they landed.
As for me however, I slipped off in mid-air, lucky enough to just barely hit the truck so I could hang on. If I hadn’t been quick enough, I would’ve fallen flat on my face on the dangerous road. Now that would really have hurt.
Once they got stable, and realized I wasn’t with them, they turned around and spotted me hanging on the back of a truck with probably the most fearful face you have ever seen, for my life. My hands were getting really sweaty, and I was just about to slip, just about to plunge down to the dark road, about to face the end of my life.


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