As it was Friday night, and the weekend now, I was always allowed to read for an hour before I went to sleep so I grabbed my book. I must’ve fallen asleep very quickly though as I remembered nothing…..until…..“Oi” said the voice.
I half woke up, thinking I was probably dreaming and turned over again. Was I hearing things? This time it was louder.
“Oi you” the voice rang out in my room. A little too close for comfort for my liking. I had my back to the voice and as much as I wanted to investigate who it was, I did not want to turn over. Remember earlier on, I said I wasn’t scared? I take it back! This was scaring me! After all, I knew Mum and Dads voice and I knew for sure that it wasn’t them.
“Talk about ignorant…..Oi. Kid……you are listening to me right?”
Now I knew I wasn’t hearing things. I flipped over quickly to face……well, what can only be described as a kangaroo in a pair of board shorts and a singlet. I honestly didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or be scared. I mean, all he was missing was a pair of thongs and a surfboard!
I blinked several times. I rubbed my eyes wondering if I had created this image in front of me. Was it a dream? Was he imaginary?
“Who are you?” I said to him.
The kangaroo sat back on my bed. “Right, you want the whole story I suppose eh?” he said. Despite the absurdity of the situation, he had a strong australian accent and this seemed to put me at ease. I nodded, still a little unsure of what to say. I still had no real idea whether I was awake or if in fact this was just a very real looking dream.
“Firstly, I’m your mate. You keep dreaming you want a mate living close by and I am that mate! My name is Bruce” he said, at this point I burst out laughing. “Are you serious?” I asked him. He continued “My name is Bruce. I have been watching you and every day I see how sad you are at having no one to play with. You don’t have any brothers or sisters and your friends live too far away. I thought you could use a mate.” I nodded again, words escaping me.
“Right, decision made then. I’m your mate. I’ll make myself comfortable under your bed and tomorrow we’ll make a list of things we could do” said Bruce. “The adventures of Nathan and Bruce, got a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
I nodded in agreement and settled back to sleep wondering whether this was indeed happening. I dreamt of Bruce. He must be imaginary. He said so. He said I had been dreaming of a mate. He must be imaginary……right?
As the sun rose above the rooftops of Brisbane, it made its way through my window. As the sun hit my face it woke me. I rolled over and half remembered what had happened in the night. I swung my legs out of the bed. ‘He was imaginary’ i thought to myself. ‘There is no way he was real’. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement.
“Morning matey, our adventures start today” said Bruce. What had I let myself in for?