Swapped Realities

A Missing Toy (RIBB Shu) 🌹

The kids were really wild. I was afraid that Kirika might get herself hurt.

"Kirika, what are you doing?" I asked. "You're not supposed to slide down backwards."

"But it's funner," said Kirika.

"You could get hurt," I told her.

Other kids kept fighting to go on the swings. Two kids kept grabbing a swing.

Kirika's new friend Amber stayed in the sandpit. She was trying to make a sandwich angel. Kirika saw her and also went to join her.

I was amazed at how different Kirika was from me. She was a lot more like Valt. Kirika showed no hints of shyness and isn't afraid of talking to people. When I was her age, I had always tried to hide from everyone.

Suddenly, I heard some screams. A blonde girl with pigtails was crying. Mrs Bentley came up to her.

"Judith, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Zippy is missing!" wailed Judith.

"Who's Zippy?" asked a boy.

"Zippy is my best friend," said Judith. "She is my zebra friend."

I realized that Zippy must be a stuffed zebra. Kirika went up to Judith.

"Don't worry, we will find Zippy," she said.

I hoped that Zippy would be found. I have heard about how people could be traumatized for life from losing their favourite toy as a little kid.

Before my Aunt Hinata died, she gave me a stuffed red fox which I had named Scarlet. Scarlet became my source of comfort from my neglectful parents. Back then I didn't have any friends and I didn't know Valt at the time.

Shortly before finishing preschool, a bully grabbed Scarlet and made fun of me for having a toy as my only friend. He tore Scarlet to pieces in front of me! It broke my heart and I became even more antisocial. I think that I might have stayed that way if it wasn't for Valt and Xander.

I was very happy to see the kids helping Judith search for Zippy. But no one knew where to look.

Kirika went inside the slide and called, "Zippy, are you playing hide and seek?"

I had no idea how a stuffed zebra had disappeared into thin air. Mrs Bentley checked everyone's backpacks to see if anyone had stolen it. But none of the backpacks had Zippy in it.

Just then, I remembered snack time earlier. The kids had all eaten chocolate chip cookies and then rushed out when Mrs Bentley announced that it was playtime. I went over to the snack room.

The tables were now empty, so I decided to check in the pails where the dirty dishes were.

Some of the kids didn't finish their food, so there was leftover food in the pails as well as plates. I wanted to throw up.

Wasting food was frowned on in Japan, but America is a different story. But if Zippy was there...

I searched through the pails. A maid saw me and gasped, but I ignored her.

Zippy was at the bottom of the pail! It smelled a little, but at least it was better than Zippy being lost forever.

Judith was delighted when I returned Zippy to her. She didn't care that Zippy was covered with crumbs or was wet.

"Zippy!" said Judith. "Oh thank you thank you thank you for finding her!" She gave me a bright smile that melted my heart.

Kirika beamed. "My big bro is the best!"

I was touched by Kirika's words. It seemed that she really looked up to me.

A few hours later, preschool was over and I could take Kirika back home. She was beaming and said goodbye to Amber and Judith.

Kirika asked me for ice cream, so I agreed to get it for her. As we were getting ice cream at a shop, I noticed a girl with pale blonde hair and green eyes looking at me.

"Shu, is that you?" she asked.

I looked at her. "Do we know each other?" I asked.

The girl looked asthonished. "Don't you remember? I'm Cassie Banter."