A Daruno Dilemma

• Jeffrey Chandra, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2012

Lieutenant Marcus Daruno looked out from the back seat of the armoured vehicle. On the other side of the window laid a barren wasteland. Apart from the occasional dry shrub, the plain was a never-ending sea of red sand. Lieutenant Daruno was thinking of his family as the radio droned on. The whistling of a heat-seeking missile was mistaken for the crackling of the radio. It was the last mistake Lieutenant Marcus Daruno ever made.

As the ceremony began, three figures stood 20m away from the burial plot. Two of them were children. The tallest figure, which stood between the children, was the silhouette of their now widowed mother.

Annette Daruno was struggling to pay the bills and to make matters worse, she was 3 months behind on rent. Twins Wilfred and Stewart Daruno loved playing in the backyard. These two boys loved to argue and were about to enter a heated debate when their mother came and demanded that they have lunch. The boys reluctantly obeyed and slowly walked back into the house.

Annette saw a piece of paper stuck on the front door. She read it and started stressing out. ‘Where would she go?’ she thought to herself. ‘What would she do? How would she tell her kids?’ She looked at the paper again. In bold red letters said the words ‘EVICTION NOTICE’. She stared in disbelief.

The boys ventured into the shed and decided to sit in their father’s most prized possession. The 1981 DeLorean DMC-12, the same type of car used in Back To The Future, was tucked in the far back corner of the shed. You could only get into the car through the door on the right side as the left one was wedged against the wall. As the two boys fought to get in first, the car lurched forward. The boys got out quickly; worried that they had damaged the car. They went to inspect the boot when they spotted a hatch. Right under where the car used to be.

The boys climbed down the hatch, fighting to go first. When they reached the bottom of the hatch they surveyed their surroundings. In one corner there was a bed; intricate patterns carved throughout. Upon the opposite wall was a beautiful mirror and underneath was a fireplace. On the mantelpiece were dozens of frames, each containing a photo of the family. In the next room was a mahogany table, a couch and a 4-digit combination safe. The boys walked up to the safe and entered in 2-0-0-4, which their mother always told them was their father’s favourite number because it was the year they were born. They yanked on the handle and in front of them stood thousands of $100 bills. They grabbed as many as they could and shoved them into their pockets.

The boys ran to their mother and showed her the money. She stared back in disbelief… but only this time it was for a good reason.