Bad news

• Jodi Place, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2006

My name is Jimbo Grangers, and this is my story.
Im going to tell you about how my parents died in a terrible car crash in the year of 1998.
It was three days before my birthday and my parents had gone out to buy my presents. They were driving along the Jackman freeway at 7.30 on a Saturday night. I was turning 14 on Monday; I was so excited it was the second year of my teens. I ran upstairs to my bedroom to answer the phone.
“Hello?” I said
A stranger grumbled into the phone “Hello may I please talk to Jimbo Grangers?”
“This is Jimbo, I don’t mean to sound rude but who is this and why are you calling?” I said.
“This is Sergeant Hammers…I have some bad news for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Well im sorry to say but your parents have perished in a car crash off the Jackman freeway, they seem to have been ridden off the road into a ditch by a strange man and his presumed girlfriend whos name is Emma Squares, we just found out this information and we think that your family might have been related to this man somehow. We have also found a birthday card addressed to you and a lot of presents, in the boot of the car. If you don’t mind we could come and pick you up and take you to the scene of the accident.” The sergeant mumbled.
“OK do you know my address?” I said wiping the tears under my eyes.
“No” the sergeant Said Coughing.
“It is 17 Mulberry Lane” I said.
“So that’s 17 Mulberry Lane and that’s the one in Clinton right?” the sergeant asked.
“Yeah that’s the one” I said.

We arrived at the incident about 30 to 40 minutes later, I ran onto the car and sat their staring out the window as I saw a burned birthday card in the back seat, and many presents. I went in the back and read the card, it said....

To our dearest son Jimbo,
I hope you 14th birthday is filled with joy and laughter, you should always know where ever we go we will always be with you, we love you more than you could ever know, Have the best birthday in the world Jimbo.

Yours truly,
Mother and Father.
I started crying and wiped the tears off under my eyes, the card singed my fingers but I didn’t care this was the last memory of my parents I will ever have.

And that’s the story of my life, how everything went bad in just a few short years. And as for the man that killed my parents I hope he dies a worse death.