"He should have been home by now!"
Elephant had never been away from Evan this long. Elephant and Evan were as thick as thieves, especially during the times Elephant would accompany Evan during his midnight (10 o'clock) crusades to the kitchen in search of contraband goodies from the pantry. Mmmm, it's funny how Oreos and Cheezits taste better when eating them in your moonlit bedroom with a best friend at your side.
Elephant's time with Evan was becoming noticeably shorter, what with Evan starting 4th grade and after-school soccer practices. Soccer can be brutal, especially at that age, but Evan never failed to retrieve Elephant from their bed as soon as he'd come home everyday. They'd have dinner together every night with Evan's parents. Just last night, Evan came home from practice, said hello to Elephant, showered, and grabbed Elephant before heading downstairs to that day's dinner: spaghetti and garlic bread. That is, spaghetti for Evan and his parents, and the non-existent sustenance that stuffed animals live on. It was another delicious meal that Elephant savored because it meant spending time with Evan.
Today, however, is completely different. Evan hasn't come home yet.
"He's jus' a little late, Elephant," a deep, resonating voice says. "Calm down. Yer pacin' is makin' me dizzy."
Monster was always the logical one out of the two characters. Monster had been Elephant and Evan's neighbor since the Swiston family had moved into the house. Evan was barely 4 years old, but he immediately noticed the gleaming eyes and humid air that first night he spent in his new room. His parents managed to convince him that it was his imagination, but Elephant knew the pudgy, glossy creature was real and kept an eye on him. After a few nights, Monster and Elephant struck up a deal. Monster would protect Evan at night, and Elephant would keep Evan happy during the day. The deal fizzled out when Evan started school and Elephant had to stay at home. The deal turned into a friendship as the two learned how to chat about everything under the sun.
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"Yeah, but he's never this late! I'd know!" Elephant frets. This isn't the first time Elephant has worried for Evan and it wouldn't be the last. But it was almost nine o'clock and Evan's parents weren't home either. Something felt off and Elephant didn't like it one bit.
Monster closed his drooping eyes and sighed. "Yer kid is gonna trip on that groove yer wearin' into the floor." Elephant stopped walking and looked into the darkness under Evan's bed. With an eyebrow raised, Elephant commented, "I'm made out of synthetic cotton. How am I supposed to wear down anything?"
Monster opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a slamming door. Specifically, the front door downstairs that Evan walks through when he's home. Elephant leaped for joy and rushed to the base of the nightstand while Monster scooted himself under the bed as much as he could. Elephant climbed up the nightstand and managed to get back on top of the bed before the footsteps reached the upstairs hallway. Elephant was always thrilled to see Evan after another long day, even when it was late at night. However, Evan didn't appear in the bedroom doorway like he always did. Elephant and Monster didn't get to see Evan's I'm home grin. The footsteps belonged not to Evan, but to Evan's mother.
She entered the bedroom with a look of shock and tears. After woodenly walking over to Elephant, she collapsed onto Evan's bed. Elephant fell over on impact and lay beside the mother's hand, a hand that was clutching Evan's green dinosaur blanket. "Lucy," Evan's father calls from downstairs. Within moments, he's in the room as well, comforting his wife with a few tears of his own. Elephant notices the red puffiness in both of the adults' faces. Elephant also notices that Evan is not with them. Where is he? Elephant wonders, knowing Monster is thinking the same thing. Where is Evan?!