Author’s Note:
This story was inspired by “A-Z Writing Inspirations” that was a part of the Creative Writing class. This was the prompt that started this story line:
Q IS FOR QUAY (By the river will suffice)
What to do there: Write about movement. Sit and watch the world go by. Notice the differences between land and water and sky. Tell the story of a character who transforms when they move from one element to the other and how this transformation impacts on their life, their relationships, and their daily routines. This could be your own story.
Grounded (1/3)
I am five years old. It is still the time where I haven’t started this thing called “school” that Mommy and Daddy are talking about. Each day, my life is the same thing, where I wake up and learn how to brush my teeth. It really hurts, you know! When I brush too hard on the pink part of my mouth, it leaves a boo-boo behind.
After I brush my teeth with my Spiderman toothbrush with green Spiderman toothpaste (green is my favourite colour, did you know that?), I go downstairs, with Daddy lifting me in the air like Superman, swooping down into my high chair. From there, I drink my milk like a very good boy, and I don’t like the taste of the green flowery things Mommy tries to feed me.
When Mommy and Daddy are home, I play with them all the time. Sometimes, even the entire day. It always starts with me playing with my action figures, Batman and the Joker fighting each other, when Daddy swoops in and pretends to be the villain. I run around the house and chase him, and he screams his daddy scream. I squeal when he catches me and lifts me up into a hug and kiss, where I squirm out of his reach and jump on him. He goes on his knees on the carpet and I get piggybacked by him. It’s really fun to play with him.
Sometimes, when I am lazy and tired, I crawl on the floor. I lie down on the carpet and roll around in the living room for fun. I end up staring at the ceiling, imagining what it would be like to be a superhero. I do this every time when I get bored. I let my imagination of flying in the air and swinging from building to building go loose until Mommy calls me for dinner.
We always sit around the table, and I am still in my high chair, eating rice and drinking my apple juice. I ask Mommy and Daddy what school is, and they say that it’s where I go meet new friends and learn new things.
I say that I don’t want to go, since I like staying home and playing with my toys and being superheroes. I don’t want it to change. I want it to stay the same. Mommy and Daddy tell me that it will be a fun time and that kindergarten will be where I can read more and play with more superhero figures.
I don’t like the sound of this “school”, but I forget about it when I play board games with Mommy and Daddy after dinner. It’s fun to be with them each day.
After I fall asleep in Mommy’s lap, my dad carries me to bed and tucks me in. They kiss me on the forehead and say “Good night” when they leave the room. I do this every day until I started school a week later. I don’t really want it to change. I want it to be like this forever.
Turbulence (2/3)
I am 10 years old, and I am in grade 5 in a new school. We moved to a bigger home with bigger windows and a different living room. There is still a ceiling for me to look at when I am bored, but I have homework to spend my time on.
I get on the bus to start my very first day of grade 5, and I am nervous. This isn’t something I like to do. I choose an empty seat and I look out the window, still imagining how Spiderman or Batman fought for justice in their cities.
On the way to school, instead of the open fields that I always pass by on the way to my old school, I only see houses and houses, and no field in sight. That makes me sad. But I had a new seat mate. His name is Joseph, and he is new to the school as well. We make a promise to sit together on the bus ride home.
I get to school, and my first thought iss, “Wow. It’s so big!” Walking through the front doors, I was greeted by new teachers in new classrooms with new routines. The chairs are different, but more colourful than my old school, and it seems odd to colour school chairs.
At lunch today, I walked around to find people to be around with, but no one shared my superhero interests. So instead, I walked the school fields and explored the playground.
It rained yesterday, so I stared at the puddles of water left behind. I could see my face in it, and I decided to have fun with that. I smiled at the puddle, frowned at it, and acted like a monkey too – it felt normal. Relaxing, even. But it started to rain again, and the rain made ripples in the puddle. I couldn’t see my face anymore, so I went back into the school, dragging my heels with me.
In class, we learned about adding fractions, fingerprints, government, and new words. Today’s word was “uncertainty”, or “the state of being unknown”. The exercise was to use the word in a sentence. I wrote down in my notebook, “I certainly feel very uncertain today.”
During the spelling lesson, I look out the water-stained window, afraid of what each day brings. All I know is that it’s always changing, and I can’t predict what tomorrow brings. It’s not always happy piggybacks with my Dad anymore.
On the bus ride home, I sit with Joseph again and we talk. I find out Joseph loves his superhero action figures as well. We’re happy to have found each other and we talk the entire way home.
I say goodbye to Joseph and get off the bus. I can’t wait to tell Mom and Dad about my new friend.
Airborne (3/3)
I am 18 years old and I am at my graduation ceremony. Joseph and I sit beside each other as we wait for our names to be announced and for us to walk the stage.
It has been a long journey since I began my story in the education system. Middle school wasn’t bad after talking with Joseph. I made even more friends, and we started our superhero club, much to my embarrassment in the present.
Making friends got me through middle school, and I learned that it would be helpful as I entered high school, with my perspective widened to the big picture of what obstacles life has to offer.
It’s funny how I used to rely on my parents to drive me to soccer games and afterschool events, but now, I get to drive myself to and from school, not needing to ask for my parents for permission anymore. I get to choose when I wake up and when I can leave school, like helping out the Drama crew with their Musicals.
On weekends, with the trust of Mom and Dad behind me, I get to hang out with friends like Joseph at the movies and the mall. Of course, I must arrive back home before the hour Cinderella’s coach turned back into a pumpkin.
Throughout high school, I had the opportunity to meet so many people on my own initiative and create tangible connections with those in my school community. From teachers and staff, to other students on the Student Union team, I chose to be with others who shared similar values with me. I certainly loved carving my own path in this world. It’s going to be hard to leave, but it’s time I set myself free.
I am called up to the stage to accept my certificate, and I ceremoniously shake hands with our principal. I hear the cheers of Joseph and my parents in the crowd.
As I sit back down, Joseph and I fist bump and hug, proud of how far we have come. I reach into the pocket of my graduation robe and reveal a Captain America figurine. I put it in the palm of Joseph’s hand as his graduation gift, and I wish him the best in his life of freedom after high school.
Once the Valedictorian speech is complete, the moment arrives.
My principal gives the signal, and my graduation hat goes airborne, just like all the other hats around me. The flashes of cameras all around me go off at once and I am blinded by them, but they fill me with hope, knowing that they are a sign of the freedom that is yet to come.
Image:
Morton, David. “Bow River.” Dreamstime, Dreamstime, www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-bow-river-view-across-banff-towards-rockies-image48754130.
