What’s a few bald spots in the name of learning?
Michelle winced as her sensitive thumb caught the end of the medicine cabinet. She opened it to find an empty box that used to contain 20 Winnie the Pooh Band-Aids of assorted sizes and designs.
“That’s strange,” she thought. “This was a brand new box.” She only recalled using one when Jake fell out of the tree and scraped up his knee. She tried to remember if Dakody had used them to tape over Ella’s dolls’ mouths the time she had found them all bound and gagged.
She carried the empty box into the living room where her family was watching TV. “Hey guys. Anyone know what happened to all the Band-Aids?”
Everyone shook their heads except for Olivia. “Yeah, I’m using them for my science project,” she said.
“Is your science project a psychological experiment on the cause/effect relationship of Band-Aid deprivation versus incidence of eldest child homicide in mothers with untreated hangnails?”
“No,” Olivia said without humor. “It’s a dissertation on the migratory patterns of suburban wildlife.”
Michelle shot Tim a look, who raised one eyebrow and then shrugged it off.
“Care to discuss your methods?” Michelle egged.
“I just walked around the neighborhood. And when I saw an animal, I tagged it with a Winnie the Pooh Band-Aid. The ones I could catch, that is,” said Olivia.
“And just how many poor animals have you branded?”
“Four cats. Two turtles. Nine dogs. All three of Jake’s hamsters. And a goat.”
“A GOAT?”
“Yeah, it was kinda weird. Just walked right out of the woods behind the house. So anyway, for the past week I’ve been sitting on the front porch and recording the ones I’ve seen walk by.”
“And how many has that been?”
“None.”
“Uh huh. Well, Olivia honey, next time you need supplies for a school project, just let me know. I’m sure we could have found a better way to “tag” those animals than using up all the Band-Aids.”
“Actually, they stuck really well. It’s removing them that’s going to be interesting.”
“Oh I dunno, Liv,” Michelle said with concern. “I think maybe it’d be better if you just left …”
But she was cut off when Tim finally chimed in. “Be sure to rip ‘em off real fast. You know, just like a …”
“Not helping, Tim.”
Back to top
