Hyperbol.....what

• Rhian Pennisi, Grade 6, Our Lady Of The Rosary School
• Short Story
• 2011

Excellence Award in the 'Step Write Up 2011' competition

Not today, any day but today. But no, they didn’t listen to me, even when I got down on my hands and knees begging. They were going to make me walk home from school when it was a trillion degrees outside!!

As the clock ticked 3pm, I prepared myself for what would be the longest and hottest walk in the history of the universe. 3.15pm came and I was still at my desk, while my best friend, Nadia, tried to persuade me to walk home with her.

Finally I got up and headed for the door. Nadia and I took our first few steps and already we felt like we were walking on the sun. We got to the corner shop and bought a bottle of water – hopefully something could make us feel alive again!

As we walked out the bus made its way up the street. The kids on the air-con bus laughed and pulled faces at us. Sure, they had to wait 20 minutes at the bus stop, but the drive back home is like heaven.

I had the luxury of going on the school bus once, and I will never have it again, because my parents can’t afford for their 5 kids to take the bus to and from school everyday.

Poor Nadia has never been on the bus, even though she is an only child. Her parents are hippies and don’t believe in public transport. Nadia and I tried to persuade her parents to take the bus but her dad said ‘what is wrong with the good old-fashion walking bus? It will keep you fit and save the environment!’ So we didn’t have much luck with that one.

We trudged along like zombies for what seemed to be hours, only to get to Nadia’ s house. My insides melted as I walked the next 100 miles home by myself. As I walked up the driveway I moaned about the fact that we didn’t have a pool! The walk through the front door was victorious, and then I remembered the chocolate brownies mum had made for us.

Great! My brothers have beaten me to them for sure.‘Timmy, why didn’t you save me some chocolate brownies?’And Timmy replies - ‘Hey, Madds! Don’t you have homework to do?’

I froze. This couldn’t possibly be happening to me…..but it was. I had forgotten my homework book. I turned around and headed back out the door, and prepared myself for the journey back to school.