By Evelyn Johnson
Something skittered under Avery’s bed.
Not again.
He opened his eyes. The bedroom door was cracked open, sending a thin line of hallway light over the bed. Across the room, the clock on Avery’s dresser showed 9:47 p.m. Its digital face illuminated the Captain America backpack packed for the fourth day of third grade.
Patter-patter-patter.
Avery tensed, straining his ears. Mom and Dad had said there weren’t rats in the house, but what else would make that noise? He shuddered and grabbed a fistful of blanket. He’d been constantly getting in trouble for having his parents check on “imaginary noises” after bedtime. Could he risk calling them?
Something tugged on the bottom of his blanket. That was new. Avery’s heart pounded—maybe it wasn’t a normal rat this time. Maybe it was one of the Rat King’s minions, sent to spy on him because he liked the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Slap.
“Tex,” a tiny voice hissed. “Stop pulling on the blanket. You’re gonna wake him up.”
“I can’t help it,” another voice whispered back. “It’s the static cling!”
“I know, but we have a reputation to uphold.”
Avery swallowed. Talking rat minions? They must be some of the King’s strongest and deadliest agents. He glanced at a plastic Batarang lying on the floor, out of reach.
“When I say go,” the first voice whispered, “you’re going to run up to the dresser and give me a boost. The goods are in the second drawer.”
“Got it.” Again, something tugged on Avery’s blanket.
Slap. “Stop that! Look, we’re the most capable, most intelligent, most resourceful members of our clan. We’ve never been caught. We’re impossible to find. And we can only maintain that if you stop pulling on this blanket!”
So they were the Rat King’s best agents. But what did they want from Avery’s second drawer? He took a deep breath—time to be brave, just like a superhero. “Hello?”
Silence pressed in around him.
“Tex,” the first voice, Lester, hissed. “I swear I’m going to strangle you. You just destroyed our perfect heist record. And our secrecy. And my impeccable reputation.”
“It’s not my fault this itchy lint is full of static!”
“I told you not to pull on the blanket, you—”
“I can still hear you,” Avery mumbled.
Silence.
Avery inched into a sitting position. “Show yourselves!”
Lester sighed. “Let me do the talking.” In a louder voice, he added, “Fine. We’ll come clean.”
“As clean as we can in this nasty lint.”
“For the last time, Tex, zip it!”
The tugging came again, much harder than before. Avery pulled the blanket up to his chin, heart pounding. Why were the Rat King’s agents so mad about lint? Were they going to eat him and take whatever they wanted from his dresser? What did they want, anyway?
A tuft of unkempt hair appeared at the foot of Avery’s bed. A small hand groped for purchase on his blanket. Another head appeared, and in a few seconds, two six-inch-tall men stood at his feet. Avery stared at their ridiculous clothing—it looked like it was spun out of dryer lint.
“You’re not rats,” he blurted.
One of the micro-men puffed out his chest. “Of course not.” Avery recognized his voice as Lester’s. “We’re sock gnomes—noble, cunning creatures who have mastered the art of sneakery!”
“But I caught you,” Avery said slowly. “Sooo…”
The decorum melted from Lester’s face. “Whatever. The only thing that matters is our mission. We’re here for the cotton treasures you keep in the second drawer of your dresser.”
“My… socks?” Avery’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. Have you been here before?”
“Um. Yes?”
“So it’s your fault!” Avery crossed his arms. “I keep getting in trouble for not keeping track of my socks. And for calling Mom and Dad after bedtime when you make noise.”
The gnome called Tex shuffled his feet. “We’re sorry. Really. But we need those socks.”
“What for?”
Lester slapped a hand over Tex’s mouth. “To make clothing. Socks are the perfect size for elegant robes, which regal gnomes like us are currently lacking.”
Avery cocked his head. “But you’re already wearing clothes.”
Tex slapped the hand from his mouth. “Lint!” he screeched. “Nasty, dusty, scratchy, clingy, uncomfortable lint from your clothes dryer! It’s a nightmare to weave, and I can’t take it anymore! It’s—so—itchy!”
Lester hesitated, then bowed his head. “It’s true,” he whispered. “Shameful, but true. Without socks, we must stoop to gathering lint. It robs us of our gnomish honor.”
Avery frowned. “But it’s still wrong to steal. You could have just asked for socks, you know.”
Tex’s shoulders drooped. “Technically we’re not supposed to talk to humans.”
Lester nodded. “And who would just give us socks, anyway?”
“I would,” Avery said, “if you stop stealing mine. Tell you what. If you leave and don’t take any socks tonight, I’ll buy you a whole package at the dollar store.”
Both gnomes’ jaws dropped.
“You… You mean it?” Lester said.
“Socks that have never been worn?” Tex choked. Tears brimmed in his tiny eyes. “You’d really do that?”
“Sure. I’ll leave them by the dryer, where only the best gnomes can find them.”
Tex launched himself forward and threw his arms around Avery’s leg, sobbing and getting lint dust all over the blanket.
Lester sniffed and rubbed his nose. “Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “Come on, Tex, we have to leave or we won’t get the socks.”
Tex peeled himself off Avery’s blanketed leg. The two gnomes slid to the floor and pitter-pattered to the hallway.
“Sweet dreams, Avery,” Lester whispered.
“Good night,” Avery whispered back. He lay back down, mind spinning. One package of socks, and his problems were solved? That was even better than meeting a superhero!
Well… Almost.
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Another great story! I love that he solved his problem using the dollar store!!
Hehe this is a fun one!
Cute story!
This is so fun and clever, Evelyn! I love Avery’s thought progression (going from fear to interest about the things under his bed) and I love how you wrote the sock gnomes. They remind me of leprechauns!
Lovely job!!
Great job, Evelyn! This story is adorable- I want to act it out with the voices XD Keep it up!