Anyway, within the summer camp there are miscellaneous challenges for your "house" (imagine Harry Potter houses; Gryffendor, Hufflepuff, etc.). Here is a prompt for the current challenge for the summer camp:
Write a short story that involves all of your house mates. You must mention the mascot of your house and incorporate it into your story's plot somehow. Word count minimum: 200 words Word count maximum: 999 words
Here is my submission:
Three days is always too long; and I would know. Mom and dad are running around the house, like scenes in a movie on fast forward. Two suitcases and a small travel bag later, they are hugging and kissing me goodbye and out the door all before I have time to breathe. The house already feels empty; eerily quiet and immediately the chills set in.
I can do this. I haveto.
I push the linen drapes away from the window, press my fingers against the cool glass and watch as my parents drive away to God knows where. My breath leaves a foggy haze on the glass and suddenly I feel like I'm six-years-old and want to draw goofy pictures in the fog with my trembling fingers. I really need to pull myself together. I've done this dozens of times; I'm not sure why I'm kind of freaking out right now.
My cell vibrates in my back pocket and I stifle a scream.
iiLov3Yuhh!! C ya in English :(
Its Sierra, my best friend. I send her a quick text back, shoulder my backpack and flick the light switch off. The living room darkens and the shadows spread over the furniture like monsters waiting for me to turn my back so they can attack. I've never been happier to get to school.
My car purrs to life, and I blare the radio when a song by one of my favorite singers, Sarah Ashlee, comes on. I can't help but sing to the lyrics even though my voice cracks when I try and stretch to the high notes. By the time park at school I only have five minutes to get to class.
It’s a foggy, gray type of day with a chilling breeze and I make a run for the two-story brick building. The less time I have to spend in this gray wind the better. The green tiled halls are nearly empty except for a few remaining students who don't care if they are late to class. I drop my backpack in my locker, grab my English notebook and run for class, sliding into the room just as the last bell rings.
"Perfect timing," my teacher Melanie Camacho says as she taps a pen on the palm of her hand. "I was hoping to have a volunteer this morning." She smiles and the red heat of embarrassment rises to my cheeks. "Why don’t you read your essay for us."
I stand at the door with my mouth hanging open; classy, I know. "Here, in front of the whole class?" I ask. Ms. Camacho nods and sits down on her squeaky wooden chair. I lay my book on her desk and pull out my essay and begin reading.
"The life of Kiamesha Sims by B.K. Rivers," my voice cracks. "Kaimesha Sims was a child prodigy in the psychic community..." When I finish my essay the whole class actually looks like they enjoyed my writing, even Ellie Williams, who is a talented writer.
"Great job," Sierra says as I take my seat next to her. "I never knew how much you really believed in all that psychic stuff." I nod and will my burning cheeks to go back to normal. "Hey," she whispers, "do you have a copy of J.C. Marie's new book, Shackled that I can borrow?
"Sure," I say. "It's really good! Come over after school and I'll give it to you." I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to have Sierra come over especially given how freaked out I was in my own house this morning.
The final bell rings at 3:15, and I am more than ready to go home. I pass Lexus Ladelle on the way to my car and my heart drops in my chest; I miss my friend. She joined the cheer leading squad with Sarah Rose and dropped me the second she made the team. I wave hello as I walk by and she turns away ignoring me.
I take it back; I don't miss that wench at all.
Sierra trails behind me in her beat up Honda Civic and parks next to me in my driveway. "Thanks for coming home with me," I say as we climb the front steps.
"Where did your parents go this time?" Sierra asks. I shrug my shoulders as the keys turns in the lock. The room is dark and as I turn on the lights I see the whole house has been ransacked. "Holy sh..." The door falls off it's hinges and lands with a crash on the floor. Furniture is torn apart, turned upside down, glass is shattered all over the floor. The television has been knocked to the ground; pages from books litter the room and framed photos of our family lay broken in pieces. "I’m calling the cops," Sierra says as her elbow locks around mine.
We sit on the cold steps outside until a black and white cop car pulls up and two officers exit the car. "Miss Rivers?" the woman asks. I look up and give her a faint smile. "I'm officer Alexis Duong, this is my partner office Brent Davis." We spent the next two hours filling out reports and going through the house looking for things that may have been stolen. Funny thing is, nothing is missing.
"These things happen," officer Duong says as she prepares to leave. "Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"
"She's coming home with me," Sierra says quickly. I nod and watch numbly as the officers drive away. "What do you think they were looking for?"
"I don't know. I need to call my parents." I dial my mom's cell and get a quick busy signal and then dial again. "What's the really fast busy signal mean?"
"Um, I think that means the number has been disconnected or something." I dial my dad's cell and get the same fast busy signal. "Something's wrong Sierra; both my parent's phones aren't working."
