The ‘travelling’ Parents

• Jessica Paterson, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2019

Ella and Millie were classmates but hardly knew anything about each other. Ella was walking home one day from school thinking about how her life is soo boring, that she wished that something exciting would happen. As she turned into her street, she noticed a black van parked outside her house, she had never seen it before and for some reason she kept walking down the street to the park. She walked down the pathway and entered the street, a few minutes later three men in black suits came walking into the park, one looked familiar, she kept walking, while she was not concentrated she walked into someone. It was Millie, except her hair was different it was scruffy and red. Her eyes were all puffy and red. Ella said sorry and kept walking not taking any notice. When she turned around to look at the men in black, they were gone. She jogged up to Millie and asked her if she was okay. Millie said she couldn’t say, but someone had done this to her. She realised that the ‘red’ in her hair wasn’t a wig or dye, it was blood. Ella took Millie to her house and chatted about things and played video games. Millie stayed the night because she ‘had nowhere else to go…’ She said that she had a cousin somewhere that she was trying to find. Her family had been murdered last year and she was nearly 15 but child services said that she had to be adopted, or put into foster care.
Ella felt bad for Millie. For the next weeks at school Ella was happy she had the excitement that she wanted, a friend. They walked home together, Ella had told Millie that her parents travelled a lot so they would not be home for some more time. The next day, Millie had suggested that after school they go to the arcade but Ella did not know where it was so for the first time Ella followed Millie. They were walking through this dark alley when Millie turned around and said “Sorry, not really…” A bag was put of Ella’s head and the next thing she knew she was in the van with the men in black suits. She was screaming “Why, why?” over and over. “Because your parents while they were ‘travelling’ last year killed my parents…so now I kill you…”
Thud…her body hit the ground.