Here's a story I wrote called "The Wish Boat." I'm going to publish each section once a week until the story is done, so here's the first section!
The sun was just setting as Daddy’s silver-blue minivan pulled into the parking garage. I couldn’t watch because at this time of day, the setting sun shone right into my eyes. The smell of fresh, home-made bread wafted into my room. Whenever Mom made bread, the fragrance filled the entire apartment.
“Jenneeeee!” my brother, Matt, called to me. Sighing, I put down my book and stood up, brushing potato chip crumbs off my lap. I was in charge of taking care of my brother while Mom was busy. He was two and not yet potty trained, so I locked him in the bathroom when I didn’t feel like hunting for stinky puddles or, worse, piles, all over the apartment.
“Jenneeeeeeee!” Matt screamed again. I opened the door and let him out.
“Jennifer, I tell you time and again not to lock your brother in the-“ Mom’s nagging was cut off as my dad burst through the front door.
“Surprise, surprise!” he exclaimed, beaming. “I got a raise!”
“Oh Matthew!” Mom ran to him and kissed his cheek.
“Wait, wait,” Daddy held up is hand, “There’s more.”
We stared at him. The silence tensed.
“Well, what?” Matt demanded. He was only three years old, but very intelligent. He always wanted to know everything about everything. This time, though, I couldn’t blame him for being impatient. Daddy was driving us crazy!
“We’re going on a cruise!” Dad finally announced. Our faces lit up.
“What?” Mom asked faintly.
“Just what I said. We’re going on a cruise!” Suddenly, the entire family went into a frenzy.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?!”
“How, no, where, no, what…” I stuttered. Dad chuckled.
“I got promoted,” he explained, “From store clerk to store manager. I’m going to make more than twice as much money as I used to! With my first payment, I went down to the travel agency and got us a cruise off the coast of here. We’ll travel for a month, all the way along the east coast of the U. S., starting tomorrow!” Instantly, everyone was running around packing bags, and my brother was screaming for his Munchy Munchies snacks. I ran into my room and searched for my backpack. I’d never been on a vacation before, and my backpack was the only bag I had. What was I supposed to pack? I definitely didn’t have a month’s worth of clothes. I’d also need books, hair things, books, sunscreen, books… What if I forgot books?
An hour later, I came out of my room, very frazzled, but bag packed. Immediately I was sent to bed. Tomorrow would be a very busy day.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We got up at six the next June morning to the sound of the birds singing. Everything seemed to be anticipating. I wolfed down my breakfast and rushed into the car. We left just after the misty dawn ended, but the fog still made the traffic increase. We had to drive very slowly because the fog was so thick, so it took us three hours to get to the harbor, which was only sixty miles away.
“Are we going to miss the cruise ship?” Mom asked anxiously.
“Miss the cruise?” Daddy replied. “Don’t worry. It leaves in an hour. I’d planned to have lunch by the docks, but we can eat on the boat.”
“When we get there?” Matt complained.
“Shh. Soon, Mattie.” Mom said, giving him her car keys for him to play with.
“Oh, look!” I cried, pointing. Just visible in the fog, I saw gray-blue water lapping up onto a rocky shore. I shivered with excitement.
“The cooz! The cooz!” Matt chanted.
“It’s a cruise,” I groaned.
“And here we are!” Dad pulled into the gravelly parking lot. We opened the car doors and breathed in wonderfully fresh salt air. I stretched my legs and yawned.
“Hurry!” Mom pulled at our sleeves, “We’ll be late!” We rushed toward a dock nearby. I looked around expectantly. Thinking there had been a mistake, I saw that the only boat in sight was a huge, luxurious, white ship. It must’ve had a million windows, and three decks with gold balcony railings. There was even a pool on the highest deck! My family could never afford something like this.
“Daddy, is this the wrong harbor? Maybe we took a wrong turn. I don’t see our ship. All I see is that one over there-“ I said.
“Jenny girl, we didn’t take a wrong turn,” Daddy said in a light, giddy voice. “That’s our cruise ship.”
The sun was just setting as Daddy’s silver-blue minivan pulled into the parking garage. I couldn’t watch because at this time of day, the setting sun shone right into my eyes. The smell of fresh, home-made bread wafted into my room. Whenever Mom made bread, the fragrance filled the entire apartment.
“Jenneeeee!” my brother, Matt, called to me. Sighing, I put down my book and stood up, brushing potato chip crumbs off my lap. I was in charge of taking care of my brother while Mom was busy. He was two and not yet potty trained, so I locked him in the bathroom when I didn’t feel like hunting for stinky puddles or, worse, piles, all over the apartment.
“Jenneeeeeeee!” Matt screamed again. I opened the door and let him out.
“Jennifer, I tell you time and again not to lock your brother in the-“ Mom’s nagging was cut off as my dad burst through the front door.
“Surprise, surprise!” he exclaimed, beaming. “I got a raise!”
“Oh Matthew!” Mom ran to him and kissed his cheek.
“Wait, wait,” Daddy held up is hand, “There’s more.”
We stared at him. The silence tensed.
“Well, what?” Matt demanded. He was only three years old, but very intelligent. He always wanted to know everything about everything. This time, though, I couldn’t blame him for being impatient. Daddy was driving us crazy!
“We’re going on a cruise!” Dad finally announced. Our faces lit up.
“What?” Mom asked faintly.
“Just what I said. We’re going on a cruise!” Suddenly, the entire family went into a frenzy.
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?!”
“How, no, where, no, what…” I stuttered. Dad chuckled.
“I got promoted,” he explained, “From store clerk to store manager. I’m going to make more than twice as much money as I used to! With my first payment, I went down to the travel agency and got us a cruise off the coast of here. We’ll travel for a month, all the way along the east coast of the U. S., starting tomorrow!” Instantly, everyone was running around packing bags, and my brother was screaming for his Munchy Munchies snacks. I ran into my room and searched for my backpack. I’d never been on a vacation before, and my backpack was the only bag I had. What was I supposed to pack? I definitely didn’t have a month’s worth of clothes. I’d also need books, hair things, books, sunscreen, books… What if I forgot books?
An hour later, I came out of my room, very frazzled, but bag packed. Immediately I was sent to bed. Tomorrow would be a very busy day.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We got up at six the next June morning to the sound of the birds singing. Everything seemed to be anticipating. I wolfed down my breakfast and rushed into the car. We left just after the misty dawn ended, but the fog still made the traffic increase. We had to drive very slowly because the fog was so thick, so it took us three hours to get to the harbor, which was only sixty miles away.
“Are we going to miss the cruise ship?” Mom asked anxiously.
“Miss the cruise?” Daddy replied. “Don’t worry. It leaves in an hour. I’d planned to have lunch by the docks, but we can eat on the boat.”
“When we get there?” Matt complained.
“Shh. Soon, Mattie.” Mom said, giving him her car keys for him to play with.
“Oh, look!” I cried, pointing. Just visible in the fog, I saw gray-blue water lapping up onto a rocky shore. I shivered with excitement.
“The cooz! The cooz!” Matt chanted.
“It’s a cruise,” I groaned.
“And here we are!” Dad pulled into the gravelly parking lot. We opened the car doors and breathed in wonderfully fresh salt air. I stretched my legs and yawned.
“Hurry!” Mom pulled at our sleeves, “We’ll be late!” We rushed toward a dock nearby. I looked around expectantly. Thinking there had been a mistake, I saw that the only boat in sight was a huge, luxurious, white ship. It must’ve had a million windows, and three decks with gold balcony railings. There was even a pool on the highest deck! My family could never afford something like this.
“Daddy, is this the wrong harbor? Maybe we took a wrong turn. I don’t see our ship. All I see is that one over there-“ I said.
“Jenny girl, we didn’t take a wrong turn,” Daddy said in a light, giddy voice. “That’s our cruise ship.”