Don't Disturb Daddy

Kat Bollum
The ball rolled across the hallway, gently tapping the door.
Footsteps were heard, and the door swung open quickly. RYLEY!
Ryley looked up from where he was playing. Uh oh.
A tall man looked over his glasses and yelled, Ryley, if I hear one more peep out of you,
Ill feed you to the alligators!
The door slammed shut.
Ryley thought alligators sounded like much more fun than playing with a ball.
He ran off in search of an alligator, but was brought to a halt by his mother walking by.
She crouched down, and looked into his eyes as she tousled his hair.
Ryley baby, I told you to play quietly, didnt I? Daddy is working very hard right now.
She wagged a finger to emphasize each word. Dont. Disturb. Daddy.
Ryley nodded his head and resumed his hunt for alligators.
Living in Calgary severely limited his ability to find one, so he settled with the household
cat. The cat smelled like a
murky swamp animal and waddled around like a plump scaled beast, so in Ryleys
mind, it was a perfect match.
He wanted to open its mouth to see if it had giant fangs as well, but quickly found the cat
did not enjoy this type of
interrogation and scratched his arm, causing them both to yowl.

Footsteps were accompanied by the door being violently thrown open again.
HELEN. DID I NOT TELL YOU TO KEEP HIM QUIET?
Ryleys mother, who rushed up the stairs just as she heard the ruckus, swept Ryley into
her arms. Im a bit busy
right now, John.
Oh, sorry honey, I didnt know doing laundry paid the bills around here! He angrily
turned and slammed the door,
causing the cat to skitter to safety behind the couch. Ryley wished he could hide there
as well.
Helen sighed and swept Ryleys hair away from his eyes. Lets get ya fixed up, kiddo.
After administering a
superhero bandage to the scratch and a kiss better, she brought down his Lego set. Im
having coffee with grandma
right now, Ill be back in less than an hour. If youre a good boy, Ill bring you back a
chocolate bar. Remember. Dont.
Disturb. Daddy.
With his mother gone, Ryley amused himself by constructing an entire Lego empire of
which he was the supreme ruler.
There were forts, moats, and military bases strategically placed all across the living
room.
The dastardly Mr. Potato head declared war, and Ryley had no plan to surrender. He
began launching smaller pieces
of Lego across the room with a catapult, and followed it up by making the various Lego
vehicles crash into Mr. Potato-

heads walls. He wouldnt be able to hold out much longer.

Ryley remembered that he had a nerf gun in his room that would ensure victory, and
dashed up to his room to retrieve
it.
In the meantime, Ryleys father decided to step out for a quick smoke break while Helen
was out of the house. As he
headed outside, his attention was focused on finding the lighter in the depths of his
pockets, and failed to see the tiny
shards of Lego strewn all about the living room as if it were a minefield. Which it was, for
the purpose of Lego-war.
The moment his fingers finally fumbled onto the lighter, he stepped directly onto a red
two-by-two piece. The lighter
flew out of his hands, the pack of smokes fell down, and he hopped up and down,
cradling his injured foot, which only
made him step on more and more Lego. His anger and the number of imprints in his
feet increased, until he had the
sense to sit down beside the Mr. Potato-head.
Ryley came thundering down the stairs and gazed upon the scene, nerf gun in hand.
He saw his father sitting behind enemy lines, picking Lego pieces out of his foot and
throwing them towards Ryleys
fort. So this is war.
Ryley let out a fierce battle cry and ran towards his father, letting loose a barrage of
foam darts. Three of them stuck to

his fathers face.

Ryley sang, Youre the loser Daddy! I beat you, I beat you good! and danced around
him, smiling and waving the nerf
gun above his head. His smile quickly faded as he noticed his fathers grim face.
In a low tone, his father growled, Grow up, Ryley. Youre going to be the man of the
family soon. Pick this up. Right
NOW. His father stiffly walked away, and slammed the office door shut once again.
Ryley hung his head and picked up the bits of Lego in shame. He decided to play with
the set of Hot Wheels until his
mom was home and could play pretend. Ryley tried to be quiet. He really did. He built
the track in utter silence. It went
over the top of the couches, around the kitchen table, and even had a death-defying,
upside-down loop.
But everybody knows you cant play with racecars without making vrooommm
VROOOOOMMMMM noises.
He was busy making the cars smash into each other when his father opened the door. It
was unfortunate timing, as
Ryley had just let the last race car fly. It roared along the track, but hit a piece of track
that wasnt clicked together
properly. The car flew off the table, hitting his father in the shin.
His father bent down to pick up the car, and turned it around in his hand. Ryley, if Im
disturbed one more time, you

wont be a very happy boy. Give me these cars until you show youre mature enough to
entertain yourself quietly. He
walked back into the room silently, which made the slamming door seem all the louder.
The whole frame reverberated with the force with which it was closed, and the mirror
hung up in the hallway came
loose and tilted down to the side.
Ryley looked at himself in the mirror, but looked away so as not to see himself cry.
Ryley began to disassemble the track. He noticed the cigarettes laying on the carpet,
and pulled the lighter out from
beneath the couch.
Man of the family. Ryley knew he could entertain himself quietly. He would show his
father he could be grown up, too!
He pulled back on the lighter switch, and watched the sparks turn to a wavering flame.
Ryley was waiting patiently on the steps as his mother screech to a halt in the driveway.

RYLEY! Oh my goodness, what happened?!

He waited patiently for his mother to calm down as she scooped him into her arms.
Wheres your father? Why is the house on fire? Did you call 911?! Why arent you
saying anything?
Ryley turned and looked into her eyes that were the same shade as his.
He cocked his head slightly to the side and whispered in her ear, Dont disturb Daddy.