The Adventures of Jackie - Monster Morph

I’ve mentioned that our daughter likes monsters. I was reading a book to her the other night, the book had monsters naturally, and she pointed to a few that she liked.

“I wish I could be a monster,” she said.

That got me thinking, ‘Hmmm, what would that be like . . .’


The Adventures of Jackie - Monster Morph


It was just before midnight. Before going to bed Jackie’s parents always checked on her and her older brother, Tedesco.

She was asleep on her belly with her head turned to the side. Her long hair was in disarray covering her face and pillow. She’d had a restless sleep and the blanket had been almost completely discarded. Her mom and dad smiled to each other, whispered some nice calm words into her ears, and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders. She was a good girl, even if she didn’t eat as much as her parents would like.


It was the next morning and the household was awkward by a very frightful shriek! It was Tedesco. He was seven years old and afraid of roller coasters, but screaming in fear at home was certainly out of place. He ran into his parent's room and exclaimed that something was wrong with Jackie. He sometimes went to his sister’s room in the morning and would wake her up, the rascal. This morning, however, he got more than he expected.

“Mom, dad, you have to look at Jackie! Something’s wrong,” said Tedesco clearly very shaken.

Mommy went and sat next to Jackie who was now sitting up in bed complaining that Tedesco was making too much noise. She didn’t know yet that she had changed in appearance. She had morphed into a monster!

“What’s going on in there,” dad called from the bathroom.

“Your daughter turned into a monster,” was mommy’s retort.

“You mean she’s a crabapple like the moods she gets in sometimes when we’re on vacation? Or a monster,” dad called back.

“She’s a monster,” mom returned.

“A good one or a bad one,” he sought to further clarify. Jackie had liked monsters since she was very little. She classified them as either good monsters or bad. The bad monsters, of course, are the ones that have sharp teeth and behave under the general rule of ‘gnash and destroy’. The good monsters are just monsters that like to cuddle, not so much the gnash and destroy business.

“I don’t know yet. Good, I think,” yelling back to daddy.

“Boogie, how do you feel,” pretty mommy asked Jackie.

“I feel funny. Why are my hands green and I have a tail,” she asked.

“Oh, honey, you turned into a monster,” she said empathizing with her daughter. “Do you feel OK? Do you still want to go to school today? Or do you want to stay home?”

“A monster,” said Jackie giving a wide smile. She jumped out of bed and ran to the mirror. She resembled a three-foot tall salamander, green, with short legs and arms, and a bright purple mane like a horse. She was pleased with what she saw. “I want to go to school! Can I, please,” very excited and happy.

“Wow, look at her,” said daddy entering his daughter’s room. “I always thought you were a little monkey, but you were a monster the whole time. And what a beautiful green. Look at that great purple mane like a little pony. You sure are a pretty monster,” he cooed.

Tedesco still looked uncertain. “Boo,” said Jackie loudly and her big brother yelled in fright and ran downstairs.

They all sat down for breakfast. Tedesco was making a mess spilling milk and spoonfuls of cereal on the table because he kept getting scared from her purposefully sudden moves and growls.

“Jackie, please don’t scare your brother or I’ll take you to the doctor to try to turn you back into a little girl again,” said mommy trying to keep the peace. The little monster quickly straightened herself up.

It was time to go to preschool. Jackie brushed her teeth, the teeth of an omnivore monster, not those of a predatory meat-eater. She liked wearing skirts, or at least she did when she was a girl, so her mommy got a few clips and bobby pins and synched one up to fit her new body more appropriately. Her tail was long and thick making it clumsy for her to walk. It stuck out from under her dress and moved from side to side as she walked.

Her doggy, Kira, was very happy to have a monster in the house. Kira’s tail wagged vigorously and she was constantly being told to stop licking Jackie, but really, how could she resist?


At school things were proving to be a very unusual day. In the parking lot many parents were walking their little monsters to class. They’d all been transformed and every color under the rainbow was represented. There were monster children with two legs, four, even one three-legged monster. Some had hair, others with fur, and a couple with scales. What a fun day this was going to be.

The parents were asked to put name tags on their child before they dropped them off because nobody could recognize the kids otherwise.

The kids all had a great time at recess in their monster bodies. They were running around, either on two legs or four, or scuttling along on three, and playing with their monster friends.


When Jackie and Tedesco got home from school they had a snack, as per usual routine. Jackie, the silly monster, told Tedesco that he would have to give up half his snacks to her or she’d scare him some more. “Don’t be a bad monster, Jackie,” secretly smiling at her baby trying to take advantage of her big brother.

After dinner it was bath time. Staying true to protocol, Jackie got in the bath first relegating Tedesco to bathe in her dirty monster water.

The water was hot, almost too hot, and Jackie lay down flat as the water kept flowing from the faucet. Daddy turned away to grab the towels and a pair of pajamas best set to accommodate a monster of these dimensions.

To his relief, and mock disappointment, when he came back it was Jackie lying in the tub with her skin all pink from the hot water. She’d changed back to a little girl!

“Hey, where’s my monster,” said dad.

“Daddy, it was just me,” scrunching her nose and laughing. “Can I be a different monster tomorrow?”

“Wouldn’t you rather be a monkey,” her daddy asked starting to wash her hair.

“No, but maybe a kitty,” thought Jackie out loud.

-klem


Two other Adventures of Jackie can be found here: A Monster Tea Party and The Perfect Day.