Zoe Chappell

• Lucy Gardiner, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2008

Australia as the world knows it is known to love to have a barbie, will watch the cricket any time we get a chance and are always ready to have a laugh.
But Zoe Chappell, an Australian resident wasn’t like that. Instead of grabbing the leg of the roast chicken and filling a bowl full of mashed potato and then fitting as much as you can into your mouth, she would use two different forks for the chicken and a piece of cutlery called a spork for the potato.
I was almost never jealous of Zoe as I was her best friend and she pretty much let me share her life. Although I was just a teensy bit jealous of her looks. She had flawless skin and white sparkling teeth like you might see on a toothpaste Ad. Her shiny, blonde hair rested on her perfectly formed shoulders and she was always wearing the latest-style clothes.
Her toe and fingernails were always painted in bright, vibrant colours and she was as skinny as a stick. Her house, well that was something else. The door was painted white and had two large, floral glass panels inserted in it. The veranda held a varnished coffee table, two colour-coordinated sun chairs and a straw woven basket containing three sunhats, two umbrellas and a pair of garden gloves. It was so beautiful. One day as I was riding to Zoe’s on my bike I caught sight of a sign reading ‘Melissa Chappell, Australia’s Largest Selling Artist’. I frowned at the sign for a few seconds before realising that Melissa was Zoe’s mum! I rode a bit faster towards the end of Hallo St until I reached 76 Gretna Lane, Zoe’s address.
I raced to the front door and rang the door bell twice before Zoe finally answered the door. She was wearing a satin, floral print dress and a cotton lace headband, with a pair of ‘Diana Ferrari’ sandals tied all the way up to her knees. She politely smiled at me and opened the door wider as a gesture to come in.
“Hello, Grace, come in , please,” Zoe answered smiling.
I stepped on to the white fluffy carpet and took my joggers off near the door on the mat. I looked around at the surroundings. I was surprised to see large signs hanging in the doorway of the kitchen, hallway and laundry all saying ‘CONGRATULATIONS!’ or ‘WELL DONE!’.
I soon remembered the sign that I had seen on my way over. The celebration was for Zoe’s mum. I smiled and grabbed a cheezel from the snack table. Zoe’s mum was smiling a huge grin and drinking a glass full of cola. I soon grabbed myself a cup of lemonade. All of a sudden I found Zoe sitting on the floor crying. I asked her what was wrong. Her mum was going to England for three months. I hugged her. I closed my arms around her and closed my eyes. I could tell she was very upset. Now was the time for great friendship. I sat there with her for twenty minutes before I straightened myself up and suggested we go back to my house. Zoe agreed and we headed out the door. She hopped on her bike and followed me down to the end of her street. We rode off into the sunlight, although it was not the sun that was glowing so brightly, but the glow of friendship.