Five years ago I began writing a story about a girl named Etaloniy Whitlock. The result was quite the disaster of a story. Because it is rather long, I have split what I have of her story into three parts. Part one went up last Wednesday and part three will go up next Wednesday.
3: SCHOOL
We rushed inside and went to class. It was about the usual junk about our heritage, the Ruby Rains, and how beneficial Shanry E. Wheenman was to our country. (Shanry E. Wheenman was the monster of a man.)
After three hours we had lunch with extra dessert for everybody. (Including the people who brought their lunches.) If only the next day was a real holiday, then we’d actually enjoy the dessert, more anyway.
We went back to class and listened to the teachers drone on and on. Finally school was over, and I rushed to the bus before anyone could say Etaloniy Whitlock. I hurried (as usual) to the very back of the bus. My friends and I always choose the back so we can sit close to each other, and as I’m always the first person on the bus I save our seats.
My friends show up right before the bus is to leave! They burst onto the bus and run to the very back with me. Ameria knows they’re in for it, really bad this time. Ameria is the “leader” of our friend group, she’s not in charge she just helps us settle disputes in an orderly fashion. (Not that we have many disputes.)
“Hey, where were you guys?” I ask.
“We were… uuh it’s a secret,” said Emalagy after seeing Ameria shake her head.
“Why won’t you tell me?! You are always keeping secrets from me!” I almost shout before I can stop myself.
“It… It’s a surprise,” replies Nadolina softly.
“Nadolina! You weren’t supposed to tell her!” says Ameria angrily.
After that no one said anything the rest of the way home. I was glad to ride in silence until the doors opened to my neighborhood. Bran, Maglina, and I jumped out and ran home, eager to see Preana and Clamal.
4: PREANA’S PROBLEM
We arrive home and rush into the kitchen.
“Mom can we have a snack?” asks Bran eagerly. (He’s always hungry so Mom has to pack him an extra large lunch for school.)
“Yes. I made a cake for your snack today.”
“Where is it?” asks Bran checking all the places he thought the cake would be in.
“In the freezer, Bran,” says Mom as she walks out of the kitchen.
Bran pulls out the cake and goes after the knife rack, when I reach out and stop him.
“Bran, you know you’re not allowed to use the cake knife. Let me cut the cake,” I say.
He reluctantly steps back towards the cake knowing that I’m right. He’s four years younger than me, but acts like he thinks he’s four years older than me.
I grab the knife carefully; then head back to Bran. I ask him to get plates as I carefully cut the cake into twelve even pieces.
“I get the first piece!” says Maglina before Bran can, because he always gets the first piece.
“Bran, go see if Clamal and Preana would like some cake.”
“Fine,” he sighed.
He rushed upstairs and knocked on their doors. Then I heard his feet pounding as he came back, panting.
“They’re… They’re… they’re not there.”
“Of course they’re there. It’s been about thirty minutes since school got out.”
“No they’re not there.”
“How can they not be there? By now they are here!”
“Go check for yourself then!” he snapped at me.
I ran upstairs and tried opening Clamal’s door — only to find it locked. I knocked loudly to no avail. I decided to ask Mom for help.
Mom!” I yelled across the house.
“Yes, Etaloniy?” she said coming over to me.
“Clamals’s door is locked,” I said jiggling the handle for emphasis.
“She must want to be alone, sweetheart.”
“Well it’s urgent.”
“Fine, I’ll get the key for you. Meanwhile go tell Preana to come downstairs.”
I walk down the hall and try to turn the door knob. Also locked. “Drats,” I say under my breath. “Preana open up! Mom wants you downstairs!” I shout quickly and loudly.
“You don’t need to yell! I’m right here!” she told me appearing at the top of the stairs.
“Sorry,” I said blushing.
“I brought the key,” she told me, calming down.
I take it and unlock Clamal’s door. I open it slowly and dramatically for emphasis. I look in and find it empty.
“Mom can you get the key to Preana’s room?”
“It should be in Clamal’s room. Although I don’t want you snooping in her things.”
“Mom! I’m worried about Preana and Clamal!”
“Fine. Get the key. And hurry about it,” she gave an exasperated sigh.
I went in saw her key ring on her dresser, and grabbed it and left.
“Found it,” I say as I go unlock Preana’s door. I open it quickly, then walk into her maze of a room.
“Preana! Preana are you in here?” I shout into the messy void.
I wait, still making my way inside, but hear no response. I head back out and close and relock her door.
“Mom, I’m going to town!”
“Wait a second!” she calls after me as I round the corner at the end of the street.
I must find Preana! And Clamal, but right now Preana is my priority.
I rushed to town square covering my head with my hands because it’s raining rubies a day early!
“Oh, Preana! What did you get yourself into this time?” I wail.
I soon reach the town square with bleeding hands (a lot of rubies hit me). I quickly scan the area, and spot Preana chained to a police rack!
(The police rack is like a bicycle rack that police officers chain prisoners to while the officers is arresting someone else.)
“Preana! What happened?” I ask in a stupor. She looks at me with a pained look in her eyes. Her eyes quickly widen and she shakes her head fiercely.
“Preana I can’t leave you!” I tell her, “By the way where’s Clamal?”
Preana nodded her head over to where the police had a teenage girl pinned agains the side of a nearby building.
I gasped loudly, “What happened?!”
“Miss I’ll have to ask you to leave the crime scene,” I gruff police officer told me.
“Can you tell me what happened first?”
“This girl here was inspecting some rubies that belong to Shanry E. Wheenman and smashing them on the ground to obtain the valuable middle section of the ruby.”
“What about the other girl?” I ask pointing to Clamal.
“She said that she was this young ruby thief’s sister and asked if we’d let her go if she returned the rubies. Obviously we couldn’t do that. Right now officers are trying to find the rest of the girl’s family to put them under house arrest.”
“Thank you for telling me. Is there any way I can help you find them?”
“Do you know the family?”
“Couldn’t say. She looks too young to go to school with me as I’m only thirteen.”
“Well then you be on your way then, but if you see any of her family members let us know,” he told me as I walked away.
I pull out my cell phone and call Mom. “Mom, come to the square quickly. Preana and Clamal have been arrested.”
“They what!” she shouted in my ear.
“Ow! They got arrested,” I said enunciating carefully.
“Oh no! That’s terrible! I’m coming to give those police officers a talk.”
“Mom you can’t they’ll arrest you, too!”
“What are you talking about?”
“I talked to a police officer acting like I didn’t know Preana and Clamal. They only arrested Clamal because she said that she was Preana’s sister.”
“I’m still getting Preana back! If it takes getting arrested, then fine. They can arrest me if they’ll let Preana go!” Mom tells me and I know that I can’t stop her from trying to do just that. I’m about to respond when I hear the phone click on the other end, telling me she hung up.
Nooo!! She can’t come to the square! She’ll get arrested, and I can’t let that happen. I scream in my head knowing I’d get arrested for screaming it out loud.
Then Mom showed up in the square yelling at a police officer in another language.
“Mom! Mom, thank goodness I’ve found you!” I shouted in Nargatolan recognizing it instantly.
“This is your daughter?” the police man asked it sketchy Nargatolan.
“Yes, sir. Thank you for your help,” he seemed to understand even if he didn’t speak Nargatolan.
“Where are Preana and Clamal?” Mom asked, switching to another language that was less common in our area.
“Over there,” I responded in the same language and tip my head in their direction.
Mom’s response is almost immediate, and I have to grab her arm to keep her from rushing over to save the day.
“Mom, if you tell them who you are they’ll arrest you.”
“Etaloniy, you should know me better than that. I am not going to go over there and get myself arrested.”
“Then what are you going to do?” I ask, feeling relief.
Alex Wright 