Homework

• Abrar Shafin, Grade 8, Adelaide High School
• Short Story
• 2015

Finalist in the 'Beyond Words 2015' competition

Matt was sitting under a gumtree, doing his homework which is due sometime tomorrow. It was a windy, but warm day, as the sun was shining high over the Australian dirt. The smell of sizzling sausages nearby had Matt and Allan salivating. Distracted, Matt knocked Allan out of it. “We may be hungry, but we need to finish this first.” Matt said. “Yeah, but who was the one who procrastinated?” Allan replied, slightly aggravated. Allan and Matt have been working on this project for a long time, and they hadn’t eaten yet. Without snacks or drinks, Allan and Matt were both pretty hungry, and the smell of sausages didn’t help at all. “Well, even though I did procrastinate, I always have you to blame.” Matt joked.
Twenty minutes went into their work, and the sun slowly sank into thick clouds. “Hand me the criteria sheet again, I need to see if I’ve finished doing everything. Then we can finally tuck in!” Matt said, rubbing his hands together. Allan pivoted over to his right, where the criteria sheet was, but it seemed to have vanished. Allan got up and started searching around the tree. Matt was slightly confused, but kept working as he spoke to Allan. “So, what’s up?” Matt asked. Allan gave a questionable “Huh?” Matt said again, “So, where’s the work criteria sheet?” “Oh, about that…” Allan quickly looked around to find an excuse. Matt and Allan’s printer were both out of ink, and that criteria sheet is the only resource to reflect their work on, to see if they completed everything. Allan looked around a bit more, and saw the sheet. “There!” Allan and Matt both ran for the sheet, but a sudden gust of wind picked up the sheet, and blew it towards the road. “Oh no...” Without thinking, they both jumped over a wire fence, and chased after the sheet.
The wind now directed the paper against the direction of the cars driving. Allan stepped on a car’s bumper which was moving, and jumped over the car to land on another’s roof. Not trying to risk his life, Matt stayed back. Allan jumped over moving vans and cars, as confused drivers yell and honk their horns at him. Staying focused, Allan still went after the paper. A sudden change of wind made the paper go the opposite direction, as it went with the flow of driving cars. Looking up, Allan saw a concrete bridge, coming in fast. For some reason, Allan’s first instinct was to stop, drop, and roll. Following his instincts, he somehow survived. The wind slowed down, so the paper slowly floated towards Allan. Snatching up the piece of paper and rolling it up, he climbed down the ladder from the back, and jumped off the truck, and onto the footpath. Feeling accomplished, Allan met Matt a few moments later. “Guess what I found on my table!” Said Matt, as he pulled out a criteria sheet, identical to the one Allan had.