Simon Keeps a Secret

            by Sebastian Schwelm

 

Simon lived on the 25th floor in a tall building in the middle of New York City with his mother, his father, and his dog George.

 

 He went to school everyday, riding down in the elevator and hopping on the yellow school bus that took him through the City to his elementary school. Simon liked school. But today was a Saturday.

         His father was at the office, working again. His mother was off doing errands.

Simon and George were very bored. They watched TV all morning until George fell asleep on top of Simon, whose eyes had long since bugged out from watching cartoons. During a commercial break, Simon pushed George off onto the floor.

“C’mon boy. We’ve got to find something to do.”

George barked in agreement. He was tired of watching TV. He wanted to go outside, but Simon’s mother had told them not to.

“There’s nothing to do,” whined Simon.

            Oh, you can do better than that, thought George, as Simon crossed his arms and sat down on the couch again, hopelessly pushing buttons on 5 different remotes at once. George marched his way over to the front door of the apartment and began to bark at the top of his little, furry lungs.

            “Quit it, silly!” called Simon from the couch.

            But George did no such thing. He barked and yapped his little heart out until Simon came over to the door to see what could possibly be the matter.

            “Look boy,” said Simon as he held open the door. “There’s nothing out there.”

            Except George, of course, who was now bounding quickly down the hall.

            “George! Come back!” yelled Simon, but George wasn’t interested. Simon left the door slightly ajar, and ran after George.

            “C’mere boy, c’mon George!” yelled Simon as he ran, but George wasn’t interested. He had found the stairs.

            Simon watched George’s furry little body round the corner to the stairs at top speed, his little paws slipping on the linoleum floor. Uh-oh, thought Simon, and he ran a little faster. Away went George, down all 25 flights of stairs, with Simon in hot pursuit. “George, GeOOORge, GEOOOORRRRGE!” called Simon, as he whipped down the stairs as fast as he could. He would certainly be in big trouble when his mother got home.

As Simon ran down the stairs, George was busy having a grand old time in the lobby, swerving through a sea of legs that magically parted the louder he yapped. Comin’ through! thought George to himself, dodging and dipping and diving through the crowd.

            Simon reached the bottom of the stairs, and took a moment to catch his breath. He walked into the lobby, still breathing hard, and asked, “Has any(*gasp*)one seen(*gasp*) a sm….(*gasp*)” and before he could finish his question, five very stern looking men in golf caps and flowery hawaiian shirts all pointed in the direction George had gone. “Oh, okay (*deep breath*). Thanks.” said Simon. They didn’t say, “You’re welcome.”

 

 

            Simon’s ears followed the sounds of mayhem coming from the other side of the room, and he took off at a sprint. “George!”

            But George wasn’t interested. He had found the front door to the outside. Uh-oh thought Simon, as he arrived in time to see George shoot out the doors onto the sidewalk.

I’m REALLY going to be in trouble now.

George ran across the street as cars honked and screeched to a halt! He sped under a truck, and suddenly, Simon couldn’t see him anymore. Simon stood on the sidewalk and called George’s name, but the cars started moving again, and he didn’t know where George went. What if something happened to him? thought Simon.

 

 

But George was a quick dog, and he was already waiting for Simon on the other side of the street. What’s taking him so long? thought George, as he watched all the traffic whiz by.

Simon ran to the crosswalk at the end of the block and waited for the light to change. C’mon, c’mon, come on… thought Simon, because he was worried about George. What if he didn’t make it across the street?

But as soon as the light changed, Simon ran across the street and saw George waiting for him! What a silly dog! thought Simon, but he was very relieved.

“Good Boy!” said Simon, as George slobbered all over his face. “C’mon, let’s go back inside before Mom gets home.”

Oh, fine thought George. I’ve had my fun, we can go back.

Just then, Simon saw his mother get out of a cab on the other side of the street. “Uh-oh…” said Simon. George and Simon looked at each other. “We’ve gotta run!”

Yay! thought George.

Simon’s mother took her grocery bags out of the cab, and started to walk towards the doors of Simon’s building. Simon and George waited at the crosswalk for the light to change. C’mon, c’mon, come on! thought George and Simon at the same time. Just as the light turned green for Simon and George, Simon’s mother walked into the lobby of the building!

They ran across the street and along the sidewalk to the building. They had to beat Simon’s mother to the apartment! They ran through the lobby, but they couldn’t let Simon’s mother see them, so they snuck behind the plants in the lobby. The same five very stern looking men in golf caps and flowery hawaiian shirts asked Simon what he was doing hiding behind the plants. “Shhhh,” said Simon, “We’re hiding from my mother.”

“Oh,” said the five men in golf caps. “She’s over there talking to the mailman, so if you run now, you can make it to the stairwell.”

“Thanks!” said Simon, as he and George rushed to the stairs.

“Your welcome,” said the five flowery frocked men.

They made a dash for the stairs and Simon’s mother didn’t see them – her back was turned as she talked to the mailman. George bounded up the stairs and Simon followed behind, climbing as fast as he could, until they reached the 25^th floor and ran down the hall. The door to the apartment was open from when they had left, so Simon and George ran in and jumped back on the couch, just as they had been before.

Simon’s mother walked in the front door. “Simon! Come help me with these groceries,” she called.

“Coming mom!” called Simon, as he shut off the TV.

“Did you and George have a good time while I was gone?”

“It was okay,” Simon said. “We just watched TV the whole time.”

George barked in agreement.