Monkey Business

Siamang,Symphalangus syndactylus on the tree.

“Hey Mom! Guess what?” Tina yelled.
“I’m in the kitchen honey, what’s up?”
Tina skipped to the table and flopped into her chair. “I got hyphenated today!”
“Hyphenated? Like your name?” Mom set a peanut butter sandwich on the table and sat across from her. “How, Tina-Marina?”
Tina eagerly took a bite and continued. “No, don’t be silly.” She laughed. “We had a hippie at school, and he asked for volunteers to be hyphenated. I got picked!” She slurped her milk. “I was sad because he picked David first, but after he was done acting like a dog, I raised my hand and thought optivly like you’ve taught me, and I got to go!
Mom stared at her for a moment to decipher the flow of words. “I’m glad you are practicing positive thinking honey, and admire your optimism, but I’m not sure I understand. You had a visitor at school today?”
“Yup! A hippie! He picked two volunteers to be hyphenated. David got to be a dog and guess what? I got to be a monkey!” Another slurp of milk to wash down the peanut butter and she rushed on. “I wasn’t sleeping, but it felt like I was dreaming. I ran around the front of the class making monkey sounds, but the hippie woke me up before I jumped off the teachers desk. I just wanted to swing from the flag like a real monkey does from vines, but he didn’t let me.” She pouted. “Anyway, it was fun! Have you ever been hyphenated?”
Understanding dawned, “Do you mean you had a hypnotist visit your class today?”
“Yeah, a hippie!” Tina chirped. “Have you?”
“No, honey, I’ve never been hypnotized. Sounds like you had a fun day.” Mom smiled and stood. “Finish your snack and then start your homework. I’m going to step in the other room and make a phone call.” She muttered as she dialed, “I need to have a little chat with your teacher.”

Written for Linda G. Hill’s JusJoJan the 16th, 2023 – Optimism and JusJoJan the 17th, 2023 – Hyphenated, Lady Jabberwocky’s Prompt of the Week – Dream, and is blog #15 for Penny Wilson Writes Name Your Number Writing Challenge

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