Monkey Come Home by Bernard Gallate Page A

happened?’ She said, dropping her school bag.
    ‘A monkey bit me.’
    ‘Very funny. Give me a look.’ She unwrapped the soggy red tea towel from my hand and led me over to the kitchen sink.
    ‘I hope he had clean teeth.’
    She held my finger under running water, driedit and then, relishing the chance to play nurse, began dabbing it with antiseptic. It made me wince, so she said, ‘The pain is your body’s way of letting you know that something good is happening.’
    ‘Great. I feel so much better now.’
    Serenity finished the job with a seriously tight bandaid. ‘There’s a small chunk of your finger missing, so you’ll definitely need stitches. At least eight or nine, I reckon.’
    ‘Thanks.’
    ‘But I’m going to call Doctor Hardie for a second opinion before I get my sewing box out.’

    ‘No, don’t!’ I pleaded and blocked Serenity from the phone.
    ‘Avery, I’m the boss till Mum and Dad get home and I think we have a medical crisis on our hands. I have to let them know.’
    ‘But they won’t let me keep the monkey.’
    ‘If you persist with that ludicrous story, then you’ll definitely have to see the doctor. Unless you want your finger to get infected and run the risk of amputation.’
    ‘But it’s true,’ I said. ‘The monkey is in my room right now.’
    ‘Yeah sure and there’s an alligator in the toilet.’
    ‘Come and see,’ I said and led my sister upstairs.
    ‘I’m only coming to shut you up. You’ve told some crackers, Avery, but this one really takes…’
    ‘Shhh! We have to approach quietly. He doesn’t like surprises and he feels guilty for biting me. He looked really sad when I yelled at him.’
    I opened the door slowly, only to find that my bedroom had been totally trashed.
    ‘Hmm.’ Serenity stuck her head in. ‘No monkey. Well that was an elaborate but typically juvenile hoax, Avery.’
    ‘It’s not a joke. I swear.’
    ‘I don’t believe you for a nanosecond.’
    ‘But he was here. Cross my heart.’
    ‘Well, show me the monkey!’
    ‘He must have jumped out the window,’ I said.
    ‘Oh, of course he did. How convenient.’
    Serenity walked over to the window. But just as she stretched her neck to look out, the monkey leapt from the top of my cupboard, commando style, and landed on the back of her head.
    ‘Uuugh…Help me!’ she whimpered.
    ‘Stay calm and don’t move. He can sense fear.’
    ‘Not moving,’ Serenity said. But she was visibly shaking.
    ‘Now do you believe me?’ I asked.
    The monkey began separating strands of Serenity’s hair and inspecting her scalp.
    ‘Get this monkey off my head, Avery!’
    ‘Say sorry first.’
    ‘AAARGH! GET THIS THING OFF ME NOW!’ shescreamed. The startled monkey began screeching and pulling furiously on Serenity’s hair. It paddled her skull with its lips peeled back as if it was about to take a bite out of her ear.
    ‘Bad Monkey!’ I shouted. ‘BAD BAD Monkey!’ He stopped attacking her, but held tightly onto her neck. Serenity burst into tears and began sobbing. The monkey turned to look at me. I shook my head and wagged my finger at him.
    ‘Somebody needs a lesson in how to behave around girls.’
    He made the strange purring sound again and started kissing my sister’s head.
    ‘I think he must like you,’ I said.
    Serenity was not convinced.

Beast

    ‘ Y ou are so seriously busted when Mum and Dad get home,’ Serenity said as she backed out of my room without taking her eyes off the monkey.
    ‘You’re not going to tell them, are you?’
    ‘Do you honestly think I would want that hideous thing living in our house, Avery?’
    The monkey lowered his head and made a sad sound.
    ‘Now you’ve hurt his feelings,’ I said. ‘He only wanted to groom you.’
    ‘Oh right. Like I’m infested with nits or something?’
    ‘No. It’s just a friendly communal thing that monkeys do.’
    ‘Friendly?’ Serenity practically spat. ‘He ripped out half my hair and almost bit your finger