Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
MR. BALDO (the pollywog part 1)
Bob Newby was not happy to find his son's face painted with bruises and his lip cut when he saw him the next morning. In fact, he was pissed. Ben tried to come up with a believable lie, but his father simply wasn't buying it. He knew someone had hurt his son with malicious intent, there was no other explanation. So, Bob didn't let Ben ride to school on his bike like normal, with good reason. He didn't want the person who hurt Ben to find him riding his bike alone and do something worse to him.
Ben didn't necessarily care that his father was driving him to school. He was sore and feeling lazy that morning, so it was fine with him. What did annoy Ben was when Bob pulled into the Byers' driveway instead of driving straight to Hawkins Middle School. "Didn't you stay here last night? Why do you need to come back here?" Ben asked, trying to hide his annoyance. Bob nodded, "I know, but I left in a hurry to go home to make sure you were okay, I just want to make sure everyone here is okay, too. I'll be back in a sec." He reassured, squeezing Ben's shoulder and getting out of the car.
Ben waited a few minutes for his father to return, bopping his head to the soft hum of Dreams by Fleetwood Mac that poured from the old car radio. Bob eventually returned, Will following suit. Ben's eyebrows drew together in confusion. Will opened the backseat doors and quietly climbed in the car as Bob got in the driver seat and put the car in reverse to pull out of the driveway. "I offered to take Will to school, that okay?" Bob asked, his voice gentle. All Ben did in response was nod.
Ben and Will both stared out the window, Ben drowning out the sound of his dad's music. Ben had never been a fan of Bob's music, but he didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't good. After a moment of silence, Bob cleared his throat, "Was that you I heard milling around last night, or was that a ghost?" he asked, the question directed to Will. Will shrugged. "Yeah. Me, probably." He admitted quietly, turning away from the window to look at Bob from the backseat. Bob nodded in understanding. "Another nightmare?"
Ben sat in the middle of their conversation, not knowing if he was supposed to join in or be quiet. He decided to just keep staring out the window, feeling a tiny bit left out. "Um... no." Will responded.
It was quiet for a few seconds. "Did I ever tell you about Mr. Baldo?" Bob asked Will. Ben sighed through his nose. He knew about the Mr. Baldo story. "Mr. Baldo?" Will asked, amused at the name. "Yeah. I was a little younger than you, standing in line for the Ferris wheel at the Roane County Fair." Bob started telling the story. Will hummed, urging him to continue. "And suddenly, I feel this fat white glove tap me on the shoulder. I spin around, and there he is. Mr. Baldo." Bob said as Will listened intently to his story.
Ben brought his hands up and plugged his ears, knowing what Bob was going to say next. "Hey, kiddo, would you like a balloon?" Bob said, imitating a clown's voice and reaching a hand towards his son, who shook his head and kept his ears plugged. Will laughed through his nose, obviously trying to hold it in. "Ben's scared of clowns. He always hated that part of the story when I'd tell him." Bob ruffled Ben's hair and chuckled as the younger boy unplugged his ears. "Go ahead, laugh. It's funny. It wasn't funny back then, I can tell you that." Bob mentioned back to Will.
