“40 years ago, the mysterious scientist Dr. Earl was trapped inside THIS very rock,” said the crazy man who lives next door, Frederick.

“Are you sure, Mr. Fred? Is there really a tiny man stuck inside the rock?” I questioned. Mr. Fred has been known for saying crazy things to the little kids in my apartment building for some time now. Now, he thinks that there is a scientist that has been shrunk and put into this rock, and he even claimed that he was there with the scientist who got trapped when it happened. I knew this wasn’t true because in the third grade we learned that people need food and water to survive; and, inside a rock, the scientist would not have access to food and water. Even if he ever was trapped inside, there is no way he would have survived. Besides, my mom told me to not believe Mr. Fred’s stories.

“Of course, there is, dear. Why would I lie to you? I promise that there is a man in here, just listen for him tonight.” He handed me the rock and told me to take it home. I walked into my apartment building and went up to the eighth floor where I live.  

“Hi, sweetie!” said my mom, who then gave me a  snack of carrots and hummus. I set the rock down on the table, which baffled my mom. “Where did you get that?” she questioned.

“Mr. Fred gave it to me. Then he told me that a doctor named Earl is stuck inside of here. I didn’t believe him, but he insisted I take it.”

“Well, if Mr. Fred says there is a man in here, we should take care of him,” she joked. “Why don’t you go put him into your room, Kendall?”  Obeying my mother, I sat the rock atop my nightstand and left my room to finish my nightly routine of homework, dinner, and getting ready for bed.

After I was finished getting ready for bed, I went up to my room and pondered over the rock. I wondered if there really was a man in here like Mr. Fred had said. I put the thought out of my head until I almost drifted off to sleep when suddenly a faint voice that was almost inaudible broke the silence that had previously filled my room.

“Hey, kid? Anyone here?” said the voice. The voice – amazingly – was coming from the rock!

“Dr. Earl? Is that you? Are you really in there like Mr. Fred said?” I asked. At this moment I was so confused that I had no idea what to think.

“It is! I’m really in here.”

“How long have you been stuck inside of there?” I questioned, turning on the light.

“40 years. Well, technically, 39 years, 4 hours and 3 minutes,” he retorted. Apparently, I thought, Mr. Fred really was telling the truth.

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve had my watch in here all this time,” he responded. I was utterly shocked to hear that his watch still worked. “Have any more questions for me, kiddo? If not, I would love to discuss your plans for me…or my release from this dumb rock.”

I had about a million questions it seemed, but the questions I asked was, “What time is it?”

“It’s about 9:30. Past your bedtime, hm?”

“I guess I’d better get to sleep then, Dr. Earl,” I said with a yawn. “I’ll talk to you in the morning. Who knows, maybe we can try to get you out of there? I’m sure that my mom wouldn’t mind using tools from work. We can have you out of there by tomorrow!”

“Woah, Woah, Woah. Tomorrow? You really think so?”

“Of course. Mr. Earl, it’s been really nice talking to you, but I’ve to go to sleep now. Goodnight.” I shut the light and fell asleep instantly.

In the morning, my mom woke me up to a “Breakfast, Kendall!” that sounded from the kitchen.

“Mom, Mr. Fred was right! Dr. Earl is in there. I talked to him, and Mom, he seemed really nice. Can we keep him? Please, Mom, can we keep him?” I said barely containing my excitement.

“Not so fast, Kendall, we can’t keep him! We have to give him back to Mr. Fred,” she said. “We will give him back to Mr. Fred when we go downstairs and wait for the school bus,” I begged and begged my mom to allow us to keep Dr. Earl, but she still said no. After I ate and brushed my teeth, I grabbed Dr. Earl and told him to stay quiet. However, my mom took the rock away from me and handed him to Mr. Fred. I said my final farewells to my friend of one night and handed him off to Mr. Frederick.

“Goodbye, Dr. Earl. I’ll miss you!” I sadly said to him. The school bus pulled up to our stop and I got on to my seat. I waved from the window, and then the driver took off. I never did find out if Dr. Earl ever escaped that rock, but from that day forward, I always listened closely to anything that Mr. Fred chose to share with me.