Peter Pen was a very special pen, and you are about to see why.
Peter liked people who didn’t make fun of his groovy lid. People like Peter’s best friend Ronny Ruler, his girlfriend Penny Pencil, and his cousin Ruby Rubber.
Peter lived his life in a classroom. This is where he met Ronny and Penny. He met Ronny when the child he lived with (who just so happened to be called Pete) got a brand new (and very swish) ruler. He met Penny when Pete-the-Boy moved tables. Pete-the-Boy was seated next to a girl called Lucy. For Peter and Penny, it was love at first sight. After a while, Peter plucked up enough courage to say, “I like your rubber.” To which Penny replied, “I like your lid.” And the rest, as they say, is history.
Peter Pen liked adventures, and had been on many. For instance, once he went to the theatre with Pete-the-Boy. And another time, he got a ride on a computer chair. This was when Pete-the-Boy left poor Peter on the chair overnight and the cleaners moved it around. (That made him feel quite sick.)
Anyway, one day, Peter got lost. Somehow, he ended up in Pete-the-Boy’s worst enemy, Barry the Bully’s, tub. And that certainly was not a pleasant experience. It was smelly, dark, messy and scary. But the worst part was, Peter knew what Barry the Bully did with pencils. His tub was full of pencils that were cracked in half, de-leaded and with chew marks on them. The sight of it made Peter sick. It was like an ongoing pencil massacre. Then he made a shocking discovery. In the corner of the tub was a pile of pens. Their heads ripped of, insides taken out and empty bodies used as weapons. Peter gasped, his heart pounding against his chest. I’ve got to get out.
Just then, he felt a jolt as the tub was opened. Light streamed in and the sound of children was heard. But the only voice that Peter heard was that of a little boy saying, “Where’s my pen? Has anyone seen my pen?” It was Pete-the-Boy.
“Pete? Oh, Pete! I’m here! Hello?” But of course, Pete-the-Boy couldn’t hear him. And even if he could, he couldn’t understand Pen Latin. Suddenly, a hand came towards Peter. He froze. He didn’t know what to do, until he remembered the words he’d heard somewhere before. Stop, drop and roll. So stop, drop and roll was what Peter did. He rolled between the pages of an English book (called Emily), which was where he stayed silently until the tub was closed.
“Phew,” sighed Peter. “That was close. Now, keep calm and think.” And so he did. He planned all day. “Eureka! I’ve found the answer!” He cried as all the children were packing up for the bell.
“The answer to what?” asked an old, wise-sounding voice from the darkness.
“The answer to how to get out of this tub!!” Peter was so excited; he didn’t even bother to ask who had talked to him. “This is fantastic!”
The owner of the voice emerged. It was a very old pen. He was hunched over and his lid was grey. “Well done, my son,” said the pen. “My name is Pierre Pen, by the way. I have been watching you. You seem like a nice young chap and I was wondering if by any chance you could help me get out, too. I have been in this tub for twenty years, and am desperate for a way out. How about it?”
“My name is Peter Pen. Of course I can help you! Now, here’s my plan.” So Peter told Pierre of the wonderful plan he had come up with. “We will put this plan into action tomorrow because-” Peter cut himself off with a big yawn. “I am really very tired. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to go to sleep.” Peter walked off and found a spot on Persephone the pencil case and went to sleep. That night, he dreamed of seeing all his friends again.
The next morning, Peter was woken by someone yelling at him. “Come on sport! Up and at ‘em!” It was Pierre with a beret (that looked suspiciously like a twisted rubber band) on. “Come on! We’ve got a plan to put into action!”
“Right, Richard Ruler, over there. Emily Englishbook, in the corner, and Gregory Gluestick, another two lids of whiteout, please.” Peter and Pierre were getting ready for their escape. It was all ready. Emily would wedge Richard so that when she moved, he would flick. The plan was for Peter and Pierre to sit on Richard and get flicked out of the tub. Freddie Frenchbook had managed to push the tub far enough out to fit Peter and Pierre.
“Perfect! Absolutely perfect!” cried a very excited Pierre when everyone was poised and ready to go. This was the moment of truth. Peter and Pierre strode over to Richard and sat down.
“Thankyou so much for your help. We really appreciate it, and it has been a great pleasure to meet you,” said Peter. “But now it is time for us to go and we bid you farewell. Start the countdown!!”
“Five…four…three…two…one…geronimoooo!!!!” cried everyone.
“Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!” squealed Pierre and Peter. And then everything went black.
“Pierre? Pierre?! Hello?” Pierre’s eyelids fluttered. “Pierre? Are you all right?” It was Peter. “We made it! We’re out!!”
Pierre got up off the floor of the classroom. “Oh, my word! Well done, young whippersnapper! Yes!!” He and Peter had a little dancefest. Then, the door opened. And guess who it was? Yes, that’s right, it was Pete-the-Boy.
“Oh! There you are!” exclaimed Pete, picking up Peter and Pierre. “And you’ve found a friend! Well, let’s put you back in my tub so that you don’t get lost again. Your friend here, too.”
“Ooooh, it is so good to be home,” sighed Peter the day after The Escape. Penny and Ronny had been to see them, and each had liked Pierre.
“And it is so good to have a real home,” commented Pierre. “A nice one, at that. I hope I never have to go back to that place ever again.”
“Me neither,” yawned Peter Pen. “Me neither.”