You Snooze, You Lose!

• Athar Besher, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2016

Everything’s my fault! How’s that fair! Now because of my clumsiness!’ I’m stuck at home on the SCHOOL HOLIDAYS!! Gee whiz!! How did this all happen anyway!... oh yeah that’s right…
I was up bright and early on a Sunday morning ready to go to Luna Park! I was in the bathroom perfecting my hair… Just in case I passed by Jessica…
”Hurry up Keith or we’ll be late!” Shouted my dad. “Oh and by the way take a bag with you, we’ll be needing it!” he added.
You see my family isn’t your typical family… Normal families give their children gifts for Christmas where as I get 2 sloppy kisses. Normal families read books and watch TV for their leisure where as we wrestle each other until we drop dead like a fly whacked by a newspaper.
When we arrived a surge of joy rushed down my spine just at looking at all the rides. It was breathtaking! I was about to escape the car when my dad called out. “Keith just before you go remember about our lucky charms! Your Aunt Sponge has bought Muggle Wump and his family remember the roses…”He added.
“Look and smell,” Aunt Sponge declared. “They smell lovely,” she said as she shoved them in my face then into the bag. If by lovely you mean old shoes and road kill then sure ‘lovely’ I thought. It looked like a tired lump of mouldy cheese.
When everyone finished showcasing their lucky charms then trusting me to take care of them I sprinted to the front gates ready to have some fun. I looked around to decide what to go on first then I saw it… “The Roller Coaster of life and death!”…
I made it alive, WHAT a relief! I thought as I exited the ride. It was horrific everyone was screaming like a bunch of babies in a pram, it was torture! I, as a mature grown-up, held on for my life and screamed my head off appropriately. I went to get my bag from the platform but lucky me I COULDN’FIND IT! I searched EVERYWHERE! From a taco stand to the Merry Go Round it was nowhere to be seen.
I sat down imagining what could happen to me terrified of all the possibilities. Maybe-
“Hello son!” interrupted a voice. I looked up and saw my dad standing there, I looked into his brown eyes. But… He didn’t yet have a reason to suspect anything I thought.
“How was the ride,” He said.
“Oh it was fine thanks,” I answered tentatively.
Our conversation finished and with home on my mind and heavy feet I trudged to the car. I shut the door behind me and looked down THERE IT WAS! A sigh of relief swept across my face “is everything okay Keith… Do you have the bag?” Asked dad suspiciously.
“Yep its right over here EVERYTHING is just fine,” I replied. Whoever said honesty was the way to trust?