Nightmare of the Shadow

My two best friends Zack and Amy and I were going on vacation, and we expected nothing more than fun and a great time, this would soon be regretted. My senior year was finally over and I had been waiting for this summer for what seemed like forever. Amy and I were packing in my room when we heard the loud echo of a horn. Zack had just pulled up in my driveway in his brand new Mercedes. Amy and I both glanced at each other before we both started deftly running down the stairs that led to the doorway, both trying not to fall because my mom always needed to mop them spotless.

My parents had booked a house right on the beach the summer after my junior year. They hadn’t told me until early November because they wanted to make sure everything would work out. When they told me I was so excited because it would be my first vacation without my family. I always thought it would be fun to go on a vacation with just my friends. We arrived in Ogunquit, Maine around three o’clock and found our beach house a few minutes later. There was not many houses around it, it seemed very deserted from everything else. It was an old house and the siding was falling off. As I kept examining the dirty white house, I could feel the zephyr from the waves crashing on the shore.

“I’m sure it will be nicer on the inside.” Amy tried to assure me.

“Yeah, I’m sure it will be, my mom said this was supposed to be a very nice place to stay at.” I concurred with her, but still felt a little worried.

We walked in, and I thought it might’ve looked even worse than it did on the outside. We also noticed there was an effluvia. There was a very small TV and all the furniture was stained and ripped. I started to wonder if this was the right place my mom had booked for us. I still tried to stay positive, but so far this trip wasn’t what I had expected. We decided to take a walk down to the beach that afternoon. It was strange because there was nobody around until about a mile down the shore. This is where all the beautiful beach homes were located and there was a lot of excitement and a bevy of families playing. I started to miss my family vacations; I wanted our beach home to be around where all the parties were instead of where there is absolutely no one around.

The sun began to set and the tide started to go out. On our way back, we passed the boardwalk which had some restaurants inside. All of us have loved seafood since we were little, so we decided to stop at the Lobster Shack. It was a placid place and we ordered delicious albacore sandwiches. After our stomachs felt like they were going to burst from all the delicious food, we headed to our house.

After playing a few hands of cards, we went to bed so we could have a full day of the beach. It wasn’t until around midnight when I started to hear banging on the house. I freaked out because it sounded like somebody was trying to break in. I woke Zack up, and he went outside to check it out. When he came back in he said it was very windy because a storm was approaching and the shutters were banging on the siding of the house. I was still a little uneasy, but decided to go get some rest.

Two hours later, I was tossing and turning in between my dreams, when I saw a shadow near the side door. I assumed it was Amy or Zack getting something to drink, but when I looked over they were both sleeping. I started to get a pit in my stomach and I could feel my body getting heated when everything started to click. Someone had broken in.

“Zack, wake up!” I nudged him.

“What is it now?” he sounded frustrated.

“Someone is in our house, they broke in.” This got him right up.

“WHAT?” I could tell he was feeling compunction as well.

I explained to him how I had seen the shadow near the door and I could tell it was a person. He told me to remain calm and he would take care of it. Of course I wasn’t able to not be worried, because this was a big deal. Zack tiptoed his way into the kitchen, which was to the left of the door where I had last seen the shadow. I was just about to sit on my bed, when I heard an unheralded cacophony from the kitchen. I ran over to see if Zack was alright, and thank god he was, the banging was some pots falling from the cabinets. I headed back to the room, when I saw the big shadow again. I saw something in his hands and I didn’t have enough time to react, when I saw a wooden bat aiming for my face. I felt my body fall to the floor and I became very dizzy. Everything else that happened that night became a blur. I remember a lot of loud noises, and Amy running to my side. Then I remember blue and red lights flashing in and out of the house, and paramedics wheeling me out on a stretcher. After this, I remembered nothing.

I woke up in the hospital bed with Zack, Amy, and my parents by my side. I was confused as to where I was and why the heck I had all these tubes in me and monitors surrounding me.

“I’m so sorry, it was my entire fault, and I should’ve never left you alone.” Zack sounded heartbroken.

“No, I should’ve made sure that house was okay, I don’t know what I was thinking making reservations online through a website I’m not familiar with.” I could tell my mother had been crying.

“What on earth is everyone talking about? What happened?” I was so confused.

Zack gave me an anecdote. The shadow was somebody breaking into our house. He told me that the intruder threshed my face with a bat. During the time I was on the floor, the intruder tried to hit Zack also, but he was able to stop him because of all the self-defense classes he had taken. Zack told me he called the cops and this man was arrested. Once the police got the man into handcuffs, one of the officers explained to Zack that they were searching for this leery man who had broken into five houses in the past week.

“What an amazing senior trip.” I managed to find the energy to sardonically say before I dazed off into sleep.

2nd Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. Delacorte Press, 2001.
Genre: Fiction
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, is a powerful novel about true friendship. Four completely different girls, Lena, Carmen, Bridget, and Tibby have been best friends their whole lives. Now, they have to spend their first summer apart. Bridget, a tall beautiful athlete, is going to Baja California for soccer camp. Quiet, Lena is going to Greece to visit her grandparents. Carmen is going to visit her father who left her and her mother when she was a little girl. Tibby is the only one stuck at home working a summer job. The day before they separate, they discover a magical pair of pants that fit each of them perfectly. They decide to pass the pants on to each other throughout the summer, to have a little bit of each other with them.
“Ann Brashares has here created four captivating characters and seamlessly interwoven their stories for a young adult novel that is fresh and absorbing,” the book jacket reads. “It is a remarkable and uplifting novel on true friendship.”

Each girl faces many challenges and adventures during the summer. Each time one of the girls receives the pants in the mail, they each feel more confident and ready to face their troubles. Carmen has trouble dealing with her father’s new life. He tells her he is getting married and he doesn’t act like he did when he lived with her mother and her. When she receives the pants, she gets the confidence to tell her dad how she feels. When Lena has the pants, she finds the courage to apologize to Kostos and admit how much she likes him. When Bridget gets the pants, she has the self confidence to talk to one of the coaches at camp. When Tibby has the pants, she discovers that life is all about the small pleasures we experience.
This book reminds me of Sarah Dessens’ writing style. This is because both these authors write about the everyday challenges young girls face in our world. Also, they both are descriptive in their writing, but their writing is simple to understand.
“Carmen disappeared into an upholstered chair by the wall as Lydia proudly donned what looked to be at least seventy yards of shiny white fabric.” (160)
This was the first book I have read by Ann Brashares and I really enjoyed it. This book was very uplifting and I could relate to some of the experiences and challenges these girls were facing. I liked how Ann Brashares focused on one girl at a time so the book didn’t get confusing. She was very descriptive in her writing and I plan on reading more of her books.