Two Primates, Two Sides

"No, you can't come to school with me. I'll get in trouble." This is what I had to tell my best friend, Boone, right to his face the day after winter break. Of course, I only talked to him because I didn't feel so lonely talking to him. He wouldn't understand me.

"Ooh-ee-a-a!" He chanted back with his high-pitched voice. I rubbed the brown fur on his head and replied, "Sorry, bud." I gave him a banana to try to cheer him up. Also, yes. My best friend Boone was a monkey. Do you now get why the heck I can't bring him to school? I would get in trouble with the principal for bringing any other primate to school with me, especially a monkey.

There's another problem that I didn't tell my monkey. If he really did understand me, his heart would break. I couldn't tell him if I wanted him to be the happy monkey he is. You see, I'm already one of the top weirdest kids in school. What would my fellow students do to me if they realized I owned a monkey? Also, would if my monkey showed up at lunch because I brought him? Not only the grade would know, but all of the other grades in middle school would know, too. I shuddered just thinking of it.

"Samantha, you're going to be late for school!" my mom shouted up from the bottom of the steps.

"Coming!" I shouted back. Hurriedly, I went to the bathroom. I thought I heard some ruffling sounds that my lunch bag often made, but my hearing wasn't the best, so it might have been my mom wishing my dad a good day at work before he left. I decided not to do the same just in case I happened to be wrong. I washed my hands and rushed out of the bathroom.

"By Boone!" I grabbed my backpack and ran downstairs. After kissing my mom goodbye, I jogged to school. The only reason I didn't run was because I had gym first period.

Fortunately, I made it to my middle school homeroom right on time. I dropped down my bag and sat at my desk right before Mrs. Wilbert called my name for attendance.

"Saman-"

"Here!" I shouted by accident. "Sorry," I added, hoping not to get into trouble. Again I heard the ruffling sounds, but I thought it wasn't the time to point that out.

The rest of the morning went smoothly. I aced a math test and dissected a frog. I was pleased with the morning. Now was my favorite time of the day.-lunch time! There were students already flooding into the lunch room when I got there. I guess their teachers let them out a little earlier, as we had to get back into the school routine after a week of no school at all. That's why I had to wait a quarter of the lunch and recess time we had waiting on line to get lunch. While I waited, I decided to go into my bag and get my planner. Unfortunately, I already had more than the amount of homework I was hoping for. I would need a planner to write all of my homework down. Plus, I like to use my time to the best of my ability.

So I reached for my backpack on my back. Trying not to drop it (as I was very clumsy), I got hold of the zipper and unzipped it. I got my planner. However, I got something else. When I pulled out my planner, I noticed a brown fur ball. Boone!

That monkey sneaked into my backpack, I'm guessing when I was going to the bathroom in the morning, and might get me into trouble! I love him and all, but this was bad.

"Boone!" I whispered. "Why are you here?" He just gave me puppy eyes. And let me tell you: for a monkey, he has good puppy eyes. They made me feel bad for being mad at him in an instant. "Hey, Boone, just promise to stay silent." Again, puppy eyes. I closed my bag, not even getting the planner. I was in complete shock. My own loyal (or at least I thought) monkey had betrayed me. It just wanted to know why. Because he loved me? I would feel better if that was the reason.

Finally, after ten minutes, I paid for my bagel and potato chips. Acting as if nothing happened, spotted my friends through the dense crowd of students. They were at a far table, near the school's garden.

"Hey Samantha, what's up?" Lea asked. I could have answered that question with a whole story, but I didn't feel like getting pounded with questions like "What happened next?" and "Can I see your monkey?" For that reason (and because I didn't want to seem weird), I replied, "Nothing."

My friends went on with their gossip like always, telling all of the latest news. When they did that, I felt like a spy secretly hearing their every word. Also, I never heard my name in the gossip, and I liked that. Today was different, though. Jordan, a girl at our table who usually never talked, decided to open her mouth.

"You know, guys, I saw a monkey in Samantha's backpack today on the lunch line," Jordan announced. Wait...what? I knew that she was behind me in the lunch line, but I didn't suspect her of seeing Boone! And plus, I thought I could trust her. We weren't the closest friends, but we still were still some sort of friends.

Back to the moment, everyone was looking at me with a dead stare. From there, everything deteriorated. They thought exactly what I didn't want them to think. They said exactly what I didn't want them to say. The worst part is, a little someone invited themselves to the table.

"Ooh-ee-a-a!' At the worst moment, Boone came out and chanted his little song. Somehow, he unzipped the zipper. So, not only did I now have people laughing at me, but they had proof of why they should laugh at me. Also, right about now, almost the entire school decided to chime in with the laughing. I don't know if this was good for the moment, but I heard Principal Vince shout my name.

"Samantha! A moment please!' She leaded Boone and I into her dull office. It was painted gray, and not the grayish-blue you see in young kids' bedrooms. This was gray. The doom chair, as I liked to call it, matched perfectly with it's gray fabric splattered with black dots.

"Samantha, you've brought in a few bugs before, but I have had it. This is too much. What were you thinking?" She was mad at me, but wrong. She asked me a question, so I answered.

"Mrs. Vince, let me explain-"

"No, Samantha. I'm not having it. You'll have an in-school suspension for three weeks. Leave! You open your mouth and it will be four!" That was exactly what I did. Not running, though. I ran and slammed the door behind her. Fighting tears, I ran all the way to the bathroom, not stopping when I was told to walk.

I sat down in the corner of the bathroom and cried my eyes out. I was mad at everyone. Jordan, everyone who laughed at me, Principal Vince, even Boone! I never thought I would think this, but I wish Boone wasn't my pet! Stupid, stupid Boone! If he didn't exist, I wouldn't be the weirdo of the school!

Now, as if things weren't bad enough, a girl walked into the bathroom and would see me crying like a little girl. Still, I couldn't keep it in. I hid my face in my lap again.

"Samantha?" I looked up with my red eyes to see who had called my name. Turns out it was Amy, another girl who had been at the table I sat at before I got embarrassed. "You know," she went on, "I wasn't laughing at you. I think it was wrong that they were. In my opinion, your monkey's pretty cool. I have a weird pet, too." She unzipped the zipper on her backpack. She took out a peculiar looking plastic water bottle. It was clear, but the water had a dark-blue tint to it, so I had to look a little closer to see what was lurking inside.

An octopus! That's an out-of-the-ordinary pet! I smiled and gave a look of amazement to Amy. "His name is Hayden. Maybe him and your monkey could hangout sometime. Now, I have to go to the bathroom and get back to class. Bye!" She locked herself into a stall.

Surprisingly, I walked out of the bathroom with a smile on my face. Sure, I still had an in-school suspension along with an award for weirdest kid in the school, but what did that matter if I could share that award with someone else? Sure, people didn't know that Amy had a weird pet. Actually, it was probably better that way. I didn't want her to face what I faced-the laughing, jeering, and teasing at lunch. I knew. And that was quite enough for me.