You Can Find A Book By Its Cover!

• Alannah Taylor, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2017

It was a dark and stormy night I was sitting at home by myself, everyone else was asleep but I just could not manage to close my eyes. I could hear the roaring of the thunder outside and the flash of lightning was blinding. The TV was not working properly as the gushing wind was interfering with the antenna. I was bored and the weather outside is getting even more dangerous by the minute
I hear the squeaks of tyres pulling to a halt and a vehicle turns in my driveway. Its pitch black I cannot recognise the vehicle. There is a knock on the door; I cannot bring myself to open it so I stay completely silent. The handle begins to turn I tiptoe to my bedroom making sure not to make a single loud noise. Inside my bedroom, the clock reads 1.30 a.m. I lay down and try to go to sleep and forget about everything that just happened.
My eyes did not open till the morning. I hear the words "wake up!" and "are you ok?" I open my eyes and see mum. She says, "We had someone break into the house last night. They went through every drawer in the house and I still do not know exactly what they have taken. The word drawer makes me spring out of bed and rush out into the passage. Mum chased after me, calling out to me, wanting to know why I was in such a hurry. The answer was simple. I am always looking for a better place to hide my diary, keep it safe from the prying eyes of my big brother. I thought I had finally discovered the most perfect hiding place in the whole house. "He will never find it under all those birthday cards!"
My brother may not have found it but the one who broke into our house last night certainly did. I pulled the drawer open and much to my horror the diary had gone. In fact it was the only thing that had been taken out. My life's entire deepest, most private thoughts had been ripped from my possession. My life was over! For the next minute my head was filled with one worst case scenario after another. "What if they sell it to a publisher who prints it for everyone to read?" "What if they rip out different days and send it to who I had written about?" just as another what-if came into my head, my mum made the best find ever.
"Does this belong to you?" Yes it was! My nightmare was over. I stretched out my hand, grabbed my diary and raced back to the safety of my bedroom. I sat on my bed and wondered where my next best hiding place will be. For now though I am just happy to have my diary.