Prompt #19

I’m going to be in so much trouble. I’m probably going to be put in jail. Great.

My cousin, Nicky, walks beside me shaking and nervously looking around her. I walk straight ahead knowing that nobody is looking for us in the woods; yet. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Nicky jump with every snap of a twig. Our mutual friend, Michael, walks behind us texting. All three of us had been walking in the woods for a half an hour.

“Tenika, I’m scared. I can’t go home with her. She just scares me so much sometimes. I told her all that when I texted her earlier. I can’t live with her anymore. I just can’t,” Nicky sobbed.

My aunt and uncle have fought with each other for years for custody of their daughter. If Nicky could choose I know she would live with her father. However, her mother has never wanted to accept that fact. There had been many nights in the past where Nicky would call me upset because of her mother and I would just sit on the phone with her and let her cry. Seeing her so upset made me nervous. Nicky is usually the strongest person I know.

I start to scan through the many trees that surround us for anyone coming our way. I know these woods like the back of my hand. I would always walk home through the woods after school.

“Um guys?” Michael interrupted.

I had forgotten that Michael was with us. I turned around at the same time as Nicky to see Michael staring at his phone.

“One of my friends just told me that Nicky’s mom called the cops. The police are talking with her and the principal. Apparently Nicky‘s mom wants them to find all three of us.”

“Great,” I sighed. “It’s okay though. I knew I was heading for trouble when I offered to help keep Nicky away from her mother.”

I can’t believe my aunt called the cops. Actually, I can believe it. I learned a long time ago not to put anything past her. I am basically kidnapping my own cousin from her mother. Ugh! I’m going to be so much in trouble. What have you got yourself into Tenika?

Nicky’s eyes widened in shock. It only took a few seconds before she began sobbing even harder. Michael was staring back at his cell phone. His fingers were tapping furiously on his screen as he typed a message.

“I'm sorry but I can’t stand this custody fight anymore! I don’t want my parents to have split custody. I want to live with my dad. Where is my dad?” Nicky cried again.

I unlocked my phone and looked at my home screen. The screen said I had one new message sent two minutes ago.

“Your stepmother just texted me and said your dad will be here in five minutes.”

Leading the way, I made a sharp turn onto another trail that would lead us to a small parking lot. I knew my uncle would expect me to bring her there and not back to the school.

“I’m sorry you guys got roped into this.” Nicky’s tears were slowly starting to stop. “The last thing I want is for you guys to get into trouble because of me. Especially you Tenika, you‘re sacrificing your relationship with your aunt by helping me.”

“Don’t even mention it,” I smiled at her. “ You’re my little cousin and I would do anything for you. Besides, someone has to keep you out of trouble.”

The trees were becoming less dense as we walked. Ahead, I could hear the sound of an engine running. Patches of red were visible through the trees that I recognized as my uncle’s truck. Nicky ran ahead of us as she raced to her dad.

Once Nicky was inside the truck you could tell she felt safe. She slumped against the passenger seat resting her arm alongside her window. A big smile was plastered across her face showing her braces. As the truck pulled away I could see her mouth the words “thank you” to Michael and I. The mess was over; for now.

Did I do the right thing? I don’t know.

Prompt #21

My friends and I are constantly going on trips together. However, one trip stands out more than all the others. Towards the end of this past summer my friends and I went to Bar Harbor. We rolled down the windows to breathe in the fresh air and laughed as the wind blew our hair around. Music blasted through the car as we danced and sang along to our favorite songs. About twenty minutes into our trip we noticed a car following us. The car sped up and slowed whenever we did. Every stop and corner we turned the car was still in the rear-view mirror. We became concerned and our laughs turned nervous. We had no idea who was following us but knew that it was definitely not a coincidence. In an attempt to lose our pursuer, we made a last second turn into Acadia National Park. Not knowing where we were going we just kept driving. The mysterious car and its driver were no longer tailing us.
      A few minutes in Acadia we found ourselves following the road up Cadillac Mountain. The music was turned down and we looked out the windows enjoying the views. Half way up the mountain we were startled by a beeping sound. The gas light was blinking, taunting us. We crossed our fingers hoping we wouldn't run out of gas in the middle of Acadia National Park. To make matters worse, even with all of our different phone carriers, none of us had cell phone reception. Even the radio and CD player stopped working. With no music all we had to do was think about our current situation and worry.
We were so happy and relieved to find our way out of Acadia and make it to a gas station. To treat ourselves we decided to stop at CJ’s Ice Cream shop before heading home. While we were enjoying our soft serve ice cream outside, all of sudden it started pouring. Not even done eating we threw our ice creams away and left the ice cream shop. The car was quite a walk away so we all jogged our way to the car, trying to get there as soon as possible. Traffic was horrible as people wanted to leave due to the unwelcome weather. Tourists were annoying and would not let us cross the street. Almost fifteen minutes later we were all wet sitting in a soaked car because we left the windows down. The rain just being an issue made the trip memorable along with the other hurdles we encountered during our trip.

Prompt #17

I have never seen my mother angrier than the day that I lost an old family heirloom. I was about twelve years old walking around a large craft fair outside with my mother. Countless craft booths stood side by side forming six rows. At random times I would gently twirl the necklace that I wore. It was a gold necklace with a thin, delicate chain that held a red stone and a small intricate design that bordered the stone. The pendent, with its design, somewhat resembled a blooming flower. My mother had given it to me a week before and told me to take good care of it since it was a family heirloom. I loved the necklace and wore it everyday since it was given to me.
My mother scanned every booth looking for jewelry that caught her eye. I barely looked at anything since I was content with my new treasure that I hung from my neck. When we finally reached the last row, I reached to twirl my necklace again only to find that it was gone. I was shocked the necklace was gone. Surely I would have felt or heard the necklace fall. Frantically, I looked around me hoping the necklace would be somewhere near and it would be intact. It wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
      After quickly filling my mother in on the missing heirloom, we began retracing our steps. I tried to recall the last time I knew I had the necklace but I couldn’t remember. We went up and down every row searching the floor and booths. My mother asked random people if they had seen my necklace. I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes. We were at a craft fair, there were necklaces everywhere. A necklace on the floor wouldn’t look out of place. If someone were to see it they would either take it or bring it to the closest booth. We must have looked for almost an hour but our family heirloom was never recovered. I felt absolutely horrible for what I had done and I got to sit and soak in my guilt since I was grounded for a week afterward.

In Class Work Week 5

I’m about ten years old wearing warm clothing to keep myself from freezing. I’m staring up at the roof of my father’s house. Snow blankets the roof and icicles hang down from the gutters. My father stands in front of me with a ladder leading to the roof. His right hand holds the ladder steady as he carries a shovel in his left. He motions for me to go play in the back yard. I do as I‘m told. My father climbs up the ladder to the roof. Once on top he disappears from view. I sit down and watch as my father shovels snow off the roof. It doesn’t take long for my father to make great progress. However, it doesn’t take long for me to get bored as well. There is a huge tree in the backyard which my father wouldn’t allow me to climb no matter how much I begged. Staring at the tree I become more and more curious of how high I could climb. Disobediently, I walk over to the tree and start to climb. I smile at myself when I make it halfway up the tree. Before I know it I’m falling. I land softly on my back in a snow bank. The wind was slightly knocked out of me so I just stare straight above me recalling what happened. In a blink of an eye, my father is standing above me gathering me into his arms. Before he can ask if I’m okay, I start laughing.
“Daddy, that was fun! Can I do it again?”
My father looks at me awestruck. Shaking his head no he picks me up and carries me inside where I can stay out of trouble.

Prompt #15

My friends always make fun of me because I sometimes talk to my cat Ashton. However, I have caught them a couple times talking to their animals too. It’s not like I expect Ashton to answer me but what if he could? What if my cat could answer my questions for a minute? What would I ask him? I found Ashton a year ago on one of my friend’s front steps. He was scared of my friends but ran right into my arms when I knelt down. My friends and I walked around trying to find his owner but to no prevail. I quickly fell in love with the little American Shorthair kitten and took him in. I guess I would ask him what happened before I found him. Were you abandoned? How long were you left outside in the cold? Why did you only run up to me? Are you happy now? If only he could answer my questions.

Prompt #14

To me writing is just as hard as cooking. I can’t cook for my life, which is surprising because my family is full of great cooks. My grandmother however, is by far the best cook in the family. She makes up her own recipes for every dish. Her most popular recipe seems to be her pumpkin squares with cream cheese frosting. Even my friends who hate pumpkin love her pumpkin squares. Many people have asked for her pumpkin squares and cream cheese frosting recipe but it remains a secret even to the family. In my opinion, my favorite recipe of my grandmother’s is her summer fruit cake. It’s a two layer vanilla cake with strawberries and blueberries in the middle. She even uses her cream cheese frosting to top the cake off. It’s absolutely delicious and one of the things I love about summer. It’s hard to chose a favorite recipe of hers because she is constantly coming up with new dishes. A week ago she used her last pie crust and emptied her pudding drawer by making a banana and chocolate pie. The bottom layer was chocolate layer and the top layer was banana. She cover the pie with marshmallow fluff and sprinkled crushed graham cracker on top. It sounds really disgusting but it was actually good and I don’t even like bananas. My grandmother’s kitchen always smells delicious since she is constantly cooking something. Ninety percent of the stuff she makes is given to family, friends, and neighbors. Sometimes I think my friends come to my grandmother’s to eat rather than see me. My grandmother jokes that she has adopted all of my friends as her grandchildren and that they are welcome over to her house whenever.

Prompt #13

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Then why doesn’t this picture speak to me. The picture is of my parents holding me as a baby when my parents were still together. When I take it out of its frame, the back of the picture states that I was a year old. That however, only answers one question out of many. My parents are smiling in the picture but were they really happy? Was I happy? When was the picture taken? Christmas? All three of us are wearing red. How long after this picture was taken did my parents separate? Was I part of the reason why they fought a lot? My parents won’t answer this question for me. If only this picture in this black frame could answer my questions.