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Aug. 22nd, 2009 08:49 pmAlexander Sandhu surveyed the room nervously.
It's one of the most disturbing things he's ever seen. There are about forty parents, and about thirty other children aged between about nine months and two, but the children are all... weird. Bethany seems to have warped into some strange version of Tinky Winky, Joey has gained mouse ears, and the birthday boy, Benjamin, appears to have turned into a piglet. And the same has happened to all the other children. It's like some terrible disease.
It looks very wrong. The worst one is that strange half-Pingu half child that copies him every time he goes over to the far wall.
Mummy is there, chatting to another parent and keeping a reasonable eye on him. Mummy told him this morning that he had to play nicely with the other children, but he didn't really know what that meant.
Someone pushes him, and he falls over. He turns around and slaps out at Spongebob Squarepants, but his hand bounces off the foam.
"You're nasty." Spongebob Squarepants comments, wandering off. Alex stares gloomily around. It's so noisy, and there are children everywhere, and people keep brushing against him.
When Mummy isn't looking, he crawls under the nearest table with a tablecloth. It's a bit quieter under there, and darker, and nobody is touching him. He curls up underneath it with his chin on his knees, rocks himself gently backwards and forwards, and looks at the patterns on the wood.
After a while he becomes aware of a bit of a commotion outside of his safe zone. He can hear Mummy's voice, a little anxious, checking if the doors were locked and whether they had a cat flap. The word cat flap is vaguely familiar; Mummy and Daddy had to have a new one installed after he learned how to get out of the one at home.
"FOUND HIM!" someone yells loudly in his ear, startling him. He growls at the offender, but then Mummy peeps under the cloth, reaches in and picks him up. He doesn't bite her, but only because it's Mummy.
"You're missing all the fun, Alex!" Benjamin's mum says, coming over and grinning at him like a hyena. "Come on, Iggle Piggle is coming!"
"IGGLEPIGGLE!" Chorus the children. Alex puts his hand over his ears as a big blue thing appears in the doorway.
He hangs back. At least this creature looks exactly like the one off the television. Curiousity gets the better of him, and he pads forward towards Igglepiggle, who squeaks and waves at him.
He regrets moving closer immediately. All of a sudden all of the other children are pushing and shoving to come see Igglepiggle, touching him from every direction. He screams, but they don't move away, so he lashes out, kicking, punching, biting until the other children run away wailing. Surrounded now by thirty howling children, he covers his ears and wails.
Mummy is there. For once he gladly climbs into those arms and allows her to carry him into another room, a much quieter room. She puts him down.
"Alex, you must not hit the other children." she says, trying to make him look at her. But she sighs, brushes his hair back and says gently. "You were just scared, weren't you?"
A sarcastic noise at the door makes both look up.
"No wonder your kid is a brat if you don't even discipline him." Bethany's mother is saying, her hands on her hips. "I don't know why Barney keeps him at nursery, he's just as bad there. If you can't control him, you shouldn't inflict him on other people's children."
Frogspawn kisses her son on the forehead, and hands him a jingly toy. Alex sits and jingles it, focusing on the familiar sound to calm himself. Mummy stands up and faces Bethany's mother.
"I'm sorry that Bethany got hurt." she says. "But Alex is not a brat. He's just a baby, a baby who gets scared when bigger kids push him around. And I wouldn't have brought Alex to this party if I'd known the costumes and the number of kids would freak him out. Next time, I will check what is planned."
"There is a professional photographer coming to this party. Now half the kids have black eyes or bite marks on them. The birthday boy has a bite mark on his nose. He ruined the party. Ben's mum won't say as such, but that's what everyone else thinks."
"I'll pay the photographer's fee. But babies will be babies." Frogspawn says. "I'm taking Alex home now."
She turns her back on Bethany's mum and encourages Alex to take her hand. Stopping only to apologise to Benjamin's mum, the two of them make a retreat back to the car.
"It was way over the top for a baby's party anyway." She says quietly, as they drive home. "Don't worry, it'll be a nice quiet affair when you have yours... you hate Igglepiggle anyway."
She turns the car CD player on for him. He listens to it, watching the world go by from his backwards facing car seat. At one point, he notices Mummy has wet eyes.
But he doesn't know why.
It's one of the most disturbing things he's ever seen. There are about forty parents, and about thirty other children aged between about nine months and two, but the children are all... weird. Bethany seems to have warped into some strange version of Tinky Winky, Joey has gained mouse ears, and the birthday boy, Benjamin, appears to have turned into a piglet. And the same has happened to all the other children. It's like some terrible disease.
It looks very wrong. The worst one is that strange half-Pingu half child that copies him every time he goes over to the far wall.
Mummy is there, chatting to another parent and keeping a reasonable eye on him. Mummy told him this morning that he had to play nicely with the other children, but he didn't really know what that meant.
Someone pushes him, and he falls over. He turns around and slaps out at Spongebob Squarepants, but his hand bounces off the foam.
"You're nasty." Spongebob Squarepants comments, wandering off. Alex stares gloomily around. It's so noisy, and there are children everywhere, and people keep brushing against him.
When Mummy isn't looking, he crawls under the nearest table with a tablecloth. It's a bit quieter under there, and darker, and nobody is touching him. He curls up underneath it with his chin on his knees, rocks himself gently backwards and forwards, and looks at the patterns on the wood.
After a while he becomes aware of a bit of a commotion outside of his safe zone. He can hear Mummy's voice, a little anxious, checking if the doors were locked and whether they had a cat flap. The word cat flap is vaguely familiar; Mummy and Daddy had to have a new one installed after he learned how to get out of the one at home.
"FOUND HIM!" someone yells loudly in his ear, startling him. He growls at the offender, but then Mummy peeps under the cloth, reaches in and picks him up. He doesn't bite her, but only because it's Mummy.
"You're missing all the fun, Alex!" Benjamin's mum says, coming over and grinning at him like a hyena. "Come on, Iggle Piggle is coming!"
"IGGLEPIGGLE!" Chorus the children. Alex puts his hand over his ears as a big blue thing appears in the doorway.
He hangs back. At least this creature looks exactly like the one off the television. Curiousity gets the better of him, and he pads forward towards Igglepiggle, who squeaks and waves at him.
He regrets moving closer immediately. All of a sudden all of the other children are pushing and shoving to come see Igglepiggle, touching him from every direction. He screams, but they don't move away, so he lashes out, kicking, punching, biting until the other children run away wailing. Surrounded now by thirty howling children, he covers his ears and wails.
Mummy is there. For once he gladly climbs into those arms and allows her to carry him into another room, a much quieter room. She puts him down.
"Alex, you must not hit the other children." she says, trying to make him look at her. But she sighs, brushes his hair back and says gently. "You were just scared, weren't you?"
A sarcastic noise at the door makes both look up.
"No wonder your kid is a brat if you don't even discipline him." Bethany's mother is saying, her hands on her hips. "I don't know why Barney keeps him at nursery, he's just as bad there. If you can't control him, you shouldn't inflict him on other people's children."
Frogspawn kisses her son on the forehead, and hands him a jingly toy. Alex sits and jingles it, focusing on the familiar sound to calm himself. Mummy stands up and faces Bethany's mother.
"I'm sorry that Bethany got hurt." she says. "But Alex is not a brat. He's just a baby, a baby who gets scared when bigger kids push him around. And I wouldn't have brought Alex to this party if I'd known the costumes and the number of kids would freak him out. Next time, I will check what is planned."
"There is a professional photographer coming to this party. Now half the kids have black eyes or bite marks on them. The birthday boy has a bite mark on his nose. He ruined the party. Ben's mum won't say as such, but that's what everyone else thinks."
"I'll pay the photographer's fee. But babies will be babies." Frogspawn says. "I'm taking Alex home now."
She turns her back on Bethany's mum and encourages Alex to take her hand. Stopping only to apologise to Benjamin's mum, the two of them make a retreat back to the car.
"It was way over the top for a baby's party anyway." She says quietly, as they drive home. "Don't worry, it'll be a nice quiet affair when you have yours... you hate Igglepiggle anyway."
She turns the car CD player on for him. He listens to it, watching the world go by from his backwards facing car seat. At one point, he notices Mummy has wet eyes.
But he doesn't know why.
