For school, we had to have a title, and I couldn't really think of one, and Lost and Found fit okay, so I used that. But for now im just going to call it Nighthawks.
so this is the actual STORY i wrote for it. short, yeah, but it couldn't be a novel. if you'd like me to maybe write some more based on this, i probably could....
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Nighthawks: The Story
RING. RING. RING. Margaret answered her phone as she walked into her quaint, well decorated home. “Margaret, this is Tom speaking. There is a very important client meeting tomorrow night in St. Louis. I need you there. Our train leaves at 10 am and we will be back on Saturday.”
“Tomorrow is May 10th. Sorry, I can’t make it.” Margaret opened the refrigerator and held the receiver to her ear with her shoulder while she took out some leftovers to warm up.
“Did you not hear me? This meeting is very important. Attendance is MANDATORY,” Tom yelled. Margaret rolled her eyes; he certainly had a short temper.
“I have important plans, and I couldn’t change them for anything,” Margaret said quietly, turning the stove on.
Tom sighed. “Well then Margaret, turning down this, uh, MANDATORY meeting could very well cost you your job. I’ll have to find a replacement. And what a shame, you were our best secretary yet. But very well, in these times many people are searching for jobs. I’m sure I can find someone.”
“Well, thanks, sir, for the opportunity. It was a pleasure to work with you. Sorry I won’t be able to make it.”
“Oh grea- wait, what?! You’re really not coming? You’d lose your job just over one meeting?!” Tom couldn’t believe it. He thought he could get her to stay, but Margaret was always the persistent one.
“No, sir, I am not coming. As I said earlier, I can’t and won’t change my plans. Thank you for the opportunity. Goodbye.” Margaret hung up the phone and sighed. There was no way she could miss tomorrow night, not for a job, not for anything. It wasn’t such a big deal anyway. There were other jobs out there, and she had enough money to get by for now, but she would definitely need a new job sooner or later. She didn’t have a husband or kids, so she had to work herself to make the money she needed.
She finally started working a couple years ago when she moved away from her family, not long after her three older brothers. Now in the Great Depression, work was hard to come by. Maybe she would visit the editor’s office this week and see if any journalist positions were open; her family and friends had always told her she would make a good journalist, due to her interest in what goes on in the world and her writing skills. She remembered interviewing her family and neighbors often when she was little, writing short articles every once and a while with William, her best friend. Margaret smiled to herself at the memory and went on to fixing dinner.
The following day, Margaret was at the train station. It was full of people going in and out, boarding and leaving trains, and the ticket lines were extremely long – as usual. Instead of going to St. Louis, Margaret boarded her train to Chicago at 2 pm. She had gotten the very last ticket available. With only a few stops, the train reached Chicago in just over six hours. Margaret had about an hour to spare after leaving the train station, so she walked around the city; looking in shop windows and watching a few late workers leave their jobs. Chicago was so busy, much different from Bridgeport; the shops there would be closed by now, most people home. Although it was different, Margaret always enjoyed coming here and seeing the thriving city, full of buildings still lit up, people out in some of the stores and bars, and all of it totally awake this late at night.
Just before 9:30, Margaret stood outside the Phillies Café in Chicago in the cool, spring air and waited for her friend. It had been a year since they had last seen each other, but it was at this very place that they did. She waited under the street lamp, which cast an eerie glow onto the dark street in front of her. Half an hour passed. Margaret glanced up and down the street, seeing tons of people, but not who she was looking for. Her friend had not shown up yet... but where could he be? They both showed up every year, it was an unwritten commitment. What if something happened? What if he was gone, too? Still, not wanting to give up, Margaret stood in the now chilling air waiting, and pulling her sweater tighter around her. Finally, around 10:30, she saw a slim figure come around the corner, slipping car keys into his pocket and walking briskly towards her. That’s right; she realized he wouldn’t set foot on a train after what had happened, so he drove his old car. When he reached her, he gave her a big hug.
“William.” She smiled and a wave of relief washed over her; he was here, okay.
“How have you been, Margaret?” His blue eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face as well.
Margaret gave a nod and they walked into the diner without another word, sitting at their usual seats. The waiter smiled and greeted them. “Hi, I’m Luke, welcome. Just let me know if I can do anything for you.” There was only a single customer left, and the waiter looked like he was getting ready to close for the night. Margaret looked around the diner, taking in the familiar surroundings yet again. Polished black and white tile, silver bar stools with red leathery seat covers, the sound of coffee machines running in the back, and looking out the window lining the two walls of this quaint, corner diner. She could see so many people still out-and-about in the city, and she realized the empty feeling the diner had. It could just be the occasion they came on though, she reasoned, but still something seemed unsettled. She glanced suspiciously at the other customer, who was sitting alone at the other end of the counter.
“Thanks, could we have some coffee?” William ordered coffee for the two of them Luke poured the coffee, and when they received it, held up their mugs. “To Jesse,” they said quietly and clanked their mugs together with small, sad smiles. After the dishes were clean, Luke went over and started up a conversation, learning their names, and that they were here in honor of William’s brother, Jesse Holt. Margaret studied the counter as William began to speak. Though he hid it well, she knew he was still a little broken inside; due to his formidable childhood and no family left to speak of. “It’s the 10th anniversary of his death,” William said solemnly, “H-he died in a train crash a few years after he left home. He ran away; just couldn’t take it anymore at home, the poor kid. He was the only one I considered true family, well, except for Margaret, and now he’s gone. We’ve come here every on the day of his death since that year. This was his favorite place to eat and he always wanted to work here one day.” Luke nodded gave a quiet apology. He could never really understand what people like this went through; his family was still together and he grew up with a fair amount of money and was never short on anything – food, clothes –nothing.
As William explained this, the other customer, an older man, maybe in his late fifties, was sitting alone. He watched William intently as he spoke, not even bothering to hide it. When he finished, the man looked slightly stunned and nearly dropped his coffee. “Uh, sir, are you okay?” Luke asked the other customer. He nodded and walked over to William and Margaret, tapping William on the shoulder. William looked up, studied the man for a second, and furrowed his brows. A puzzling look crossed his face before shock. Margaret just drank her coffee and watched them, confused.
“Are- are you...?” William questioned slowly. The man gave a meager nod. Silence lingered as he glanced between the two before dropping his gaze to the floor. Margaret felt even more unsettled now than before. What am I missing? She thought. The man did seem oddly familiar to her, but she could not place her finger on it. Margaret knew somehow, that he knew her too, but from where?
“All I wanted to say,” The man murmured, adjusting his jacket and looking at Wililam, “is sorry. I realize I should have tried to care for you boys a little more, given you what you needed. The day I saw that newspaper article, I realized how bad I was to you two. I gave you almost nothing. Nothing!” His voice rose, then descended back to its original volume; scarcely audible. “It was all my fault he left, I know, and now he’s gone. I tried to find you after I heard, just to apologize... but I never did. I didn’t even know where you left to, William. I guess I never really cared, but I should have. Maybe this would never have happened if I made an effort.” William just stared and Margaret nearly gasped with realization as the man concluded, obviously trying to keep his voice steady “I was such a terrible father. I’m sorry.”
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okay, so maybe the ending isnt the best.... but its what i had when i came up with it. plus i had a deadline. so what do you think? i wrote it in december 2010 i think.... so not that long ago.
please comment/vote!!!!!
and seriously if you havent looked at that nighthawks picture yet....WOW....
thanksXD
-CaRoLiNe-<33