“Hey Brownie, get over here a sec. I think we may have to pull IF 274 from his assignment.” Gege, an IFS (imaginary friend specialist) on duty called to the supervisor.

Brownie came over to inspect the 25 screens on Gege’s desk - each screen showed one IF (imaginary friend) and the child in their charge. “Alright, what seems to be the problem?”

“Well, to start with, this child whose name is,” Gege quickly reference some of the paperwork strewn on the desk, “Jennifer is very young and after 4 months still has not chosen a form for her IF. You know how annoying that was. But Jennifer is worse than most - she rarely repeats the same idea, and this IF has been switching forms every few days for months now.”

Brownie nodded in understanding - children usually filtered between a handful of ideas for how they wanted their IF to look and act before settling on one idea. Not only was it exhausting for an IF to constantly be reforming themselves, but it also extremely hindered them from settling in as a true Friend and helping the child with their problems, as was their duty.

“Someone has to be paired with Jennifer,” Brownie reminded the IFS, “so why can’t we let this IF stick it out?”

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Gege began slowly, “That’s the other thing, sir.” He stopped to clear his throat. “IF 274 has a... uhh...has an anger core.”

Brownie jerked as if struck and then swore under his breath. “Does it look like he’s going to lash out?”

“I...I think so, sir.” Gege was nervous. Not because of his boss, but because IFs with an anger core were rare. He had personally never had to watch one before, but their reputations were often whispered about. He was nervous for Jennifer, however annoying she may be, because it was not pleasant when an IF with an anger core lashed out.

“Alright who do we have in reserve to sub in? Given Jennifer’s apparently short attention span do we have any IFs with a sedate core?”

Again shuffling through the papers on his desk Gege came up with the reserves list. “Yes, we have two IFs with a sedate core that can be dispatched. But sir, if I may...?”

“Yes, yes, what?”

“We have a whimsy core IF on reserve. After watching Jennifer for a bit now, I don’t think she’s unhappy and unable to make a Friend she will like. I think she just has an extraordinary imagination that whimsy would complement nicely.”

Brownie pursed his lips and remained silent for a minute. Gege returned his attention to his screens during the silence, making sure the other IFs he was watching were all doing well.

“Good idea, Gege,” the supervisor finally said. “Can you get them dispatched now? If IF 274 is close to breaking, we need to get him out of there before nightfall.”

“Of course, I’ll do it right away.”

Brownie nodded and walked away to keep an eye on the other IFSs on his floor. All of the specialists, and himself, had started out as an ordinary IF for children. Given his own strict core, he’d risen in the ranks to supervisor over the years. And as a supervisor, he’d been given extra information about IF patterns, tendencies, and issues to keep an eye out for. And he’d been told about those rare IFs with an anger core.

Apparently, when an anger core lashed out, the children had a new name for their IFs. Instead of being an Imaginary Friend, they became a Monster of various forms. A Monster Under the Bed, Monster in the Closet, or Monster in the Bathroom were the most common types.

Brownie shuddered just thinking about the obscene, terrifying forms an IF could take. He wouldn’t wish that on anyone, let alone a child. Hopefully they got to Jennifer and IF 274 in time.