Come on! Come on! Hurry up! I thought as the second hand made its way through the clock slowly, taking its time. Every pair of eyes was turned around, staring at the clock. RRIINNGG!! Yes! School was over. Students poured out from all classroom doors and sprinted towards the buses. Everyone was eager to talk about their summer plans. Once the buses started moving, every faculty member was gathered around, waving good-bye to the students. At each bus stop, one by one, students started getting off the bus, running home. When I arrived at home, I called out, “Mom! I’m home!” I waited for a reply but heard nothing. I looked around and saw a note “At the store. Be back in a few minutes”. I tossed my bag on the floor and went outside to hang out with my neighbors.

Outside, we played tag, hide-and-seek, and also had a water fight, since the weather was super hot. I waited and waited but still, my mom didn’t come back from the store. I started getting worried. I told my neighbors this and they took me to one of their house so I could explain the situation to an adult. I told Mrs.Lee about the situation and she started to panic. Oh shoot. Well that doesn’t help. I shouldn’t have asked for her help. Maybe I’ll just thank her and go to another adult. I thanked her and hurried out. But wait. What was that noise I just heard? That sounds kind of like my mom! What if Mrs.Lee was holding my mom captive? I started back to Mrs.Lee’s house but I thought that would be a bad idea. I went over to Mr. Jackson’s house for help. He just said, “I’m sorry about that, kiddo. I wish there were to be something I could do to help you but there isn’t.” So I just thanked him and walked out of the door. Something fishy is going on in this neighborhood, I thought. I ran back to my house and tried calling my mom. It just kept ringing and she didn’t pick up. I tried calling her bazillion times but she still didn’t pick up. In a panic, I called 911 but they didn’t pick up either. I was already extremely frightened but 911 not picking up the phone made me even more scared.

Suddenly, an extremely crazy idea flashed in my head, but that was the best idea I could think of. I grabbed my dog, Patches, and ran upstairs to get the car keys. Then, I headed towards my sister’s car. We have three cars; one belongs to my mom, one to my dad, and one to my sister, who was on vacation with her best friend’s family. She was going to come home in three days. I jumped into the driver’s seat of her car. I turned the key nervously and opened the garage door. Patches, eager to see where we were heading to, kept wagging his tail with his ears perked up. I adjusted the seat so I could reach the accelerator and the brake. With my sweaty hands and my thumping heart, I headed out to look for my mom.

Driving the car was more difficult than I expected, especially when I realized how easy it is to get into a car accident if you don’t pay attention to where you are going. I set the GPS to head towards the police department. I parked my car, put the dog leash on Patches, pulled the door open, and headed in. One of the police officers came over to me and asked, “Hey kiddo. My name’s Kyle. What’s your name? How old are you? Why are you here? How did you get here?” So I answered, trying to manage myself without breaking into tears, “Hi, my name is Dave Francis, and I am 14-years-old. I got here by driving my sister’s car. I’m here because my mom has already been gone for five hours and I think my neighbors are up to something. I tried calling 911 but they didn’t answer. I think my neighbors disconnected the phoning system so that I couldn’t report them. Will you please help me?” I don’t know how but a few tears managed to escape out of my eyes. The police officer himself went to the phone and called 911 for me. He said that I wouldn’t be driving home by myself and that I would be riding with him. In approximately three minutes, the 911 crew came and asked me a few questions before we all headed for my house.

Immediately after we arrived there, Kyle stayed by my side while everyone else went off to investigate. After 58 minutes, a few police officers brought Mrs.Lee, Mr.Jackson, and a few other people to the police car with their hands behind them with handcuffs. After that was all settled, they finally brought my mom to me. She looked as if all her energy had been used. As soon as our gazes met, she sprinted towards me, giving me a huge hug that almost squeezed the life out of me. She murmured into my ear, “I’m so sorry, Dave. I’m truly sorry”. I looked at her and she looked as if she was going to pass out at any minute. At that moment, she fainted. I stared at her and started screaming. The EMTs rushed over to get the stretcher and they scurried off to the ambulance. Kyle and I also rode along with her to the journey to the hospital. When we arrived there, the nurses and the doctor hurried her to the emergency room while Kyle and I waited in the waiting room. The doctor came outside and explained that she would be fine and she passed from shock. The doctor also explained to me that Mom would be able to go back home in two days. I spent the next two days (and nights) with her. After the two days had passed, she was back to her normal self. We headed home and spent the summer like any other person would.