Russell

            by Nick Perovich

 

            Russell McCurley was a kid who liked to snoop around and get himself into a bit of trouble. At school he would climb the monkey bars backwards and he always came home to his poor mother with scrapes on his knees. He walked to and from school everyday and he loved to stop to climb up a tree or two on the way. Russell lived with his two parents, Mr. And Mrs. McCurley. They lived in a big yellow house on the corner of Sapp and Main street in Bonkersville. Bonkersville was a weird town. There were always cats that sometimes talked to their owners. “I’m hungry!” They would scream. “Gimme some milk!” Sometimes even the machines like the refrigerators and the washing machines would get up and walk away to a far away place; or to Mexico where they treated machines much better. However, nothing strange seemed to happen the McCurley’s because they treated everyone with care and enjoyed everyone’s company. Their refrigerators never left, and their pets never yelled at them. Everything was normal. If you looked at the McCurley’s refrigerator, she was smiling when the family was out of the house. Unfortunately, everyone is due at some point.

 

 

            “Russell, you better get down here!” Yelled Mrs. McCurley. “you are going to be late, and I have a surprise for you!” Russell jumped out of his bed like a rocket blasting off.

 

“Today is show and tell! Oh boy! I can’t wait to show the class what I have!” Russell stumbles down the stairs and slides across the floor to the kitchen where his mom is cooking… CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES! “Now Russ, I know how much you love show and tell days so I decided to make you your favorite!”

 

 

            “Thanks mom!” He sits down at the table as his mother brings over a hot fresh plate of pancakes. He dives right in, without knife and fork, eating away at the heavenly morsels.

“So teddy bear” his mother asks. “What are you going to bring to show and tell today?”

“’M oing o ring le wat Dad boat mee a le sto!”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, son.” Mr. McCurley shouts from his office. “You still need to find a wife!”

“George!!” Ms. McCurley rebuts. “Don’t worry Russell, you have plenty of time. Now when you mouth is empty, tell me what you are going to take to school today.” Russell takes a huge gulp of his food.

“I’m going to bring the watch Dad bought me at the store!” His mother nods in approval. She then glances at her watch and jumps

“Oh Dear! You better get going Russell! You are going to be late for school! Russell briskly shoves the rest of his pancakes down the hatch, gives his mother a kiss, grabs his backpack, “Bye Father!” and just like that, he was out of the house.

 Russell was so excited that he ran the 7 blocks all the way to school. He went to Bonkersville elementary school no. 24. He meanders through the halls, past the mean 5^th graders, and plops right down in his seat just before the o so familiar “Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing”!

“Great Scott! This is going to be great!” Russell whispered. Ms. Wilson stood up in front of the class.

“Alright class.” She said “Today is show and tell day! Now who wants to be the person to lead us off!” Everyone’s hand shot up like the bullet out of a gun.

“Me! Me! Pick Me! Ms. Wilson over here!” the kids screamed. Russell, however, was patiently waiting with his hand in the air and his mouth shut.

“Russell, why don’t you start. I know you have something in store for us all! “Ok!” Russell cried out. He jumped out of his chair like popcorn popping in the microwave. Russell plopped himself in front of the whole class and pulls his watch out of his front pocket. He holds it up for all to see. “Wooooooooooow!” all the kids said, in awe of the shiny watch that Russell displayed.

 

 

“This” Russell told. “is a watch that my dad bought me at the store the other day. It tells time in 3 different places like here, New York, and Paris. He also said that it can take me places normal watches can’t.

“What do you mean?!” Shouted Bert from the back of the class.

“Well” Russell answered. “I think that my dad said something about saying a wolly bully then saying a past event. When you want to come back, you just press the return button and it will be as if you never left. I haven’t tried it yet but my Dad never lies to me.

“Try it Russell! Try it!” Burt burst out. Then all of the kids were telling him to try it. Finally after Russell stood in front of the class thinking about what he wanted to do, he yelled “Ok! Ok! I’ll do it! “Yay! The class shouted. The whole room fell silent. “Here goes nothin’” He whispers. Wolly bully! Revolutionary War!

Almost before he finished his sentence he was in the middle of a battlefield! Cannons were bursting left and right guns were shooting off, “Flank them! Get over the hill and flank them!” Shrieked a man in a red coat. People in red were standing in a straight line firing at people who wore all colored clothes standing in a straight line.

“Great Scott! I gotta get out of here! Wolly bully! Bonkersville in 1923! Quickly his surroundings went from super loud to super quiet. He found himself in the middle of an empty field. He looked around and saw nothing in sight. No store, no gas station, nothing. “Hellllllllo!” still nothing.

 

 

 “Wow, this really stinks. Wolly bully! San Francisco in 1906!” No sooner was Russell standing in the middle of a road with boatloads of people in all around him “Now were talking!” Russell jumps onto the side of the dirt road and decides to walk around a little bit. He sees people in carriages drawn by horses and people building those exact buildings that he sees in the pictures. “Wow! That is the building that my dad works in! I wonder where the bridges are! He quickly climbs a street lamp and looks toward the bay. Nothing there. Not even a construction site. “Maybe they haven’t been built yet.” He thinks to himself. Russell then jumps down from the lamp. After walking for a little bit more he decides to take a break. He sits down on a bench. All of a sudden the ground starts to shake really hard! He quickly looks to the building standing and they start to crumble and the ground starts to break away! “I gotta get out of here!” Russell reaches deep into his pocket and pulls out his watch hand quickly presses the big red button on the side. Everything went quiet and he found himself in back in Ms. Wilson’s classroom in front of all of his classmates. He then looks around the room to make sure that he was really in Ms. Wilson’s classroom.

“So! Are you going to do it or not!” Shouted Bert. “Yea are you going somewhere!” Screamed some of the kids.

“I think that it didn’t work, Russell.” Sally chipped in.

“What are you guys talking about!! I have just been to the weirdest places! First I went to the revolutionary war and there was the British troops firing at the American militia. Then I went to Bonkersville in 1923 and found completely nothing. The library wasn’t even there and neither was the fire station! I didn’t even see one single person. After that I went to San Francisco in 1906 and that was pretty cool until the ground started shaking! I had to get out of there so I pressed the return button as fast as I possible could and I’m back.”

“What are you talking about Russell.” Ms. Wilson said in a calm voice. “you never moved from that spot. In fact, all that happened was you said ‘wolly bully! Revolutionary war!’ and that was it. Now you have showed us enough for one day. I think that you should take your seat.

“But Mrs. Wilson-“ 

“No buts, Russell, now others want to show what they brought for show and tell. Please take your seat.” Russell turns toward his seat with a small smile, much like the one that his refrigerator would have from time to time and sits down in his chair, waiting for the school day to end to tell his father everything.