Mr.Teddy (part 1)

"Mom,can I please get this teddy bear! Please? I'll never ask for another thing."

Willa clasped her hands together and gazed longingly at the stuffed teddy bear staring at her from the department store shelf.

Willa was a collector. She collected stuffed animals,dolls, posters,porcelain eggs - you name it. Every inch if her room was crammed with her collections.

"Mom look at him!" Willa gushed. "Have you ever seen such a cute little brown paws? And look at his big, round eyes. They're practically growing."

Leaning on the counter, Gina, Willa's eleven year-old sister, started to whine. "Mom! No fair! Willa already has enough stuffed animals to fill this whole store."

"So?" Willa shot back. "I can't help it if your room is bare, Gina."

Gina made a face at her older sister. "That's because every chance you get, you beg mom to buy you something else. "Mom, get me this. Mom buy me that," Gina mimicked.

"Girls! That's enough!" Mrs.Stewart cut them off. Willa and Gina glared at each other. "Willa,you're twelve. Aren't you getting too old for teddy bears?" Her mother asked.

"I can't help it mom" Willa replied. "I want him. He's.. Not like any other stuffed animal I've ever seen."  "His eyes weird," Gina commented. 

"They are not!" Willa protested. But she knew Gina was right. She could almost feel the bear studying her with those huge eyes of his.

"Willa," her mother said. "There isn't any space left in your room. Where will you put it?" 

"I'll put Old bear on the shelf and sleep with this one," Willa replied.

Gina folder her arms. "What's wrong with Old Bear?" 

"Nothing, I just love this one." Willa told her. She pressed him against her cheek. "See how cuddly he is? Please mom?" Mrs. Stewart hesitated. "Well..."

"Mom that's not fair!" Gina wailed. "Willa always getting stuff. What about my CD player?"

"Gina a CD player coast a lot more than a teddy bear," her mother answered sharply. " That's something you can ask for on your birthday."

“Mom please?” Willa said, still clutching the bear. “Oh , all right,” her mother said, sighing. “But this is it, understand, Willa?”  Willa threw her arms around her mother. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you mom.” On the other sideof counter, Willa could see Gina scowling at her. “Sometimes I really hate you Willa” Gina muttered. Wila wave the teddy in Gina’s face. “His name is Mr.Teddy, Gina,” she announced. “ And you’d better be nice to him.”

As soon as Willa got home, she took Mr.Teddy up to her room show him around. “Here we are,” she announced, opening the door. Her room was done all in peach, her favorite color. To the right of the door stood her dresser. On top of the dresser was her porcelain egg collection. Willa gently picked up each egg and told Mr.Teddy where it had come. Next, she showed him all the rock star posters that covered her walls. Then she went through the two long shelves above the dresser crammed with stuffed animals. When she finished with the animals, Willa took Mr.Teddy over to the doll collection in the other corner.  Willa had been collecting doll the longest, and had the biggest collection of anyone she knew. Still clutching Mr.Teddy, Willa crossed the room to ther bed. “Hello,Old Bear,” she said. She reached into the pillow and picked up her ragged old teddy bear- the one she’d slept with since she was a baby- and kissed him on top of his head. “You’re going to sleep over here now” she said,crossing back over to the shelves. She pushed aside stuffed unicorn to make room for Old Bear. “Sleep tight,”she told him. Gina poked her head into the room. “Who’s in here ?” she asked. “No one,” Willa replied. “Then who were you talking too?” “nobody.” Gina’s eyes lit up. “You were talking to your stuffed animals again,weren’t you?” She started laughing at Willa. “Shut up Gina!” Willa snapped. “ You’re mad because you didn’t get a CD player.” “ am not” Gina answered. “ I’m mad because you have mom wrapped around your little finger. Everytime you ask fo something,she buys it.” She stormed out, slamming the dor behind her. Willa glanced down at Mr.Teddy. Don’t worry about Gina,” she whispered, carefully placing him on her pillow. “ I bet she wishes she had a special bear too. But she doesn’t. You are all mine, Mr.Teddy. All mine.”

***

-Admin FF
source: Goosebumps Novel

doll corner .
She caught her breath. Mr.Teddy sat propped up on the windowsill,
staring back at her. His eyes seemed to be shining