My New Pet

I wrote this when I was 10. I was extremely proud of it :)

When I first saw that yellow-orange goldfish staring at me with those blue beady eyes, I knew I was lucky I hadn’t bought that Mickey Mouse balloon! I ran to the man at the stand and gave him my dollar. I got three darts. I aimed for the picture of the cat and �"

I guess I should tell you the whole story. Here it goes:

I woke up on a particularly sunny morning. I peeked through the curtains next to my bed and saw my sister Monica bouncing a bright green tennis ball against the wall of our house. Boom BANG. Boom BANG. Boom BANG. BAM! A second later my dad, James Parkinson, slammed open the door (not noticing Polly scamper out of the house) and yelled, “Monica! Stop throwing that tennis ball! You’re making a racket!” I couldn’t help but start laughing because Monica’s face turned bright red as our 3 year old pug, Polly, took a bathroom break on Monica’s brand new tennis shoes! “Polly! Gross! Ewww!” she yelled, “Dad! She peed on my shoes! I have a game tomorrow! Awh Man! Bad dog Polly!”

“Come on Monica,” my dad sighed, “I’ll get you cleaned up.” My dad and wet-shoed Monica walked �" and squelched �" inside. But then I remembered, the day before Monica’s tennis game, was the day we were going to the carnival! I danced all the way off my bed and to the closet to get my best play outfit! The carnival in Macon, Georgia is the best carnival ever! I ran to the back door, slipped on my sandals, and ran out to the shed. Then I rummaged through my dad’s big tool box, and grabbed his hammer! I ran back to my room and broke open my shiny, blue piggy bank. Seven dollars and ninety-four cents! I was rich! I took my swim bag out of my closet and took out my change purse. Then I dumped the money in! I was so excited! I ran all the way to the kitchen to help my mother make lunch.

 

Chapter 2: The Ride

When I got to the kitchen, my mother, Allison, was cutting a tomato for salad! “Goood Morning Wills!” she said. That’s what she calls me, instead of Willow. “Would you like tomatoes on your salad?” she asked sarcastically. She knew I loved tomatoes! “Can I help with lunch?” I asked politely. “Sure just go scrub your hands, there will be no germs in our salad!” So, I went off to do what I was told.

After I had washed, I ran back to the kitchen in such a rush, you’d think my shoes were on fire! I stumbled into my dad while I was still in full run and fell backwards. He helped me up then said, “Slow down missy! You might trip again! Try walking this time!”

“Alright.” I said, “I’ll walk.” So I walked away. When I got back to the kitchen, Mom said, “What took you so long? I was about to go make sure you didn’t get pulled down the drain!” We both laughed at that. I love my mom! She loves me too! I would not be here without her! How would I not love her?! She gave me a head of lettuce that she had rinsed, and told me to peel it. As I was peeling I asked, “Did you ever peel lettuce when you were a kid?” She nodded. “What else did you do?” I asked. “Not much because our mother sent us kids out to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables for our salad!” We again, both laughed at that! My dad and Monica walked in and said in unison, “What’s for lunch?” That time, the whole family laughed! “Salad! With extra tomatoes for Willow!” Then Monica stuck her finger in her mouth and made a face that meant ‘Yuck Tomatoes!’ She hates tomatoes, unlike me. That’s another reason me and my sister are not alike! Plus she has blonde hair, like my mother, and I have black, like my father. The only thing we have in common with looks is we both have brown eyes. But of course both of our parents do too. My mom always says that it is as normal for a blonde girl to have brown eyes then it is for a tiger to have blue stripes. But I like being different, and my sister doesn’t.

After lunch, the rest of the family got dressed, and we all got in the car to head to the carnival. Our ride was so long I was starting to fall asleep! When my mom finally said, we’re here, I jumped out of my seat and hit my head on the roof of the car. “Ouch!” I exclaimed. What a great way to start our day at the carnival!

I walked into the carnival grounds gate and immediately heard music, saw dancing, and I was overjoyed to be there! It was my 5^th time going, since I was only 11! We paid for our tickets and entered the second gate into the fun area!

 

Chapter 3: Goldie

Then I saw a man selling hot-dogs and bought two, one for me, and one for my sister. Two dollars out the window. I saw a woman giving one dollar samples of her newest recipe in burritos. Another dollar, gone. Five dollars and ninety- four cents left. I decided before I spent any more money, I would save the ninety-four cents for something else that wasn’t the carnival. Five dollars left, even. Next, I saw a man with a game where you hit the three bottles and win a caterpillar toy. Three dollars left. Lemonade. One dollar left. A man with a Mickey- Mouse balloon! Should I use my last dollar? No. I firmly told myself.  I knew I would see something else. A couple minutes later, I did. And we’re back to the beginning.

So I aimed for the picture of the cat and Bam! I hit it straight in the face! “Nice hit!” the man said. “You can do it!” my mom exclaimed, cheering me on. I took another dart out of the basket. Bam! Another great hit! Last dart. This is my chance! Bam! Right under the cats chin! I cheered, I danced, I sang with joy! The man asked me which fish I wanted. I said, “That one. The yellow-orange one with the blue eyes. Goldie.” The man handed me my new pet. Then I looked at that beautiful fish I had won, and I swear it smiled at me!

 

Chapter 4: Goldie’s New Home

When we got home after the ride back from the carnival, I had already figured out where I was going to put my new pet. My dresser. I grabbed my ninety- four cents that I had left over, and ran into the house, and around the corner of the family den to my bedroom. I put Goldie, in her yellow tank with neon rainbow rocks, on my bed. Then I ran to my dresser, put everything on the floor, and put a non-skid cover on top. I wasn’t going to take any chances. I walked over to Goldie’s tank and put it on the dresser. Perfect! I looked at Goldie and said, “Do you like your new home little one?” She was small, for a goldfish. Then I thought, what am I going to feed her? I ran back to the family den, where my parents were setting their things down onto the guest chair. “Mom, what am I going to feed Goldie?”

“Who?” my mom said, clearly confused. “Oh, sorry. The goldfish I won.”

“Oh. Well, I thought we would go to Pet Company and get some premium goldfish food.” Great! Goldie was going to be pampered! My mom went to the kitchen, took a water bottle out of the fridge, and then said, “Let’s go Wills!” So, I grabbed my backpack and ran out the door with my mom, to the car.

 

The End

Author's Note

I don't really know why I published this, but review it if you'd like.