January Story Contest
Tough Times
By: kz123456789
Age: 11I peered out the window at the foggy trees whizzing by me. When are we ever go to get there? I thought.
Overall, we had moved 4 times in Michigan. But this time, we were moving to Oregon.
I was so psyched. However, the further we drove the further we got from my old life, a great one at that. A beautiful house, lots of friends, I had loved it. I have done this so many times, but this time it was harder to let go.
Mom told me it would get easier the more we moved, but it's just getting harder. I just have to keep telling myself to move on. Maybe it was because I was moving to the other side of the U.S.
Don't even think about it, don't even think about it, I told myself. But I knew I just could not get my real home out of my brain. With my 2 older brothers telling to get Michigan out of my brain too, it was just too much.
"Why do we have to move," I screamed, not as a question, but a statement. As my mom yelled back, I looked out the windows. I could see mountains in the distance. I remembered people telling me about the beautiful mountains in Oregon. Wow, those mountains are beautiful, but they’re about the only beautiful thing in Oregon.
Suddenly I realized something. If mountains mean Oregon, and I see mountains, than we must be in Oregon. I felt butterflies in my stomach. I just couldn't handle it! We are in Oregon, I thought.
"Were in Oregon, so there's no turning back now," said Dad.
No turning back, no turning back. The words echoed in my head. I tried so hard to get them out, but I couldn't. My heart pounded, my stomach turned, I felt a headache coming on.
I pressed my nose against the window and took 3 deep breaths, but trying to calm myself down that way wasn't working. I felt a tear slip down my cheek, but I quickly wiped it off. More were coming but I held them back.
No turning back, no turning back. Suddenly I couldn't hold my tears back any longer.
I heard my dad say "Almost there!" I could smell the smoke from his cigarette. The words cut through me like a sword. There is defiantly no turning back now.
But I wanted to! I wanted to go back to my old friends and my old life!
My parents than got off the freeway. I could feel the mountains now, they were so close. My mouth wanted to scream, but my tongue wouldn't let it. When we pulled into the driveway, a large house with green shutters and a yellow door stood before me.
"This house is ugly, and I refuse to live here!" I shouted. My mom pulled me out of the car onto the dirt driveway, apple trees on either side of me.
Man, the only thing pretty here is the environment. I tried to think positive, but there was nothing positive about this situation.
Everyone ran inside, except me. I spotted a large rock in the front yard and walked over to it and I sat down. I buried my face in my hands and began to cry. I felt like the whole world was turning against me. I looked up.
Get yourself together, I thought. I wiped off my tears and tried to look happy as I walked inside. I stood there in the doorway taking it all in.
My dad walked up to me from the kitchen. "Welcome Home," he said. I stamped my foot on the ground. "No! This isn't home! Home is back in Michigan! I don't belong here and I bet everyone at school is going to tell me that too!" I yelled, trying not to cry.
Welcome home, welcome home, home, home, and home. My dad’s words played back in my head. No matter how long we live here I will never think of this as home, I thought. Maybe this house is pretty on the inside, but definitely not on the outside.
I peered down the long hallway, and saw a staircase. Time to go find my room, I thought. I went upstairs, tripping over suitcases. When I saw which room my 13-year-old brother had taken, I screamed. It was the room I had always dreamed of. It had 2 walk-in closets, and a private bathroom.
I made a potty-face at my brother, and then I nearly cried. The next room in that upstairs hallway was very small and painted pink. Not for me, I thought. But as I came to the end of the hallway, where my 19-year-old-brother had his suitcases, I fell on the floor in tears.
I had to stay in the very-small, pink-painted, room for little-kids. I ran out the door and onto the back porch, trying to decide if I should run away for the week or stay but I couldn't decide.
I love my family, I thought, but I have to get out of here. I don't want to cause more commotion than I already have, so I will just stay here for the first couple nights. Even if it is in that dreadful bedroom, the smallest room in the house, with that tiny closet, everything painted pink, and it didn't even have a door, giving me the least bit of privacy, plus the bathroom was far away. Look, the room is so horrible it’s causing me to lose my train of thought.
Just deal with it for now, I told myself. I walked up to my room. I looked around. No, I can’t deal with it. I thought. Well, it will have to make do. I went downstairs to retrieve my suitcases. When I got downstairs they didn't appear to be anywhere.
“Looking for something?” asked my two older brothers, holding my 2 suitcases. “Givethem back!” I shouted. They took off running like maniacs through the yard.
I wasn't mad anymore, but I was miserable. I sat down on the back porch stairs and put chin in my hands with my elbows on my knees. My brothers looked at me, then at each other, and nodded they walked over and gave them back.
I picked them up and walked toward the sliding door. I felt something gooey under my foot. I looked down. I had stepped in fresh gum!
My brothers started cracking up. “Surprise!” they said. Could it get any worse than this, I thought. I than ran to my room, crying, because I could not take any more of this. All I wanted now was for the funny feeling of this house to go away.
I finally convinced myself to unpack my suitcases. At the top, I was greeted by ants and a half-eaten chocolate bar. I tried to control my anger, but that did not help one bit.
Like a madman, I threw my suitcase out the window, only to hear a splash and hear my brothers yelping. I screamed, now knowing that I had just thrown my favorite suitcase with my favorite belongings into a swamp. I looked out the window. At least I had got my brothers back for their devil-deed.
I picked up my trashy suitcase, hoping that my twiddle was in there. My twiddle was a praying mantis, and even though he was mean I loved him. I found Twiddle, and realized I could get back at by brothers double-time. I held twiddle in my hand and looked at him.
“This is the only time I give you permission to be super mean,” I said.
I am talking to a praying mantis, I thought. I looked out the window. Well, time to get rid of my anger.
I walked down the hallway to my 13 year old brother’s room. “Payback time,” I said aloud. I slipped twiddle under his covers.
“Stay” I said. It was beginning to get dark, so twiddle would be fine to wait until my brother went to bed. Then suddenly I heard something.
Busted, I thought. I slowly turned around. Nothing. Phew, what a relief! I quickly proceeded to the door. My thirteen year old brother, Nicky, was standing right there!
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where do you think you’re going, missy!” He said. I screamed, and then bolted out the door. Nicky fell over, but I peeked around the corner and looked at him walk in.
As I listened, I heard him yawn, pull back the covers of his bed, and scream. I ran to the entrance of the room, and found Nicky bashing Twiddle in the butt.
“Stop”, I screamed. “You don’t have the right to-“.
Than I realized that the worst thing in the world had happened. Twiddle had died and Nicky was charging at me like a bull!
I ran, cried, and then found myself falling down the stairs. When I got to the bottom, my head throbbed. “Call 911!” said Nicky. Than everything got black.
~*~I finally woke up, but I didn’t know where I was. It felt like the world was spinning. The spinning slowed down and I looked around. I still didn’t know where I was. Then it hit me- I was in the hospital! I suddenly felt very feverish and worried. What if something had happened to me? That would affect me for the rest of my life! And I’ll have to be in the hospital for the rest of my life!
“Honey, are you feeling all right?” It was my mom.
“Yeah, I guess, what happened?” I asked.
Mom answered, “Well, after you fell down the stairs, Nicky called 911. The ambulance came in a flash, and hauled you away. After you got to the hospital, many relatives came to visit, but you didn't notice because you were unconscious. By the time you gained consciousness, everyone left but me and Nicky. I was so thankful you only sprained your ankle."
"Nicky? I didn't know he was here?"
"Actually, he just came back from the Nature Center. I'll call him in."
Mom shuffled out of the room. Why had Nicky gone to the nature center?
My thoughts were quickly answered. Nicky came barging into the room with a present in his hand.
"This is for you," he said.
I unwrapped the present and was greeted by a new praying mantis. He was just right, all shiny and he was still a baby. I let him walk on my arm. I giggled under my breath.
"Thanks, Nicky," I said.
"You’re Welcome, “he replied.
"I think I'll call him....Nickerdoodles. After you, Nicky. Since, you bought him for me!"
Nickerdoodles put his hands together and prayed. Well, not actually, but it looked like he was praying. He was too cute to resist.
"Hey, Mom, when do I get to go home, and where is Dad?" I asked.
"Well in 2 hours you are going to be fitted for an air cast and th-"
"A cast! You said I only sprained my ankle! So much for only!"
"Sweety"
Ugh. I hate it when she calls me those names. Even though I'm the youngest dosn't mean she can treat me like a baby for the rest of my life! I thought.
"In this air cast you will still be able to walk. It's not like you have to have cruches. Also, you know that I don't aprove of attitude like that." My mom gave me one of those you-better-not-do-that-again looks. After raising my brothers (which she still is, they will never grow up) she had mastered the look. "After you are fitted for the cast you can leave."
"Yes!" I exclaimed, shooting my fist in the air. "Ow," I said, bringing my fist down and rubbing my shoulder.
"Spraining your ankle was the only serious thing you did. Your going to be sore for a couple weeks."
"Wait... you never anwered my question. Where is dad?"
"Well...um..."
"That's not an answer. Where is dad!?!"
"Well, honey, he was going to come in a separate car as soon as he cleaned up the blood-"
"There was blood?!?"
"Yes, but not much," my mom answered, "When he was finished, he started on his was here. He was just turning a corner when a drunk idiot galloped in front of him. It hit the front of Dad's jeep and sent him spinning. He fell into a ditch, the jeep flipped over, and he died." My mom sniffled.
"He what?!?"
"I'm going to give you some time to think," Said my mom then she proceeded quietly out of the room.
If we would have never moved this wouldn't have happened. I started to get flashbacks, me and my dad at Cedar Point. He was trying to get me to ride the Top Thrill Dragster. No way was he going to get me to go 420 feet in the air at 120 miles per hour! Then there was the zoo. He was trying to get me to ride the camel but I was afraid I would fall off. Then I realized I have been running away from my fears my whole life. If there was anything my dad taught me it was that instead of running away from all my fears, it was time to embrace them.
I sat up striaght, just as the nurse came in with my yucky hospital dinner. Well, one of my fears is eating somethink I don't like! I'll start there.
I took a bite of the wet jell-o. Hey, this is good! If only I had started ignoring my fears a while ago! The jell-O was great! I took another bite. Mmmm, I need to get the recipe for this stuff! Maybe being in the hospital won't be that bad.
My mom entered the room. Instantly my heart sank. She looked as pale as a ghost.
"Let's get going......" she started.
I was so exited. Getting out of the hospital early? I could do that!
"....to go school shopping. Than you will be back at the hospital. You know, school only starts in 2 weeks and 1 day. We should get ready," she finished.
Groan. I followed my mom out of the hospital. The winter air surprised me. I didn't know I had been in the hospital that long. I got into the car, and we took the endless drive to Old Navy.
~*~
After Old Navy, my mom drove me back to the hospital. Once there, I took a nap. In my nap, I had a dream that I should start appreciating my new home, and be greatful that mom didn't die too in the accident. When I woke up, I decided to be happy in all circumstances, and also start being more nice and loving. But still, who needs brothers?