hubert

to follow up:

last night, i was sitting in mom's bedroom talking to her and little bro entered and joined the conversation. i made some joking comment about 'Hubert,' which got bro on the brink of becoming defensive. it turned out that Hubert is a new kid in school. mom, ever diplomatic, stood up for bro, saying, "He makes friends with just about every new kid that comes into his grade!"
I asked bro, "Did you make friends with him just because his name is Hubert?"

"No!"

"Well, how did you meet him?"

He paused and tried to hide a grin. "...I cut him out of paper."

Mom and i looked at each other, then back at bro. "What?!"

"He lives in my math book."

Us: "..."

Bro: "well, he's not imaginary! you can see him!"

that certainly clears things up. and i had been excited to finally meet someone named 'Hubert'...

though apparently there's a 6th grader named Morbius at his school. bro told me that Morbius always wears black. i told him i would, too, if that were my name.