Submitted by Cate Dannahey
None of us are doing anything, just wasting time in our room.
One breaks the silence by pointing out that her childhood stuffed animal is starting to lose its shape. She says its neck has no stuffing at all because she sleeps holding it in a chokehold every night.
We all laugh.
Another picks up her teddy bear. This one has a perfectly stuffed neck because her grandmother gave it “surgery” when she was in middle school. Though her bear is still intact, the neck is out of proportion to the rest of its body, giving it a more giraffe-like appearance.
We all laugh.
The final girl picks up her stuffed bear. She gives it a look, it was given to her mother at a baby shower. The bear’s sweater is embroidered with her mother’s alma mater. The girl points out that she’s been hugging this teddy bear her whole life and ironically didn’t get into the school whose letters are worn by her beloved teddy.
We all laugh.
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