Something+Exciting

Something Exciting R. Winton 7/8 B // Dear Diary, November 8, 2009 // // It is Saturday night; I’m alone in my room, in my family’s apartment building. I look outside on my terrace, only to see the busiest city, New York, below me: police sirens howling; people getting mugged; traffic honking. But I am okay with that; what I am not okay with is me, a twelve year old girl, sitting alone in my room, grounded, waiting for something exiting to happen. My parents are fighting downstairs about taxes, and my sister is on the phone with her boyfriend, normal. But I don’t want to be normal! What was that? I think someone’s coming. // // Love, Jenna // I put down my pen and journal, and walked up to my door. I opened it, “Hello? Is anybody there?” I shouted, as if anyone could here me over the noise outside. I looked down, my short brown hair falling in my face (I hate it when that happens, and it’s normal for me). “What the. . .” Laying on the floor was a note taped to a package. I picked it up, shut the door, and ran back to the terrace (grabbing scissors on my way). First, I read the note: //Dear Jenna, I know who you are, and I know where you live. Don’t think I am threatening you, I just want to talk. You are probably asking yourself many questions, so here are a few answers: Who am I: I am Rebecca Summers, CEO of a company that is not important right now. Why am I writing this to you: So you will know what I want you to do. What do I want you to do: Open this package. What’s in the package: That’s a mystery.// Immediately, I cut open the package. “What now?” I asked myself. Inside there were two things: a map, and a picture. The map was of my apartment building, though it seemed to show a way to get underneath it. The picture was of my friend, Alex Doctor (which was funny because she wants to become a doctor, but isn’t the brightest bulb). What was I supposed to do, it was 10:37 P.M, and I was grounded. I flipped the picture over, it said: “Make a.” Make a what? My only instinct was to turn over the map, and of course, it said: “Call.” Okay, totally break the rules of the ‘no calls after 9:00 P.M ’ thing, but oh well. I called Alex, and surprisingly, she was there. “What?” she said, half yawning. “I need your help,” I said, then told her about the note and package. “No.” Alex was notorious for saying no. “But you’re the only one who would even have a clue what this means,” I pleaded. “Doubt it. Plus, aren’t you grounded? How would you get out?” She had a point. I looked down from the terrace at the rusty old stairs. “I have a way.” Alex laughed at me, but I didn’t care. “I’ll meet you in ten minutes, at the door to my apartment building.” She sighed and hung up. I looked down, a horrible death would be waiting for me if one of the stairs broke-- I wanted excitement, here was my chance. I started slowly down the stairs. About half way down, my foot slipped and I stumbled. But before death could catch me, I grabbed the rail, panting, and continued on. Within ten minutes I was with my nerdy friend Alex. Even though she was a nerd, she was a popular nerd. She wore a green shirt, a short jean skirt, white leggings, UGGs, and she was wearing her blonde hair down. Technically, she had more friends than me and shouldn’t even be here. But one of her many friends was me, and therefore she had to help me because I needed her, and that’s what friends do. I handed her the map and she pointed down, “to the elevator.” Well, I guess that was it, nothing more to do than just take an elevator. We descended to where the map showed us, and honestly, I was in awe of the possibility that what I was seeing was even real. In front of me was everything I loved, buffets, amusement park rides, and other things I couldn’t get enough of. Apparently it was, because when I looked over, Alex had the same look on her face. A woman, who I guessed was Rebecca, greeted us with a smile. “I heard you were tired of normality, very well. You followed instructions perfectly, so now you deserve your prize. I am from the company called Smart. For any of you children in the United States that believe you need change and exciting memories. Technically, we don’t exist; we just let kids enjoy life.” I faltered, “But why?” She smiled. “Because we were funded by parents who believe their children need something more in their life to become better adults.” I grinned, “So does this mean we get to come here every day?” She nodded, and Alex and I smiled. We looked tired, so Rebecca let us go and gave us another smile. As we departed, Alex looked confused. “What just happened here? Did we just get the underground of your apartment all to ourselves?” I grinned and we walked our separate ways. She turned around, “Are those stairs safe?” We laughed. I reached the terrace safely and put my normal tank top and sweatpants pajamas on. I crawled into bed, with my hair in my face, just like always. And I fell asleep, listening to the traffic, police sirens, people getting mugged, my parents fighting, and my sister on her phone with her boyfriend. Right then, I was okay with being normal, as long as normal was a little exciting.