It was a normal Wednesday morning, or so I thought...

I woke up to the sound of the television blaring. I heard the news anchor yammering on about some guy named Matthew.

Apparently, this guy was coming to town and he was not welcome!  All of this talk about Matthew was driving me nuts!

Matthew?

Sluggishly, I crawled down the stairs toward the kitchen and poured myself a heaping bowl of sugary cereal.

Just as I was about to dig in, I heard Mom’s voice from the living room.



“Timmy!” she called out. “Hurry up with that cereal; you are going to be late for school!”

I slurped up the rest of my milk, grabbed my backpack, and ran out the door.

I was halfway down the driveway when I realized something was missing- I had forgotten Teddy! I frantically ran back inside, grabbed him by the paw, and hurried off to school.

I always take Teddy with me. He might just be a stuffed teddy bear to some, but to me, he is my best friend. We have been together for as long as I can remember. My old baby photos show us sharing a seat on our first bike ride, putting a tooth under our pillow for the tooth fairy, and even potty training! Together, we have been through it all.

Oh no!

Hmm....

As Teddy and I walked into my elementary school - hand in paw - I noticed the teachers scurrying through the halls while whispering in hushed tones and exchanging nervous glances.

All of a sudden, Principal Pal’s chipper voice blared over the loudspeaker.

“Good morning, students!” he exclaimed. “We will be having an emergency assembly, so please gather in the cafeteria and be sure to find and sit with your class!”

I quickly found a seat with my class amongst the jammed packed tables.  

The cafeteria was buzzing with speculation. In the midst of our hypothesizing, Principal Pal paraded onto the stage and put on a seemingly happy face. However, I could tell that he was forcing his smile in order to keep the students calm.  

I looked up at the stage and saw the word that I had dreaded. "MATTHEW".  I guess it was time to get to the bottom of this!

Not again...

“Timmy, sit down. Principal Pal will explain everything in just a moment,” my teacher, Ms. Nunziato, whispered next to me.  

I don’t see how Ms. Nunziato could be so calm when all of the teachers were acting so strange.  Just as my mind began wandering off once again, Principal Pal started to speak in his booming voice.

“Ladies and gentlemen! I know you are all worried but I am here to explain everything. St. Augustine is expecting a dangerous hurricane within the next few days, Hurricane Matthew. Experts say that this hurricane will be destructive, but you will all be okay.  I trust your families are well prepared.”

I thought back to all of the times Mom and Dad made me practice our fire drills and tornado procedures, but I couldn’t remember anything about hurricanes.

Luckily for me, the rest of the school day was spent studying storms, discussing disastrous destruction, and practicing preparation. By the bus ride home, I was a seasoned professional!

I grabbed Teddy out of my heavy backpack and together, we hopped off the bus and bolted into our house.

“Mom, are we evacuating?” I asked. Clearly impressed with my newfound hurricane vocabulary, Mom gave me a simple nod of her head.

“We are all going to stay at the hurricane shelter down the street,” she explained. I guess Mom could tell I was confused, because she began to explain a little bit more.

“When the city evacuates, it chooses safe spaces for people to stay in that have no other place to travel to. Your school is one of these safe spaces, so we will be heading over there in about an hour. Finish packing up your most important belongings and Dad will bring the suitcases out to the car.”

Nervous that I would forget something important, I quickly began to throw all of my favorite items into the suitcase: baseball cards, comfy pajamas, a pillow, and my lucky dental floss.

I looked over at Teddy, who was placed promptly peering over from my desk. He seemed nervous.

“Don’t worry, buddy. You can ride in the backseat with me!” I reassured him.

I slammed my suitcase shut and tried to lug it down the stairs but it weighed a ton!  Mom, Dad, Teddy, and I piled into the car and drove off to the shelter.

As soon as we pulled up, I could tell we were in for quite the bizarre experience. I had never seen so many people in my school’s gym before!

Soccer balls were replaced by sleeping bags, basketballs by bare beds, and even the wacky radio was replaced by the sound of frantic weather reports.  

Mom grabbed me by the hand and led me to a space big enough for our family, and we laid out our sleeping bags while Dad carried in our stuffed suitcases

I could hear the rain pounding against the roof and the thunder cracking, I was starting to get nervous!

I had just decided to take my mind off of the horrid weather when suddenly I spotted Billy, my next door neighbor! Billy suggested we walk around the deserted school to find our friends. I

t was not long before I recognized some of the neighborhood kids and shop owners from downtown. Everyone we met had the same weary look on their face.

After a few hours of these long, lazy, laps around the gym, Billy and I parted ways. Exhausted, I decided to hit the sack so I crawled deep into my sleeping bag. The gym quickly fell silent and the sound of snoring began filling the air as other exhausted people like me fell asleep.

I snuggled up, closed my eyes, and my arms automatically reached for Teddy -  but Teddy wasn’t there! Where could he possibly be?! Suddenly wide awake, I sat up in my sleeping bag and searched all around me for my best friend. In all of the chaos, I must have left Teddy in the car! I did my best to wake Dad but he was out like a light. His snores drowned out my urgent whispers and my shaking only made him roll over.