Waiting

• Kate Smallshaw, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2007

She stood there, staring out the window, waiting, listening for the sound of an approaching car. This was her first real date with Josh, sure they’d eaten lunch together in the cafeteria but this, this was the real thing, come to think of it this was her first real date with anyone. Sam tucked a strand of Barbie doll blond hair behind her ear while her sparkling blue eyes roamed over to look, for the thousandth time, at the hallway clock. 6:15 hmmm, she thought, Josh had told her that he would pick her up at 7pm to go to the movies then to a restaurant for dinner. According to Teen Scean, the popular girl’s magazine, if the date (in her case josh) arrived early that was a good sign but if he arrived right on the dot that was bad. If he came less then 10 minutes late that was good but any longer and you should probably consider dumping him. Sam whipped around looking excited, she thought she had just heard a car horn but it was just Tibbles the cat stepping on little Nicky’s toy car set thing-y. Jeeze, she really needed to calm down, it was surprising the whole house wasn’t shaking her heart was beating that hard.

Josh was so cute! He had brown hair and brown eyes and was always telling her how pretty she was and how green looked fabulous on her. Sam looked down at the white boob tube dress and pink belt, maybe she should have worn her green skirt? Sam thought as she toyed with the diamond incrusted cross that was hanging around her neck, nah that skirt was way to dressy! She turned to the mirror hanging on the wall, yeah her hair looked great straightened, it didn’t look it but she had spent the entire day with her friend having her hair curled, crimped, straitened, wave-ifyed, up in a pony tail, plait, bun, braids and just about every other style there was. Sam hated make-up, so once Alice, her friend, had left she had wiped all the blush, eye shadow, foundation and lipstick off replacing it with some lip gloss.

Ding, ding, ding… the big, oak grandfather clock striked 7.pm; she would wait only ten on nine more minutes. Mr. Thomson’s dog barked, Mrs. Next door’s cat slinked across the fence then down the street, Sam could hear an ambulance in the distance. Sam’s mum came out of the living room “darling, come have a cup of tea”
“No thanks mum, he’ll be here soon” just three more minutes she thought and she’d stop waiting, have a cup of tea and watch some TV. Two minutes to go, oh well, she thought. Sam put her bag down and headed to the living room, and then she heard it, a knock on the door, she turned and opened it. “Hi Sam, ready to go?” her face split into a smile, she waved goodbye and went of to her first ever date.

By Kate Smallshaw
500 words