I Never Thought It Would End Like This

• Erin Badewitz, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2010

I never thought it would end like this...It was only a month ago that I was in high school, my world was brilliant. I had beautiful friends, a boyfriend who loved me and a great family. But that all changed on September 5th, 2008.

It started off as a normal day, I had a shower and went to go and eat breakfast. I found mum in the kitchen cooking pancakes she said, “I have a surprise, the family is having a reunion today at the beach”. I sat at the table stunned by what mum had told me. She saw my reaction and continued, “We are catching the bus at 11:00, it will take us to the beach. So you better get ready soon its 9:45”. I was so excited I hadn’t seen some of my relatives for years.

I went into my sister Lindsay’s room and woke her up; I explained what we were doing today and went to get dressed. That is where I saw the beautiful blue silk dress, which I had been wanting for weeks. I yelled to mum, “Mum did you buy me this dress”. Mum replied “Why don’t you like it”. I yelled back “I love it thank you so much, I don’t think this day could get any better”.

I was finally ready to go and walked down stairs, all set for a great day. Mum was sitting in the lounge room, brushing Lindsay’s hair. They both looked beautiful; if only Dad was around to see them.

We went and caught the bus to South’s Beach. We were nearly at the beach when I heard a screech as loud as a horn. I looked out the window at the world passing by in a blur. We must have been going over 120km. I heard the bus driver yell “Hold on, the brakes have failed”. I started screaming. Mum turned to me and said it would be OK. The bus swerved suddenly and then everything went black.

I woke up in hospital to find a needle in my arm and Mum lying in the bed next to me. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. I then attempted to reach out to Mum, but my whole body ached. The doctor came in and told me about my broken arm and that Mum had a broken leg. What about my sister Lindsay? I asked.That’s when he went quiet. “She is dead”, he whispered softly.
I never thought it would end like this.