Gillbert the Getaway Goldfish

"NOT AGAIN!" Emma stared at the empty bowl on her bedside table. Just water. No Gillbert. Gillbert was Emma's goldfish. He was small. He was orange. And he was ALWAYS escaping. "MUUUUM! Gillbert's gone AGAIN!" Mum sighed from downstairs. "Check the kitchen!" Emma ran to the kitchen. And there he was. Gillbert. Swimming in the kitchen sink. Between the cereal bowls and last night's saucepan. He blew a bubble. "GILLBERT! You can't live in the SINK!" Emma plunged her hands in to grab him. SPLASH! He slipped right through. She tried again. CRASH! A bowl hit the floor. AGAIN. SMASH! CLANG! SPLOOSH! Plates and cups and dish water went EVERYWHERE. Gillbert did a little loop-the-loop between the spoons. Emma FINALLY scooped him up in a mug. "Back in your bowl, mister." PLOP. Gillbert swam around once. And blew a bubble. The next morning. "NOT AGAIN!" The bowl was empty. Emma heard splashing coming from the bathroom. She opened the door. And there was Gillbert. IN THE BATH. Rubber duck floating by. Mountains of bubbles everywhere. And Gillbert? Gillbert was floating on his back right in the middle of it all. Eyes closed. Fins out. Like he was at a SPA. He blew a bubble. It floated up and joined all the other bubbles. "GILLBERT! That is NOT your bowl!" Gillbert opened one eye. Closed it again. Emma scooped him up in a cup. "Back. In. Your. BOWL." PLOP. Gillbert blew a bubble. The next morning. "NOT. AGAIN!" The bowl was empty. Emma looked in the kitchen. No Gillbert. She looked in the bath. No Gillbert. He wasn't even in the HOUSE. "EMMA!" Mrs. Patterson shouted from over the fence. "I THINK I FOUND SOMETHING OF YOURS!" Emma looked down from her window. "There he is." She raced next door. Gillbert was doing big slow laps around a blow-up flamingo. Fins behind his head. Like he was on HOLIDAY. He blew a bubble. "GILLBERT!" Emma leaned into the pool to grab him. He dodged left. She reached further. He dodged right. She reached FURTHER and... SPLOOOOSH! Emma went face first into the paddling pool. Gillbert floated past her nose on his little floaty. He blew a bubble. Mrs. Patterson handed Emma a towel. "He's a right little getaway goldfish, isn't he?" she said. Emma scooped Gillbert up in her hands. "BACK. IN. YOUR. BOWL. GILLBERT!" PLOP. He blew a bubble. The next morning, Emma came downstairs for breakfast. She didn't even check the bowl. She KNEW. "He's gone again, isn't he?" said Dad. "Yep." Emma looked in the sink. No Gillbert. She looked in the bath. No Gillbert. She looked in Mrs. Patterson's paddling pool. No Gillbert. "Where ARE you, Gillbert?" Mum sat down at the table and picked up her glass of water. She took a big sip and... Two little eyes stared back at her. "AAAAAAGH!" SPLUTTER! COUGH! SPLASH! Gillbert was doing tiny little laps inside Mum's glass. He looked up at Emma. And blew the biggest bubble yet. Emma couldn't help it. She laughed. "You win, Gillbert." That afternoon, Emma got to work. She found a bigger bowl. She put in colourful rocks and a tiny castle and a little plant that wobbled in the water. She even taped a photo of Mrs. Patterson's pool to the side. "There," she said. "Now you don't NEED to escape." Gillbert swam through the castle. Around the plant. Through the castle again. Then he blew the BIGGEST bubble Emma had ever seen. She smiled. "Deal?" Gillbert blew one more bubble. But Emma saw that look in his tiny little eye. Gillbert was DEFINITELY already planning his next escape. THE END.