A Conversation
With the Monster Under My Bed
by Gabby Duran
It was a long
and tiring night. You know those kinds of nights
where you try to sleep but you just can't? Kinda
what happened to me. So there I was, trying to
sleep, physically spent from attempting strenuous
physical activities known as exercise, when I
hear a snarling under my bed. Kind of like a dog,
but not a dog. “Hello? Are there monsters
under my bed?” I asked while whispering.
“Sorry,
didn't hear you. What did you say?” a voice
from underneath replied.
I gave an
exasperated sigh. “I said 'Are there
monsters under my bed?'”
“Nope,”
the voice replied. His voice was gruff, like a
biker or an action movie star or sandpaper.
“Then
what exactly are you?”
“Did you
call me a 'what'?” the voice sounded kind of
angry.
“Well,
what am I supposed to call you?” I asked.
“Well, my
friends call me Kenny.”
Now, the
thought of running outside or panicking did not
even attempt to enter my mind.
“Friends?”
“Yes, you
stupid dunce, monsters have friends, too.”
“But you
said there were no monsters under my bed.”
“Yeah,
there's only one monster. Monster.”
“Oh, I
see,” I replied rather calmly. I did not
want to appear frightened. That would make me
feel like a liar.
“Hey,
kiddo, what's your name?”
“I'd
rather not. My mom told me not to talk to
strangers, and monsters definitely count as
strangers.”
“Well,
can I call you Rick?”
“Yeah,
sure.” My name is Gabby, but was I supposed
to tell him that? He could steal my identity, or
worse, sell my name to spammer companies. No
thank you.
“I'll
tell you what. You seem like a nice guy. I won't
eat you. I'm on a no-kid diet.”
“Actually,
I'm a teenager. I'm just kinda short for my age.”
“Okay.
But don't worry; I still won't eat you. It's
actually a no-human diet.”
“So how
did you end up under my bed?”
“Friend
said he'd pay me twenty dollars to hide under
your bed for 12 hours,” the voice replied.
“My bed
or any bed?” I asked.
“He said
any bed. I was in the neighborhood. Was gonna
stay under a nice king-sized bed, but I got lost.
Used my teleportation powers to travel to the
nearest bed. So here I am.”
“How will
you prove you hid under a bed?”
A quick flash
of light answered my question. I couldn't see him,
but I was pretty sure Kenny was smiling with his
plaque-ey, green, cavity riddled teeth.
“Selfie.”
“Monsters
take selfies? And you can teleport?”
“Rick,
there's a lot about monsters you don't understand.”
"Fair
enough."
I could
finally feel the sweet oblivion of sleep creep up
on me. “Hey, Kenny, I gotta sleep.”
“Alright,
won't bother you no more.”
He was quiet
after that. As I faded into subconsciousness,
Kenny said one more thing.
“Hey,
Rick?”
“Yeah,
Kenny?”
“Goodnight,
man-flesh.”
"Goodnight,
Kenny."
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