The light || Lucas Sinclair

pollywog

"Jesus have you seen them?" Joyce asked while looking under the couch cushions.

"We're looking Mom." Jonathan responded.

"Yeah, we're... we're looking." Leah said.

Suddenly Bob exclaimed. "A-ha! Found 'em."

"Oh!" Joyce said

"Hiding under some jeans, sneaky little buggers."

"Thank you. Thank you. You're a life saver. Can you take Will and Leah to school today? I cannot be late again." Joyce asked Jonathan.

"He's staying over now?"

"Can you just take them please?"

"I can take them." Bob spoke up.

"Will you make sure they get in okay?" Joyce questioned.

"Yeah, of course." Bob said. "What do you say, big guy and little chickadee. Wanna go for a ride in the Bobmobile?"

Both kids looked at Joyce who just smilies before looking back at Bob.

—

"Was that you I heard milling around last night, or was that a ghost?" Bob asked looking over at Will.

"Yeah. Me, probably."

"Another nightmare?"

"Um...no."

"Did I ever tell you about Mr. Baldo?" Bob asks.

"Mr. Baldo?" Will repeats.

"Yeah. I was a little younger than you, standing in line for the Ferris Wheel at the Roane County fair. And suddenly, I feel this fat white glove tap me on the shoulder. I spin around, and there he is. Mr. Baldo." He then started to imitate a clowns voice. "Hey, kiddo, would you like a ballon?"

The two kids giggled at his impression of the clown.

"Go ahead, laugh. It's funny. It wasn't funny back then, I can tell you that. I couldn't get him out of my head. Every night, he would come to me in my dreams. And every night when he came to me...I ran. It got so bad that I made my mom stay in the room with me until I could fall asleep every night."

"Really?"

"Really. It went on like that for months. And then one day, the nightmares suddenly stopped. Wanna know how?"

"How?" Will asked, Leah leaning forward also interested.

"Well, I fell asleep, and just like always, Mr. Baldo came to me. Only this time, I didn't run. This time, I stood my ground. I just looked at Mr. Baldo in his stupid face and I said, 'Go away. Go away!' Just like that, he was gone. Never saw him again. Easy-peasy, right?"

"Easy-peasy." Will said.

"Just like that." Bob said snapping his fingers.

Eventually they pulled up to the school. "Have a good day kiddos."

"Thanks for the ride Bob!" Leah said.

—

"The case of Phineas Gage is one of the great medical curiosities of all time. Phineas was a radical worker in 1848 who had a nightmarish accident." Mr. Clarke explained. "A large iron rod was driven completely through his head. Phineas miraculously survived. He seemed fine. And physically, yes, he was. But his injury resulted in a complete change to his personality. So much that friends that knew him started referring to him as "No longer Gage." At the time, this was known as the American Crowbar Case. Although it wasn't a-" But before he could finish his his sentence Dustin busted through the door and cam running in.