Big Ben The Mean Guinea Pig

Chapter 1

A NEW PET

All I ever wanted was a pet. A dog or rabbit, perhaps a turtle, maybe a lizard. Any kind of pet would be great. But, as much as I begged and pleaded with my parents, they always told me no. I got the same old speech. “You’re not mature enough,” and “responsibility isn’t your thing.”

I got so mad every time. For crying out loud, I’m thirteen years old! And I’m an only child, with both my parents working all the time. Life can be boring. Also, a little lonely. But again and again, I got turned down.

Like being told no was going to stop me. My plan from then on out was to annoy my parents every day until they gave in.

With hard work and a little persistence, eventually, they caved. Not without arguing with each other at first.

My dad was sticking to his guns, while mom was tired of hearing me complain. It wasn’t like I wanted them to fight. However, it did work to my advantage.

They told me what kind of pet I could have. I had three choices: a white rat, a hamster, or a guinea pig. After I chose one, there would be rules. If I didn’t take care of the pet, or if I slacked even once, my parents would take my pet away.

“Let’s go to the pet store,” my dad sighed out. “Come on, Justin. We haven’t got all day!”

“Have fun,” Mom said, and looked at my dad. She smiled.

My dad shook his head. “Oh, you’re not getting off the hook that easily,” he said.

“Not going to happen,” she responded. My dad grabbed her arm and slowly pulled her out the front door. “I have to stay. There are things that I need to do,” she protested.

At the pet store, we walked around, looking at all the different animals and reptiles. The birds were cool, and the puppies were very cute and fluffy. My mom and dad pushed me past all of those. When I stopped to look at the snakes, they shoved me forward.

Both reminded me of the three pets I could have. I remembered what they told me. It was just fun to yank at their chains.

I looked through the mice and none of them were what I wanted. The hamsters looked lifeless and not very energetic.

That’s when I saw him—what I considered the perfect pet.

A pure black guinea pig … except for the spiky fur on top of his head, which was white. The guinea pig looked excited to see me when I walked up to the cage. There were others, but those guinea pigs didn’t seem to care about me being there.

“What do you think?” Dad asked when he walked up beside me.

“He looks cool,” I replied.

“He’s cute,” my mom said with a very fake grin. “Do you want that one?”

“Yes! He’s perfect,” I told them.

My dad went over to the counter to get some help. I could see him pointing at us and saying something to the lady. She glanced over towards us with a weird expression on her face. At first she seemed scared, but after my dad said whatever he said, she looked excited.

She grabbed a small cage and rushed over to us. Then, the lady fumbled with the keys to the larger cage until she found the right one and unlocked its door. The lady went to reach in, but the guinea pig jumped out and into the little cage she was carrying.

That was odd to me, but I brushed it off. I was just excited to have a pet. Before we left the store, my parents purchased a bag of feed, another bigger cage, and shavings for its floor.

I was so happy that I thanked my parents about a hundred times that day, even though I could tell neither one of them was happy with me. As I was sitting there holding the guinea pig in my hands, a name popped into my head.

Ben. Big Ben, To me, it sounded like the perfect name for him.

“Big Ben,” I said as I looked at the guinea pig, “Do you like that name?” His eyes seemed to light up while he stared at me. So, I took that as a yes. “Big Ben it is,” I said.

That night, I spent all my time with Ben. Why wouldn’t I? Ben was my new best friend and I didn’t want him to be lonely. When my mom called me down for supper, I brought Ben with me.

“That thing is not staying down here while we eat,” my mom said.

“But I don’t want to leave him alone,” I argued. “It’s his first night here.”

“I said no,” she snapped. “Take him back to your room!”

“I can’t—he’ll be lonely,” I insisted.

“No!” She shouted. “Do it now!”

Dad was quick to take Mom’s side. He demanded that I do as I was told. He looked irritated with me, probably because I was stopping them from eating. My dad gets cranky when he can’t eat his food while it’s warm.

Eventually, I gave in to my parents’ demands. Heck—I even tried refusing to eat, That didn’t work either. I grabbed the cage and reluctantly took him back to my room. Looking down at him, I thought he would act sad.