𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 [requests open]

ENGLISH SHORT STORY ASSESMENT

welp here it is. enjoy! i also need a name for it, can you guys help me?

February 12th, 2019

Grace sat on steps of her front porch, her fingers brushing through the blades of grass that were beside her white converse shoes. She did this quite often, getting lost in her own thoughts and thinking what it would be like to live outside of her small neighbourhood. Since Grace was an only child, she was alone most of the time, but she didn't mind. She actually preferred it.

"Grace!"

She faintly heard someone calling her name.

"Grace!"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, looking over to where the voice was coming from. On the other side of the street stood her neighbour and least favourite person. Noah. Grace never had a reason to dislike Noah. He was just so... nice?

"I'm going down to the corner store. Do you need anything?" He called from across the road. She plainly shook her head in response.

"Alright, see ya later!" He smiled as he got on his bike and peddled off. She watched him ride further and further away until he could no longer be seen. She then got up and went inside, not wanting to talk to Noah when he returned.

"You know, you should really be nicer to him, Grace. He's never done anything bad to you." Her mother sighed from the kitchen. Grace ignored her and continued walking to her room. The blonde haired girl flopped down onto her bed and let her conscience talk.

Jeez, Grace, why are you like this?

'Like what?'

Oh come on, you know what i'm talking about.

'No, I don't.'

Don't act stupid.

'Fine! I don't know why I'm rude to him. I guess it's just an instinct thing, I get bad vibes off him.'

But Noah's the nicest boy in the neighbourhood?

'Gee thanks for the reminder.'

Just try being nicer, okay? Otherwise you'll wake up one day and regret it.

'Alright, whatever.'

Grace sighed, knowing that her conscience was right, once again. The smell of freshly cooked lasagne wafted into her room and filled her nostrils, causing her stomach to grumble like thunder on a stormy night. A call from her mother telling her to come out for dinner, followed shortly afterwards.

Grace sat silently at the table opposite her mother. Most dinners were like this, since her father worked late. It was quiet without him around. Grace missed hearing all his stories of the things he saw on the way to work. He was an observer, much like his daughter.

"Grace, sweetheart, there's something that you need to know." Elizabeth spoke up, putting down her cutlery.

"Okay, what is it?" The blonde haired girl asked, avoiding eye contact.

"It's about Noah."

Grace rolled her eyes. "If it's about me not being rude to him, then fine, I'll stop."

"No, Grace. It's not that."

"Then what?"

Elizabeth sighed, a sad expression forming on her face. "Something's happened to him."

Grace froze, her fork dropping to the ground. Her head shot up. "W-what?"

"He's sick, honey."

"What do you mean, 'sick'?"
"He got diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy yesterday, it means his heart muscle is thicker than it should be and that makes it harder for his heart to pump enough blood."

Grace felt tears build up in her eyes. She had to ask the question she was dreading the answer to. "Is he going to die?"

Elizabeth squeezed her daughter's hand in comfort. "Grace-"

"Mum, answer the question. Is Noah going to die?" her voice cracked and hot tears trickled down her cheeks like raindrops on a window.

"Mrs Bennett said he has about 2 months left." The older woman wiped her tears and gave her daughter a sympathetic look.

Grace stood up, ran to her room and slammed the door behind her. All her life, out of all the things that had ever gone wrong and could go wrong in the future, this was the worst. Grace Matthews never imagined having to live a life without Noah Bennett. Yes, she didn't like him and pretended to be busy so that she wouldn't have to see him. But deep down, there was a part of Grace that needed him around. He always cared for her, even when she didn't do the same for him. Like at her 7th birthday party when nobody showed up, Noah went over and gave her a present. They spent all afternoon laughing and playing twister, which made Grace forget all about the party. And when she broke her leg over the summer holidays 2 years ago and couldn't go to her friend's beach house, he stayed with her and they made brownies and cookies together. He was there for her whenever she needed it and she couldn't even give him a smile.

She stood up from her bed and marched towards the front door, passing her mother in the kitchen who was clearing the plates of unfinished lasagne. Grace ran down the stairs of her porch and across the road to the Bennett's house. She knocked impatiently on the door with tears brimming her eyes, ready to come pouring out the moment that she blinked. The door opened to reveal a pale, yet still smiley Noah. And at the sight of the boy, Grace broke. She flung her arms around his neck and let her tears fall down the sides of her face. Noah pulled Grace closer and rested his chin on top of her soft blonde hair. The two stayed in each other's arms for what felt like a lifetime, but in reality was only a minute.

"Hi." She mumbled into his shoulder.

He whispered back, his voice filled with relief and sadness. "Hi."

May 3rd, 2019

It's been a month since Noah passed away and two months since Grace and Noah became friends. That night of February 12th changed both their lives for the better. Grace spent every free second of her time with Noah talking about anything and everything or playing card games and watching movies. Over those two months they had become inseparable, even to the point where Grace would stay over every night for the whole week.

After the death of her best friend, Grace changed her outlook towards life and people she met. She learned to appreciate all the little things and to show kindness to everybody. She'd visit his grave everyday after school, sitting on the soft grass, telling him what boring things they did at school, how much everyone missed him and her plans for the future. She'd sit there for hours on end, until the sun began to set. Grace loved watching the warm colours bleed into the horizon of the sky, slowly fading into the darkness of the night while thoughts ran through her mind like wind through a field of grass. She made peace with Noah, and to Grace, that was the best thing she had ever done.

also this is an original story with original characters! (even though the names may sound familiar) and we had to base it off an "International year of..." for the theme and i chose the "international year of peace" so the theme for this story is peace :)