The end of August. Almost September.
Most of the trees near the orphanage had no leaves. The trees' branches were bare and gently swayed in the breeze. The grass, which was now an ugly color and not a pretty green, was completely covered with leaves. Red leaves. Yellow leaves. Heck, even orange and brown. But no green. Why? 'Cause it was the beginning of fall.
Fall was one of the best seasons for the orphans. That and spring. The outside was cool and filled with fresh air. It was no longer hot and dry.
The kids had woken up early that morning. All of them were excited for the new season. They desired to leave the comfort of indoors and play outdoors.
One of the children asked Mrs. Hopper if they could go outside. Mrs. Hopper surprisingly agreed, adding that they desperately needed the exercise, and demanded that they wear jackets, hats, shoes, and even gloves or mittens. Even though that they did not want to wear extra clothing, the children respected her decision and made sure that they put on those clothes after having breakfast. They just wanted to go outside and play with the leaves.
Shelly, however, was not up and about.
Fall had not crossed her mind. All that she was thinking of was sleeping in. She was not tired. She just wanted to rest in her cozy bed.
She was lying on her side, and her eyes were closed. She looked so peaceful.
"Shelly?"
Shelly heard the voice clearly, but grunted and rolled over.
The voice chuckled. "Shelly. Sweetheart. It is me. Your best friend."
"Mmm..." She kicked her legs, trying to wake them up. "...five more minutes..."
"Seriously? You are still tired?" He smirked. "So I guess that I have to assume that you are not hungry for - oh, I do not know - chocolate chip pancakes?"
Immediately, the girl sat up. She raised her nose, sniffing the delicious smell of the delicious pancakes, and turned her head.
There was Slappy. The three feet and three inches dummy stood by her bed and was holding a tray. In the middle of the tray was a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. There were three pancakes. There was also a fork on the plate, a glass of water, and a napkin.
Shelly eyed the pancakes and licked her lips.
"Do you like what you see?" Slappy asked. "I got up very early and fixed you a well-deserved breakfast before the mistress and the other orphans even opened their eyes."
"You...you did this...for me?" she finally spoke.
"Absolutely. Remember? I would do anything for my best friend." He carefully set the tray on her lap.
She smiled. "Thank you."
The puppet and the girl had been the best of friends ever since. From the moment that he came into her life and to the point where she was leaning on him for support.
And it was also getting to a point where they were starting to care for each other...
Slappy climbed onto her bed and sat next to her. He handed her the fork and rested his wooden body against her. "May I ask you a question?"
"Sure. What is it?" She cut a piece of the pancakes, picked it up with her fork, and shoved it in her mouth.
"Do you like Halloween?"
She chewed and swallowed. "Like Halloween? I love Halloween! It is my favorite holiday."
"Awesome! It is my favorite too."
"The scary atmosphere. The costumes. The candy. And the fact that I was born on Halloween."
The dummy became shocked and raised his eyebrows. "So...your birthday is on Halloween?"
"Yeah. Cool, right?"
He frowned and got up on his wooden feet. "It is not cool." He gripped the sides of her face. "It is amazing! You made my day." He kissed all over her face.
She giggled. "Stop! That tickles."
He stopped and brushed her hair back. "You and I need to go to the store today and buy you the perfect costume for Halloween."
"But it is not even September yet. Besides, Mrs. Hopper would never let me go to the store. She hates Halloween and does not let any of us orphans go anywhere except outside to exercise. You know that."
Just then, Mrs. Hopper came into the room. She looked at Shelly.
"Shelly," she started. "As you may know, Halloween is sneaking upon us. And I was informed by a certain someone that you really like Halloween. Not only that, your birthday is on that day."
Shelly nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"Here." The mistress handed her some money. "Go to the store and buy yourself things that you want."
The orphan girl was surprised. This was totally out of character for Mrs. Hopper.
"You want me to...what?"
"You heard me. There is a nice, little shop that is not too far from here. Go there and treat yourself."
"...are you okay?"
"I am fine." She grabbed the dummy that was now lifeless. "I expect you to be gone by ten o'clock and back by lunchtime. Can you do that?"
"O-of course. Whatever you say." She glanced over at her best friend. "Are you going to give me my puppet back?"
"I will keep him until you return. The younger kids might get ahold of him and accidentally break him."
"Ah. Okay."
"He will be in good hands." With that, Mrs. Hopper turned on her heels and left the room. As she walked down the stairs, she said, "Sir?"
Slappy blinked a couple of times and tilted his head up to look at her. "Take me to the basement."
The mistress did what she was told and flicked on the light, and they went down the basement. There was a person in the center of the room who was tied up and gagged.
Slappy smiled evilly at the person. "Do not worry, mama. It will not be long now. You and I will be one."
YOU ARE READING
In Love with a Dummy - A Goosebumps Fanfiction {Completed}
Fanfiction"I had to face the facts. I am in love with the dummy." - Shelly Madison ----------------------------- All that Slappy wanted was to be part of a family. But then, he gets the idea of making a family of his own. He will have a wife and kids. His pla...
