Tommy's Talking Tummy

Tommy woke up on Wednesday morning feeling hungry. His tummy rumbled. GRUMBLE. GRUMBLE. Wait. Did it just say... "Breakfast..." whispered his tummy. Tommy's eyes went wide. "BREAKFAST!" said his tummy. Louder this time. Mom made him toast and eggs. Tommy ate every bite. His tummy went quiet. Phew. At school, it was quiet reading time. Everyone was silent. Noses in books. Not a sound. Tommy's tummy rumbled. GRUMBLE. "Oh no," whispered Tommy. "Not here." "Cookies..." whispered his tummy. Tommy pressed his book against his tummy. "SHHHH!" "Cooookies..." He squeezed his arms around his middle as tight as he could. "I don't HAVE cookies!" "COOKIES! I WANT COOKIES!" his tummy shouted. The WHOLE class looked at Tommy. "Was that your STOMACH?" giggled Maya. Tommy's face went bright red. "It wasn't me! It's my TUMMY!" "COOOOKIES!" said his tummy again. His tummy did NOT care about quiet reading time. At lunch, Tommy ate everything in his lunchbox. Every last crumb. His tummy went quiet. Tommy smiled. Finally. It was over. It was NOT over. After lunch, the whole school went to assembly. The hall was packed. Every class. Every teacher. The principal on stage giving a Very Important Speech. It was VERY quiet. Tommy sat in the middle of the third row. His tummy rumbled. "No," whispered Tommy. "ANYWHERE but here." "Hmm," said his tummy. "What should I have next..." "NOTHING. Be QUIET." His tummy went quiet. Tommy relaxed. Then his tummy started SINGING. "ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM! COLD AND SWEET! GIVE ME ICE CREAM! WHAT A TREAT! ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM! IN A CONE! GIVE ME ICE CREAM! TAKE ME HOME!" The hall went silent. Every single head turned to Tommy. The principal stopped mid-sentence. The kid next to Tommy shuffled as far away as his chair would let him. Maya was crying with laughter. Tommy slid so far down in his chair he nearly disappeared under it. "...Sorry," he squeaked. His tummy was NOT sorry. That night, Mom made Tommy chicken, rice, and veggies for dinner. No cookies. No ice cream. Tommy took a bite. Then another. Then another. His tummy rumbled gently. "Ahhhhh," it sighed. "That's the stuff." And for the first time ALL DAY, it went quiet. Tommy lay in bed that night. Full. Warm. Peaceful. No grumbling. No shouting. No singing. Silence. Beautiful silence. Tommy smiled and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, tummy." ... "Pancakes," whispered his tummy. THE END.