with Monday being a holiday it feels like this week is slipping away far too fast. But As I am ready to bid farewell to 2023 I am okay with that. It does feel like a downhill slope though. So as we are slaloming to the end of the year, lets jump into the morning’s prompt. Timers ready and off we go.
This week is turning out darker than I planned, prompt wise. which is odd cause it has been a really fun week…
Wednesday, December 27th: The horn sounded.
The horn sounded. Liza grabbed her coat and bag and sprinted down the stairs, grabbing the railing for support. In the driveway her brother’s car horn blared again. She raced out of the door and slammed it behind her. She made it to the car and slid in the back seat. Her brother Danny’s best friend Kevin was already riding shotgun.
‘About time,’ Danny said. He sounded exasperated, but then he always did. The fact that he had to drop her off at school before heading to his own school was a constant annoyance.
It wasn’t her fault the bus routes changed and their house was no longer on the designated list. It wasn’t her fault the school district decided their house was too close to bother letting the bus stop on the way in. Liza still wasn’t sure how that decision saved gas since the bus that picked up kids further out drove down the next street over. She asked if she could just walk over but was told that the bus didn’t stop there and they weren’t going to add a stop just for her. The reason had something to do with rising gas prices.
Not for the first time she wondered how much gas it took to add a single stop.
She also didn’t think Danny had to be such a pain about dropping her off either. Her school was on his way and he dropped her off well before he got to his school so none of his classmates had to see him drop off his little sister anyway. Still he complained about it a lot. And lately she noticed he was edging the time they left up just a little bit each day so that she had to race down the stairs and jump into the car or risk being left behind.
As the car radio blasted out and Danny and Kevin laughed about something they didn’t bother sharing, Liza glanced at her watch. It was a full fifteen minutes earlier than the day before. Usually Danny only moved it up by two to three minutes each day. A full fifteen from the day before was a lot for him. Either he was really annoyed today or he actually wanted to go to school.
Since he complained about school more than he complained about her, she doubted that was the case. Liza stayed quiet a the car continued on it’s way. When they reached her school, she grabbed the handle. Danny stopped and she opened the door. She tumbled out, barely getting it closed again before he was pulling away.
‘At least I didn’t hit the pavement today,’ she said. Her left knee was still skinned from a few days prior when she hadn’t been fast enough to get out of the car.
Liza tugged her skirt straight and walked to the sidewalk getting out of the street as fast as possible. Most people paid more attention than Danny when dropping kids off, but she didn’t like to be in the way. That’s when Liza noticed there weren’t any cars, at least not ones dropping kids off. Liza frowned and walked up to the school. There were no kids around.
‘I can’t be that early,’ she thought. She checked her watch. It was early to be dropped off but not too early for people to be there. That’s when she saw the sign on the door. There was no school today. It was a teacher work day for the district. Which meant Danny had no school either.
‘No wonder he was eager to drop me off,’ Liza thought. She knew if their parents knew there was no school Danny might be asked to watch her and he wanted the day free and clear. Liza took a deep breath and turned, beginning the long walk home.
Ten til Midnight 