Thomas Jamieson
Mrs. Lindsay
Honors English 1 Block 4
24 September 2014
Cracked
The light washed
over my hiding spot. Heart pounding I jumped up catching the attention of the police. I looked at them, their flashlight blinding
me. I turned and ran as fast as I
could. I had to run, I had to hide, I
had to… Whack! I started to scream.
Two hours
earlier: “Hey Mom, Brent just called
asking if we wanted to go and play capture flag. Can we go please?” I asked.
“Ok be safe, I’m
off to my guitar lessons,” replied Mom.
My brothers,
sisters, and I ran out the door exuberant, ready for a challenge. The sun sank in the distance as we ran, tinting
the sky with a red hue. I climbed the
fence and ran into their back yard meeting up with several cousins.
“Hi guys, how are
you?” I asked.
“Good, where are
the others?” Brent replied.
“They’re right
behind me. How many did you mange to gather?” I asked.
“Counting you and
your family we have a total of…”
“Twelve,” Alex
broke in.
“Cool an even
number that makes it work out nicely,” Brent said not even phased a nine year
old had just added faster than he had. He
continued, “We decide before you got here to play a game or two of capture the
flag and then some cops and robbers. It
should be dark enough to play if we pick teams now. Michael and I are going to be team captains.”
“I choose
Madison,” Michael said.
“I’ll take Sarah,”
Brent said.
This went on until
everyone had been chosen. We went on separate sides of the yard and the game
began.
The excitement
welled up inside of me as I scampered around the side of the yard looking for
anything that might be an opponent.
“Where is
everyone?” I thought as the darkness became more enveloping. I was startled to see a dark figure sneaking
in the gardens. “That would probably be
Brent sneaking around to get my flag,” I thought. “That could be bad or it
could be good. It’d be bad because he’s
the fastest and the most athletic person here and could be trouble if he
reaches the flag. But on the other hand
it could be good because now I might have chance at the flag.”
I started running.
Immediately I heard footsteps in pursuit. The flag was five feet, three feet, one foot…
I felt a hand on my back. I stopped,
looking behind me indigently. Expecting to see Sarah or Becky, I was surprised
to see Alex.
“That was too
close Thomas,” Alex exclaimed. “For
moment I thought you had it.”
“I thought I did too,”
I said gasping for breath.
My next comment
was cut off by the defenders yelling at each other. Dread cut into my heart as
I watched, helpless, as Brent sprinted across the midpoint holding our flag
above his head, victorious.
I sighed, walking
past Brent as I went to my side. “Good job Brent,” I said as we passed each
other.
“Thanks, you too,”
Brent replied. “I saw you close to our
flag as well.”
“I was only a foot
away, reaching out to grab the flag when Alex caught up to me and tagged me,” I
replied.
As we started to
get tired of capture the flag (and of losing) we decided to play cops and
robbers.
“Hey guys, can you
help Alex and I move the trampoline to the center of the yard for cops and
robbers?” I asked.
“Madison and I
have to find flashlights for the cops, so Joseph and Michael will help you,”
Brent replied.
“Thanks for
volunteering us Brent,” Joseph call after him.
“No problem Joe,” Brent
said laughing.
“Are there any
volunteers for cops,” Brent asked after we had moved the trampoline.
Sarah, Madison,
and Becky raised their hands. Brent handed out the flashlights and we
separated. Except Michael, he followed
me.
“Thomas,” Michael
said, “I was wondering if you and I could work as a team and if you would be
willing to distract the cops for me?”
“I can do that,” I
said as I hid in a pile of leaves.
My heart started
to pound as I waited for the go symbol from Brent.
“Go!” Brent yelled.
I sat there
anticipating something would happen. The
light washed over my hiding spot. Heart pounding I jumped up catching the
attention of the police. I looked at
them, their flashlight blinding me. I
turned and ran as fast as I could. I had
to run, I had to hide, I had to… Whack! I started to scream.
Pain, pain was
only thing I could think of as I was rushed into the brightly lit house. Aunt Carey rushed into the room looking
horrified. She waved for Brent to bring
me into the bathroom to wash the gore off my face. As Brent started into the bathroom he stopped
and turned me around so I couldn’t see my face in the mirror.
“Great,” I thought
sarcastically, “do I really look that bad?”
Over the next
half-hour people (namely my Mom) fused over me. Making sure I was comfortable,
and not seriously injured.
“He should be
fine,” my Aunt Jackie said as she finished examining me, “he’s going to have to
be checked on every hour so we know if he has a concussion.”
“You know guys; I
think this was a good thing,” I joke, “now at least I have a good story to
tell, and who knows, I might be able to write an essay on it someday.”
I had just rammed
my face into a metal bar; this is a very unpleasant experience. In fact, I had just broken my nose and given
myself two black eyes. But upon further
inspection I believe I was quite lucky.
For example, if I had been a little bit taller I could have broken all
my front teeth instead I just broke my nose.
To me this was a life lesson and that is to always look at the glass
half full.
