Monday morning came too quickly like it always does, but this time Kat was ready for it. She had the spider dream again, but finally it had a happy ending. As Kat was throwing the paper airplanes out the window, her actual mother sat up in bed. Kat smiled when she saw her. The spider was finally gone.
Princess Puffball lay curled up on the blanket next to Kat and began to purr when Kat pet her. Kat got out of bed and slid on her ‘Save Bob’ shirt to give her that something extra in her report.
The car ride to school was filled with stories of home and of the past. One day Kat swore that she would write them all down.
When Kat arrived at school, Principal Ululani greeted each of the children. Her dreams of teaching around the world could wait. She had too much invested in Kat and Lily. She would just have to hold on until they left for middle school.
Kat walked down the halls to Room 222 with a new feeling towards school. This was home now too.
Outside the door of Room 222 hung the banner that the fourth graders made last week. Every ounce of the glitter still clung to the bubble letters. Kat smiled as she walked into the classroom, Home of Bob.
“Good,” Lily said running up to Kat. “You’re here! We can get started.”
Once the class was settled, the bug presentation began. Lily and Kat were saved until the very end. While they waited, Lily pulled out a big black marker.
“What is that for?” Kat whispered while Michael and Jacob talked about how people actually buy praying mantises for their gardens.
“I need to fix your shirt,” Lily said uncapping the marker. She added a quick D to Kat’s shirt.
“Saved Bob,” Kat read smiling. She looked at Lily and smiled even bigger.
“Come on,” Lily said. “We’re up.”
Kat and Lily stood in front of the class and displayed their poster on daddy long legs.
“Our project is dedicated to Bob,” Lily said proudly.
The class turned toward the window and began to cheer. Kat and Lily felt like rock stars.
“Wait a second,” Jacob called out over the class. “Something’s wrong with Bob!”
The entire class got out of their seats to get a better look.
It was true. Bob didn’t look quite like himself. Aphids were crawling all over him and he didn’t even move a muscle. His body seemed to be too clear. Bob looked dead.
“This is all Principal Benbrook’s fault!” Lily yelled.
“We really were too late,” Kat said in shock.
The classroom fell into a tizzy of angry yells and frantic tears. Ms. Catarinas had to raise her voice to finally get everyone’s attention.
“Now listen,” she said calmly. “Principal Benbrook didn’t do anything.”
“Then why is Bob dead?” Michael demanded.
“He’s not dead,” Ms. Catarinas assured him. “He’s gone.”
“Gone?” Kat asked.
“There is one interesting fact that I found out about Bobs,” Ms. Catarinas said. “Every ten days they shed their exoskeleton. Yesterday was ten days since Bob found his way into our classroom.”
The class stood around in silence. Bob was gone. All that work and Bob decided it was time to go. A sinking feeling hit the class right in their stomachs.
“What are we going to do?” Lily asked.
“What do you mean?” Ms. Catarinas asked.
“Without Bob what’s the point of school?”
Ms. Catarinas laughed. The class stayed quiet.
“Come on now,” she said cheerfully. “You all sound like a bunch of crickets.”
A silent chirp rang through the classroom.
Ms. Catarinas strained her ears. She really did hear a cricket. The class watched as Ms. Catarinas moved closer to the sink and towards the sound. She looked in the sink and began to laugh.
“Well wouldn’t you know it,” she said laughing so hard that she was crying. “A cricket!”
Jacob jumped into the air.
“Let’s name him Fred!”
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