Watermelon seeds

• Hannah Meiklejohn, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2006

Kate, Milly and I sat around the edge of the pool, bathed in the pleasant shade of a palm tree. Milly, or Sardine to us cos' she's so small, tucked her bob of black hair behind her ear as her hand hovered lazily over an enormous plate of watermelon. We all grabbed a slice. Our fifth plate was soon finished.

"I'll go get us some more melon," I said. "Then we can all go swimming."

I soon came back with another huge plate of watemelon.

"I bet I can spit the seeds farthest," Kate boasted.

Ah. The good old summer holidays tradition, even though we're not supposed to at my place. We might hit an innocent passing butterfly or something.

"Your on," Sardine and I replied simultaneously.

We all picked a slice of watermelon. Sardine volunteered to go first.

She took a huge bite out, so big I could hardly belive her tiny mouth could hold it. Then... pa-pa-pa-pa-pa! The seeds soared through the air and landed on the tablecloth I'd set up to catch them all (so I could destroy the evidence later). Kate and I had our turn, but to no avail. Sardine had won!

Soon the day was over, and Kate and Sardine said goodbye and left. I gathered up the checked cloth filled with watermelon seeds and waltzed casually into the kitchen, scanning the room for a hiding place.

Hmm... the cupboard? Too obvious. Cutlery drawer? Maybe not. I heard slow, plodding footsteps that could only mean one thing... The Phantom Father! I emptied the seeds into the sink - I could stash them later. Dad strode into the room.

"Hi, Jules," he said, grinning. What was so funny? Had he seen me pour the seeds down the sink? "School tomorrow."

Oh no! After all that sun, I had forgotten the holidays were almost over!

The next morning, I got up. I lay down again. My mum shook me awake. It was then I remembered the seeds. Darn!

"Um, did you do the dishes last night?" I asked mum innocently. She nods.

I rushed into the kitchen only to see dad tapping away at a sink pipe.

"I've just fixed it," he said brightly. "And not a moment too soon."

It seemed suspicious that my father could sound so cheerful after fixing the sink and seeing his daughter, who is definitely not a morning person, wake up. But there was no time to worry about that now. I was already late, and had just enough time to grab my lunch as the bus pulled up.

The paper bag of food felt strangely heavy. As I was about to step onto the bus, I noticed dad at the window and waved. A loud ripping noise filled the air, and I looked down to see the footpath covered in what looked like tiny buttons. I bent down to pick one up.

It was a shiny, black watermelon seed.