The Troublesome Ticket

• Aizah Ali, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2021

Early in the morning when the sun was revealing itself, there was a huge shock in Amelia's body that filled her with so much excitement. The time she had waited so long had finally arrived. Tension filled the room when she stared at the envelope without blinking, crossing her fingers she wins. She slowly opens it with sweat dripping down her face. Gently unfolding the paper, she started screaming so loud that her cousin in England could hear her. “I WON, I ACTUALLY WON” she roared with joy. There was a competition a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn’t just any old boring competition, it was a competition about her favorite thing to do. Writing! The prize was two tickets to a hot air balloon ride. Amelia was so excited that she had forgotten that she had to pick only one person to enjoy the best moments in the hot air balloon with. Later that day she thought deeply about who she should take, it was between her mum and her dad she loved them both equally and would love to spend more memorable time with them. Amelia's parents started to act a bit strange. They did everything for her and even gave her breakfast in bed. A while later she knew exactly what was going on her parents were doing this so they could get picked to go on the hot air balloon ride with her. A day before it was time for the hot air balloon ride, someone was at the door. Knock, knock, she walked to the door confused about who it could be. She opened the door and found herself looking at a man in a black suit. “Hello ma’am I am very sorry, there has been a mix-up! Mistakenly, we only sent you two tickets! The competition said we will give you four!” Amelia's parents glared at each other and looked at Amelia's relieved face. The man gave Amelia two extra tickets and left casually. Excitedly, she told all her friends about her story on a phone call. The next minute her friends arrived at her door and brought something nice. “Amelia! My mum made browni- “Forget that I got you money!” “No wait- take me with you!” “I WANT THE LAST TICKET!!!” Oh no, Amelia had made a mistake...