Thankyou For Being A Friend

• Tahleyah Fullagar, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2018

Amber sprinted out the school door as a Year Six graduate of Cottonwood State School with her best friend Kailey. She was thrilled to finish the school year. Amber had everything planned for the holidays with her family and friends. She was going to hold a “Kris Kringle” Christmas party with all of her school friends and was going to attend the Church Christmas Carols with her parents.
Amber’s parents were ministers at the Presbyterian Church and had decided to go to a different country over the holidays to spread the message of Jesus Christ. They were yet to tell Amber the “good” news. When Amber jumped into her mum’s car with her face glowing she was told, “Amber, your father and I have decided that we are going to go to Kenya over the holidays!”
Amber felt as though a needle had penetrated her heart. “What!? Mum you know that I had so much planned!”
Her Mum replied, “Amber I’ve already bought tickets for tomorrow and you’ve always wanted to go to a different country.” Amber wasn’t going to persist. She knew that her mum had made up her mind.
Amber thought to herself with sarcasm, “Well that’s great, fantastic, couldn’t be happier.”
On the other side of the globe in Kenya, Naomi walked towards the large pot of rice and mince to collect her bowl of lunch, thanking Pastor Chris and the lunch ladies as she went. Naomi was also graduating Year 6 but had nowhere to go next year so continued to learn at the Ajigo Orphanage School. Naomi dreamt of a brighter future but continued to doubt the possibility.
Amber packed her whole wardrobe due to the possibility of a longer stay. At midnight Amber’s dad woke her up, “Wake up sunshine, we’re off to the airport.” Amber moaned and stood up while she was still half asleep and slumped into the car.
Amber finally arrived at Kenya and the first place they went was the Ajigo Orphanage School. Amber found the town quite plain but she could only hope that it would get better and that’s exactly what happened. The family walked into the orphanage. All of the children were shocked, they had visitors!
“Welcome to Ajigo Orphanage, nice to meet you!” Amber’s parents were amazed all of these children were being cared for in such a poor country and had to know who was behind such generosity.
Naomi was running late for school but when she arrived, she was confused. All the other kids were so excited. A figure caught her eye, a girl in a bright, pink jumpsuit, she instantly had a gut feeling that this could be it, the opportunity of a lifetime. But she wasn’t the only one, Amber felt the exact same way about a tall slim girl in the back who seemed to stand out.
The two both made their way through the crowd, it was like they were sisters, like it was meant to be.