AWAY

chapter 4

   We changed and went back outside.Guys stood up and we started walking.The bright sun dried my wet hair.We walked past small houses, faded hammocks, wooden fences and rusty metal mailboxes.

    Why did I get caught up with these details? Is it  because they have an unspoken story, known only by themselves and growing grass around them? What's behind these things? What's their story?

   The ice cream truck ran past us, breaking the silence on the streets with its sweet tune.

-Hey ,what would you say about ice-cream?-Lucy interrupted boy conversation.

     The boys whispered something to each other and then came to conclusion:

-It would be good!-Finn said, and then started running in the direction of the truck .Jordan fallowed. The last one pays for all ice-creams!-he yelled after himself.

-Hey! That's not fair!-Tiffany complained.I'm slow as a snail, my legs are never accustomed to running-she tried to pity us, but it was too late, for we were standing in line by the little champagne-colored truck.

    When she came to us she looked annoyed and accustomed to our attitude.We got our ice cream and continued our way home.

    At the park, our roads separated.

   We decided to go home right away and not stay in the park because everyone was tired after this long mystical day.

I walked slowly. My appetite had gone lost and now, the  melted ice cream  was dripping down my arms.

    Very soon I was standing outside the driveway of the house, a little wet and sticky of melted ice cream.I went to the hedge. The buds of bush leaves had just opened and were therefore still bright green.

   I looked in my mailbox. It was empty, except for a small piece of paper that a neighboring hooligan must have thrown in there. I closed the mailbox, leaving the paper inside.

      I walked through the wobbly gate, leaving a sticky handprint on it.My eyes turned to the garden gnome, standing outside the front porch, holding a lantern. It had solar cells and it shone in the darkness after a good sunny day.But sometimes, when the batteries weren't charged enough by the sun light, the light ofthe lantern twitched in the dark and looked creepy.I wouldn't say that even when it was all right and the light was shining, it wouldn't look scary.Just imagine a half-meter tall garden gnome standing by the door with a lantern two times longer than their own.I feel a shivers rushing over me when I think of it. You can't really get used to it.

(The main question is: Why don't we remove the gnome?

In fact, my mother and I moved to this house when my grandmother died. Then I was 6 years old. My grandmother was called Harriet, but we called her Honey because she was very sweet and kind to us. This house belonged to her. When Honey died my mom suffered a lot. For Grandma, the gnome meant a lot because she got it from her father, who then went to war and never came back. The gnome was a memorial. After Harriet's death, Mum kept the gnome because it was important for her mother, and it was the only memorial from her, except for the whole house we now live in. I have taled to my mom to harvest it several times, or at least put it in other place, but she always makes reasons about why not bring it elsewhere. It's been there since my mothers death. It's too heavy for me to carry it off . So that frightening-looking gnome keeps standing on our porch in memorial of Grandma.)

   I went to the door of the house and pressed on the handle. The doordidn't open. Mom probabblly had gone to work.

       My mom's name was Anna and she worked as animator. She didn't have a certain working time so she used to go to work whenever she needed.

    I found the key under a loose stone in the cobbled path.I unlocked the door and went in. There was a complete silence in the house.I didn't care about anything around, I just wanted to take a shower and put on dry clothes.I threw the backpack into the corner and went to the shower and grabbed dry clothes from the room on the way.

   When I was wearing dry clothes, I went to the kitchen and made a cup of hot tea.On the  kitchen counter stood an unopened packet of popcorn anda note which said: "Hello, darling, I'll be home late. Make popcorn. Put your clothes in the laundry basket because I'll wash the laundry in the morning. Don't forget to empty your pockets! I don't want to wash your pocket money again.

With love

- Mom. 

 I had already put my clothes in my washing basket, but my pockets hadn't yet been reviewed, so I went to do it.

In my jacket pocket, I found a note I'd picked up in my classroom. I had completely forgotten about it. But here it was. I was very tired, and I decided to look at it tomorrow, so I brought it  to my room as I went back to the kitchen. In the kitchen, I quickly made popcorn and went to the living room trying not to shed tea from the fully filled tea cup.

I leaned back on the sofa, wrapped myself in a blanket, and switched on the television.I switched the channels, searching for what I could watch. One channel showed cartoons, another documentary about penguins, others - news,others... wait...what was the subject in the news?

I turn on the news channel.

I couldn't take my eyes off the blue lights of the TV screen when I saw the shocking picture of the blue-haired boy and girl...