Here I am.
Sitting here.
Waiting for the bell to ring while listening to Mrs. Green lecture us on and on about the Civil War. I look out the window. Little snowflakes are starting to fall from the sky while the little kindergarteners are playing on the jungle gym and being yelled at by the teacher to come inside.

Finally the bell rings and we all rush out the door. I catch up with my only friend Dana and we’re talking about going over each other’s house to study for the chapter 5 test next week.

“So 7:30”, says Melanie.

“Yeah”, I say as I run away to catch the bus. Then I run into her. Felicia Peak, the most popular girl in school.

“Watch where your going loser”, she says as she walks away with her friends, laughing.

As I’m sitting on the bus, I keep reminding myself how hard my Algebra homework will be. I can just ask my dad to help me.
My dad is my best friend. We’ve done everything together, and whatever crazy thing comes to mind, we’ll do it. Like this one time we put mints in coke bottles and it exploded everywhere. And he is just like a mom to me and I can tell him everything since I don’t have a mom and she died when I was two years old. I miss her more than ever.

When I get home my dad greets me with his usual routine.

“Hey kiddo, how was school, do you have any homework, and do you have any up coming tests…tell me everything!”

I retort with my usual routine,

“Hey dad, school was good, yes I have homework, and yes I have a test…that’s everything!”
We both laugh.
“What homework do you have?” he asks
“Algebra”.
“Do you need help”?
“Yeah”.
“Okay let’s get started”
We’re at the kitchen table trying to figure out what a over b plus pi is. We figure it all out and before we know it, we’re done with homework.

“Thanks dad”, I say as I run up the stairs. My eye catches the clock in the kitchen. It was 5:00. Then I remember that I’m supposed to go over Dana’s to study.

“Hey dad, I’m supposed to go over Danas house to study for a test next week”. I shout down the stairs.

“Next week? Why don’t we just hang out tonight, you’ve got plenty of time to study. Text Dana, tell her you can’t make it”, he yells back upstairs.

“Okay”.
I take out my phone and text, ‘can’t make it over, sorry. Maybe tomorrow’
Five minutes later she texts back ‘that’s cool, tomorrow.’

My dad and I, A.K.A. extreme and extremer, went to an indoor skydiving place and then went out for pizza at Toni’s.

We are sitting down at a table near a window when we see little white clumps of snow shooting down from the sky like shooting stars. We heard the little tip tap as it hit to the ground.

“I have something to tell you. Kind of good news, kind of bad news”, dad said out of nowhere.
“I’m listening”, I say nervously.
“I’m going on a business trip this week…”

“I’m still listening”

“To Africa”
There is a long pause. I couldn’t believe it. A week with out my dad to me is like a kid with no candy stores on the planet.

“What’s the good news”, I ask still nervous, yet excited.

“You are staying here, but when I come back we are going to be a whole lot richer because I’m discovering the most rare artifact for our museum.

“What one?”

“The Golden Beetle statue. It was carved by
Africans over a thousand years ago and my boss wants me to get it for the museum, which will bring it a it of money and half of that cash is going to me!”

“Good job, dad. I’m proud of you. But hey, one week by myself, no biggie”.

“Yeah, that’s the other thing Rach’. You won’t be by yourself. Gretchen is babysitting you”.

NOOOOO!