Meghan
Leaving
Red Rock Island
I threw my jean backpack over my shoulder and kissed Kobi goodbye. He
stood there with the same sad expression he had one everyday for the last two
years when I had left for school. I stepped outside into the fresh air. The wind
bit my nose inviting me into the chilly autumn breeze. I hopped into one of the
golf carts we had and drove to Mr. Jemison’s Candy Shop. I hastily bought a
caramel apple.
I arrived at school just when the 7:00 bell rang. I opened my locker and
went to Mrs. Rodacke’s 7th grade Language Arts class. “Good
Morning students!” she said in an orderly fashioned way, “I have an
announcement. Tonight Mr. Jordan will be coming with some college professors
from the U.S. and they will be checking out this years 9th and 10th
graders. They will visit every 9th and 10th grader’s
homes to see who will be going to the U.S. for college.”
The day went by pretty quickly. At lunchtime I went to check on Kobi.
Finally the 1:00 bell rang. I went to my locker and all my stuff and said
goodbye to my friends Jodine and Andrea. I stopped at Mr. Jemison’s Candy Shop
on the way home. I bought two dog biscuits for Kobi. As I drove home I looked
around. Wow! Red Rock was exquisite this time of year.
When I got home Kobi seemed pleased with the dog biscuits I bought for
him. I finished my homework right when my sister Mac came home.
“Hey Hilary, I am already in 2nd Grade spelling book and I
am only in 1st grade!”
“That’s great!” I commented, but I really didn’t care. I kept
thinking about how Mr. Jordan is taking students to the U.S. Oh, how I want to
go to the U.S. so bad. I had brought it up at dinner once and my parents
exchanged looks like they didn’t know what to say. After that my mom had a
long conversation with me about how lots of people would like to live here on
Red Rock Island. Of course, that was probably only to keep me from wanting to
venture away from this island.
My mom came home around 5:00 from the bakery, she looked devastated.
“How was your day Hank?” My mother asked as my father walked in.
“Sorry I came home late honey. Me and Jim were catching fish all day.
We were actually trying to catch crayfish and shrimp all day. They are the
hardest to catch these days. Also the temperatures are getting a little colder
and the crayfish and shrimp like warmer waters. I got some new fishing gear that
will take a while to get used to. The
fishing gear also has a different way of fishing. But the only reason me and Jim
bought it was because everyone says it works great, but we will have to
determine that ourselves, Jim and I.”
At 7:00 the doorbell rang. Mr. Jordan was standing there with a man who I
assumed was a professor. I recognized Mr. Jordan from the years before, when he
came to our house to get some of my dad’s famous fish.
“Hey Hilary I haven’t seen you in a long time. How are you?”
“I’m fine. Did you come here to get some of my dad’s fish, we’ve
got plenty.”
“Well I am staying for dinner. At least that was arranged.”
“Well come on in!” my dad replied behind me.
Mr. Jordan wasn’t my favorite person. He always rubbed Kobi’s fur the
wrong way and he was never neat. Just then my 15-year-old brother came running
down the stairs with headphones on.
“Hey Chad! How are you doing? Hey your dad tells me you are great at
soccer. When you get to college, you will actually be able to play on a team
with guys your age! I’ve got ideas for you!”
“Yes, I guess I am good. I am starting to teach Hilary some soccer.
She’s not that shabby,” he grinned at me.
I glared back. I didn’t know if that was an insult or not, “ Yes I am
pretty good. Hey I heard you are taking students to the U.S. I really want to go
there myself, I heard it is astonishing!”
My mom shot my dad a worried look. “ Well shall we have dinner?” my
mom said changing the subject.
The dinner was only about Chad and so on and so forth. I felt like I was
an annoying fly because they kept on ignoring me when I asked a question or they
would mumble an answer. Although the professor, Mr. Greenbush, seemed really
interested in me. He kept on looking over at me and was very interested in the
questions that I asked. Mr. Jordan and the professor left around 9:00.
The next morning was Saturday. I hopped in the golf cart with Kobi and we
drove to the candy shop. I bought a caramel apple as well as some dog biscuits
for Kobi. We stood next to the counter eating pleasantly.
“My that dog is fascinating, wish I had one that I could carry around
like that. Yorkshire Terriers are sure great! Unfortunately I don’t got much
use for my St. Bernard up here because there ain’t no snow ever, only chilly
temperatures for winter,” Mr. Jemison said. I think it was a compliment.
Before we could say anything else Mr. Jordan walked in.
“Good Morning, Hilary,” he said friendly, turning to Mr. Jemison and
tipping his hat. “Hilary, I have been thinking about what you said about you
wanting to go to the U.S., I think it is outstanding idea! I was wondering if
you’d like to go? We’d bring you back here once every 5 months and you could
see your family in the summer. Also you could kind of do a report on your
experience and bring it back to you 7th grade class.”
“Wow, thanks Mr. Jordan. I’ll just need time to sort it out with my
parents.”
“Remember I am leaving in 1 week,” he hollered to me as I ran out the
door.
I was so excited but was afraid my parents wouldn’t let me go. The week
went by so fast. In class I kept on thinking about this big opportunity. Most 9th
and 10th graders who were ready to go to college didn’t even get
the chance to go and they had to stay on the island for 1 or 2 more years doing
nothing and looking for a job. Finally I had the courage to tell my parents.
“Hi mom and dad. I have to ask you a question. A few days ago Mr.
Jordan asked me if, ” there was a slight pause, “He asked me if I wanted to
go with him back to the U.S to go to middle school there.”
My parents looked at each other then my mom spoke first, “We see how
important going to the U.S. is to you. We want you to have fun, and as parents
we don’t want to step in your way and we want you to learn things yourself. So
we knew this day would come and we want you to do what you desire.”
“Thanks mom and dad, I love you.”
All that night I thought about I, Hilary Birch, just a 7th
grader taking the chance of a life time to go to the U.S. Some people never even
got the chance, others are trying their 2nd or 3rd year,
trying to go for college still. I felt like a hundred tons had been dropped on
me like the cartoon roadrunner with the coyote. I felt like I had a lot of
pressure on me. I was worried all night. I didn’t sleep a wink.
Finally, morning came and everybody was at the dock where the boat was
leaving. I looked around to see Mr. Jordan heading my way.
“Hilary, I need an answer are you going or not?” he asked confidently
like he was sure I was going to say yes.
“Well no, I can’t leave Red Rock, it’s my home,” I looked at my
parents they had tears in their eyes but they were smiling at the same time.
THE
END
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D