(short story)

“Tony, what happened?”

“Boogie!”

“Did Boogie scare you?”

“No!”

“Why are you crying then?”

“We had a fight.”

Tony met Boogie the day he found out his mom had signed him up for school. Then she came home with a good mood and Tony’s favorite chocolate bar. The boy knew that when his mother brought him his favorite sweet on a non-holiday, it meant that she had to tell him something very important and serious. He should take it as importantly and seriously. Tony was ready to listen.

“Tony, you’re a big boy now and it’s time for you to get ready for school. Get active. We will read, count, and write a little more than usual. This is to keep you comfortable while studying. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes, mom.”

Tony hated reading. He liked to count and write, because he felt the numbers and letters that he wrote himself. He himself creates a solution to some example, he writes what he wants about and what needs to be said on a piece of paper.

But reading…He didn’t understand it. It’s just a wandering eye from line to line, from left to right. He didn’t understand reading physically. If the letter has the smell of a pen and the taste of words on the hand that prints each letter. If the counting has a coin-like ringing and a pleasant tickle while he thinks of the correct answer. That reading had nothing. The smell of paper sometimes made him sick, because from reading aloud, he could feel the taste of paper in every word he said.

“We will read, count and write a little more than usual. We will read… more than usual…” Those words couldn’t get out of Tony’s head.

After listening to his mother and taking a chocolate bar, he went to his room.

When Tony opened the door, he saw that some black entity was sitting on his bed. She looked like a puddle. Only if you touch her, she won’t be wet. On the contrary, she wafted with pleasant smoky soft coolness.

“Who are you?”

“Hi, I’m Boogie.”

“Go away, this is my room.”

“And what is your name?”

“I’m not in the mood to make acquaintances. Go away or I’ll call my mom.”

“Okay, okay. It’s just… the thing is…I have nowhere to go. Can I stay in your closet? I’ll be quiet. Really.”

Tony exhaled loudly, “Okay.”

“If you suddenly need a company, you know where to find me.”

Boogie silently opened the usually creaking door and snuggled into the atmosphere of a dark closet full of clothes.

That evening, Tony was upset and a little scared. It wasn’t just about reading. Everything is new there. What if he and Mike don’t end up in the same class? Mike was his best friend…

Tony didn’t want to tell mom that school bothered him, because he saw how happy that news made her. Her boy is now an adult. He will go to school soon. He will be the best student in the class.

Lying in his bed, Tony couldn’t sleep for a long time.

“Boogie?”

“Yes, Potato?”

“My name is Tony, not Potato”

“You were wearing a yellow suit today. It reminded me of potatoes. So what did you want to tell me, Potato?”

“You said that if I suddenly needed a company, I could talk to you.”

“That’s right. I don’t go back on my words.”

“Boogie, I’m scared.”

“Why, Potato?”

“I’m not Potato. I’m Tony.”

“Potato suits you better. So what’s bothering you?”

So Tony found a new best friend.