Thank You Megan

• Isabelle Cresp, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2022

Take a good look at everything someone has blessed us with. A family who loves you, a friend who supports you. The one work colleague who always brought coffee when you couldn’t leave your desk. This is a gift, all a gift. The gift of speech and writing is a miracle. Math and science so that we can advance our children's future's. Then there are times where not everything's a blessing. Those scars are only temporary. That's what they say, the people, older, wiser and touched with pain. Little fragments of pain that live in the soul. It could be something about nothing, as far as the eye can see…

“How's that?” I ask the person next to me. I know it’s a really deep paragraph but that's what I like. This is a writing club, we don't judge, right? I still haven’t got a reply. Maybe she needs to think about it, I get it. I’m like that, I got it from my mum's side, brown hair and all. “Um, yeah, it's great, but maybe be a little more softer next time.” I have no idea what she means, but ok. Her work wasn’t any better, she wrote about how homework interfered with private life. I think it’s worse than mine, but I can't judge, that would be rude. “Yours could use some more describing words, and maybe structure your sentences next time?” I was never good with criticism according to my friends, I need to work on that.

Half past nine, and I have been working on my little project. I’m trying to write a story full of little stories. I thought it would be easy, considering how much I write, but I'm stuck. Like a jar of jam. I need to work this out, I want to show it to my teacher before I submit it in the competition. The Olto creek junior writers competition. I’m almost finished, but I don't trust myself not to mess it up, I always mess things up. I have only written two short stories, But I need one more, one more to make it perfect.

I have about 13 hours until entries close, I'm finished. I gave up on the third story, it was all too hard. I’m just about to hit send but I hesitate, I-I can’t do it! What if they hate it, what if I let my parents down, they were so supportive and believed I could do it! I’m just going to let everyone down.

Megan is looking at me, does she know that I'm bailing? Her hazel eyes are staring right into me, like she can see my feelings inside. What is she planning? “What are you…” She shoves my hand right into the enter button! What? She has a pleased look on her face. “Why did YOU!?“
"I don’t know, I slipped.” She says all innocent like. Staring at the screen, all I can do now is wait.....

I got second place. Thank you Megan.