Yum Boy the Dinosaur!

"Come on! She's not looking!" Zaine pulled his hoodie up in disguise. He walked quickly to the gap in the fence, down there behind a small bush.

Leading the way, he guided Neehan and Beau to his discovery. While he had been exploring in the forest behind the school, he had found a real treasure. Yes, it an old cubby house, built of timber planks, with open windows. It was propped between some trees, hidden from the track from the fence.

"Hey, what do you say now?" Zaine asked, Neehan and Beau looked around, impressed.

"Very cool." Beau said.

"Yes, it's starting to rain." Neehan joked, "Wonder if the roof leaks."

"Snack time," Zaine said, pulling open his back pack. "I brought some sports drinks too."

"Great," Neehan said, "Now we'll be sporty, really good at sport!"

"Funny ha," said Beau, "can I have the blue one?"

The boys in their hoods sat down on the dirt floor of their hut. They heard the distant school bell, recess was over. They were The Thrillseeker Three. They were supposed to be in their classroom now, for creative writing hour.

But Zaine always had some plan. Wagging school and not doing assignments was his basic philosophy. The cubby house was shelter, bit drafty, but safe from spying teachers, like Miss Meanie.

Zaine was sure his teacher got crosser every day. Maybe she had personality issues. Perhaps she was a teacher who totally did not like children. She could make alligators look tame.

Zaine produced a pack of cards. He liked to be a little dude who thought of everything. The three boys were soon busy playing card games, having imaginary bets. In between, they played a game on their phones. This was far better than English writing.

"What's that noise, Zaine?" Neehan asked.

"Shh!" Zaine said. "There's something in the forest." The boys listened in silence, barely breathing. Neehan said a silent prayer that it was not a fierce wild dog. 'We're not alone!" he muttered.

Just then, with a roar, the gruesome ugly face of a baby dinosaur shoved its way through the open door. It was a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex, hungry. Scary, it licked its greenish brown lips, ran its red tongue over his horrible sharp teeth, and said one word, "YUM!"

Zaine, Neehan and Beau stared. For once, Zaine had nothing to say. Neehan whispered, "Don't know about you two, but I am disappearing through this back window."

"With you all the way," said Beau. Zaine followed the other two, to roll down the sloping hill from their cubby house. The Thrillseeker Three scrambled to their feet and hid behind some trees in the dark, damp forest.

"Shh!" they all whispered. They could hear the baby dinosaur stomping around, scuffling in the leaves and branches, looking for lunch. Little boys!

"Oh no!" they gasped. "YUM!" they all heard. The baby T-Rex had appeared.

"What is this?" Zaine asked, "there are no dinosaurs!"

"Dunno," Beau suggested, "Maybe it's escaped from a movie."

"Maybe it's an ancient time lord from the olden days," that was Neehan's idea.

"Whatever, " said Zaine, "I'm heading back to school. Miss Meanie can take care of Yum Boy here." Despite their dangerous situation, the boys giggled. "Yum Boy! Perfect name."

"This is weird, but we are playing chasey with a baby dinosaur. Possibly not for real." Beau said, as the three boys ran towards the school fence.

"Looks real enough, and hungry, but!" Neehan said, sliding up to the gap in the fence.

"YUM!" roared the baby dinosaur, for a baby he was definitely large enough.

Yum Boy was galloping through the forest, right on Zaine's hammer. "I think he wants lunch!"

"Yeah, us!" The three boys took off to their classroom, pushing through the door.

"Zaine!" Miss Meanie was cross, same as usual. "Do not share with me what you have been up to now!"

"Go to your desks!"

"Yes, Miss Meanie, " Neehan answered, "But, listen...."

"Manners from you three, all of a sudden?" Miss Meanie looked more than suspicious. The boys quickly tried to sit down and look intelligent, which was a bit hard. Peering through the windows, waiting.

Sure enough, Yum Boy hurled himself through the classroom door. Miss Meanie was astounded.

"Zaine! Is this your idea of a joke? Where did you get a giant toy dinosaur from, something that size?"

"It's not a toy, Miss!" Beau called to Miss Meanie. But their scary teacher did not listen. She walked right up to the dinosaur, and poked him with her pen.

"Very realistic!" Miss Meanie had no fear in her.

"You'd do anything to dodge essays," spoke up Bossy Britches. She was the girls' school captain, number one student in all subjects.

"Go play with the dinosaur!" Zaine told her.

Miss Meanie raised her voice. "Class, you must rise above these niggles. Right, you can all write an essay on positive interactions and self-talk!"

"Ah, thanks, Zaine, not," his classmates groaned. But Miss Meanie was not listening to anyone, but her inner Mean.

"Okay, you with the scales, leave my classroom right now!"

Yum Boy shrank back in total terror. He had met his inner demon, a teacher.

"Yuck!" he sniveled, as his disappeared through the door, his tail drooping and low.

"Hey, Zaine. He learnt a new word. He speaks two words now!" Neehan and his mates started laughing. Zaine quickly opened his laptop and typed some words about a scary teacher who made a Tyrannosaurus look tame, and cowardly.

"You would not believe all that if I wrote it!" Beau muttered. Miss Meanie was back in control. "Zaine!" He looked up, really scared now.

"You get an A for creativity for once. Next time, leave your toys at home. All I can say is one day, you will grow up!"

"Boys should be seen and not heard!" Bossy Britches said. But Miss Meanie was full of pep now.

"Class, raise your expectations far beyond these micro-aggessions in your conversations."

"Whatever," Zaine said. He did not really get such big words. "Right," said Miss Meanie. "Now we can turn our attention to studying dinosaurs!"

"You are a dinosaur!" Neehan mumbled, voice low, "She even scared Yum Boy."

"Or was that Yuck Boy." Beau asked. "Gotta love our adventures!"

So, no one ever saw Yum Boy again. Maybe it was safer that way, way back where a dinosaur came from. The boys' cubby house is still there, but no one ever plays there now, in the dark, damp forest. No one was ever really sure if Yum Boy had a twin dinosaur.

No, you never know in primary school where adventures can happen for little dudes. There might be adventures waiting for us, right around the next corner. Do not be discouraged.

"The End, Maybe. Shhh!"