Janie's Surprise!

• Kaela Braue, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2008

As Janie Hardisty walked home, her long fingers eagerly reached for the cold, greasy french fries which had fallen to the bottom of her McDonald's paper bag. She licked her salty fingers and opened the old, stained glass door.

Walking in, all was silent. For some strange reason, the eerie portraits of some of her wacky and wild ancestors had disappeared from the now bare walls, and so had the runners from the tables!

“Mum?” hollered Janie…..- no answer. Janie casually walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a shiny, round, red apple from the fruit basket, and walked over to the fridge for some apple-blackcurrant juice. A pink post-it note stuck to the refrigerator read: Janie, I’ve decided to move out with you and your sister Lilly. Join us at 61 Abel St, Firecrest. Love, Mum.

The divorce had turned Janie’s world upside down. She ripped up the note, threw it in the bin, ran outside and jumped on her bike.
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The new house was a Tudor with red brick walls and a big apple tree. Janie leaned her bike against the front gate, and then entered to find their belongings scattered all over the place. Her Mum and Lilly were unpacking.
“Hi Janie, your things are upstairs in your new room,” said Mum, surprisingly calm.
“Why did we move, I liked our old place?” asked Janie.
“I thought we should move, and my friend, Ms Lithham was selling a property next to hers for a low price, so I took it!” said Mum.
“Okay, but where can I go to school?” asked Janie reluctantly.
“I’ve enrolled you at Firecrest Primary.”
“SAY WHAT????” said Janie angrily.
“You’re going there, and that’s final.” Mum answered emphatically. “You start tomorrow.”
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The next morning, Janie and Lilly woke early, and had a big breakfast.
Janie drank her pulpy orange juice and ran out the door.
At school, children were texting each other and talking amongst themselves. A girl her age, with reddish-brown hair and freckles, said goodbye to her mum then stepped out of her car and walked to the gate, alone. The bell rang and all the kids rushed inside.

In Janie’s 6th grade class, everyone else was yelling, until a man walked in. “I’m Mr Fulton, and I’m your teacher this year” he said. “Let’s call the roll.”
………………………………………………………………………………...
When the lunch bell rang, the kids flooded out the doors to play. Janie and the girl she had seen sat on benches at different corners of the playground, silently munching on their peanut butter sandwiches and slurping their juice.
After seeing how lonely she was, Janie gained all her courage and walked over.
“I’m Aspen. Want to be friends?” the girl asked first.
“Sure” agreed Janie. “But you might have to show me around.”
“We’ll have to show each other, I only started yesterday!” said Aspen. Aspen and Janie smiled, and from then on, they played with each other for the rest of the day and every other day.