Little Differences

After school, Jessie and I set out to find Alani again. “You know we go to SeaWorld Friday, right?” Jessie asks me. “I didn’t realize it was that time already. Hopefully, we can find Alani so that she can still go on the trip”, I say. The woods are a little far from our homes, so we ride our bikes down there.

When we arrive in the woods we see policemen and a bunch of other people standing under a tent. They are all walking through the woods and looking around as if they are searching for something. We take another path into the woods, trying not to get

“Woah, so it must be true. Alani really did get lost in the woods”, Jessie says. “Maybe”, I say. We continue our path through the woods for every bit of an hour and still no Alani. “I think we should turn back now before we end up on the missing board”, Jessie says. I’m usually the one trying to talk sense into her but lately, she’s been doing a good job at talking sense into me. “You’re right. We don’t want to worry our parents”, I say. All the parents’ nerves are on edge ever since Alani disappeared. The only way our parents will let us out of their sight is when we’re together. They count on us to protect one another and that’s exactly what we do.

“If I’m late getting home, I’ll be confined to my room for the rest of the year”, I tell Jessie. “Me too”, Jessie says. We make it home and go our separate ways. When I get inside, mom is on the phone with someone. It’s probably someone calling about Alani. She’s talking low, so I can barely hear what she’s saying. She says something about woods, K-9’s and before dark. “K-9? What is a K-9?”, I say to myself.

I go into the guest bedroom where our other phone line is located, and I call Jessie. “Hello”, she sings into the phone. “Hey Jessie, I have a quick question”, I tell her. “What is it?”, she asks me. “Do you know what a K-9 is?”, I ask. “No, not sure. Hold on let me Google it. The other end of the phone gets quiet for about 5 minutes. “Okay, I’m back. A K-9 is a police dog and it’s usually a German Shepherd”, she tells me.

“Thanks, a lot”, I say. “No problem. Why were you needing to know what a K-9 is”, Jessie asks me? “I overheard mom say it. She was talking to someone on the phone and she said woods, K-9’s and before dark”, I reply. “Oh, maybe she was saying that they have to go in the woods with the K-9’s before dark to look for Alani”, she says. “Yes, I think you’re right”, I say.

I get off the phone with Jessie and head downstairs with mom. Dad is now home, and he has on one of those bright colored vests. “Hey there care bear”, dad says. He scoops me up into his arm and gives me a big hug. He puts me back down on the floor and I go over to mom who is now off the phone. “Mom, have they found Alani yet”, I ask? “Not yet honey but they’re looking everywhere they can think of. Don’t worry they’re going to find her”, she reassures me.

I believe my mom, so I try not to worry so much. “What’s for dinner”, I ask. Mom giggles and points to our menu board in the kitchen. The menu board is a whiteboard where mom writes down what we are having for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I think it’s so cool. We sit down and have a tasty dinner. Then I go get ready for bed.