The Storyteller - ONC 2022

Chapter 1: Not On My List

Amy rushed into her favourite room in the whole house.

Bang!

That felt so good, slamming the door. She hoped her parents heard it downstairs so they could tell how angry she was.

How could they do this to her? Amy fiercely wiped at the tears with her tightly curled fists.

She didn't want to move to another house. Never mind a new country.  

 She liked it here.  Her friends lived here. 

Australia was her home, not England, all the way on the other side of the World.

Falling heavily onto her bed, feeling the soft mattress mold to her small shape, her teary green eyes took in her surroundings. Uncontrollably the tears just started flowing even faster. She had just redecorated this room too...

 It had been so much fun and... so much hard work, picking and choosing the colours: midnight blue and sunset gold.

And soon, she would never see it again.  

She turned into her soft squishy pillow, sobbing even harder. 

Curling herself up into a ball, hating her parents for making her feel so sad, her left hand  suddenly felt the piece of paper she'd hidden under her pillow this morning. 

Even though her vision was blurred from crying so hard, and her sniffles wracked her chest, she could still read the words.

"AMY'S LIST OF FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO IN THE HOLIDAYS."

-- Go to the Zoo.

-- Paint a picture of Scruffy.

-- Bake cookies with Mummy

-- Pillow fight with Daddy.

-- Build a fort under the Dining Room Table.

-- Play dress-up with her dolls...

She checked it twice, and yep. Moving to England was not on that list.

Enraged, she quickly crushed the paper in her hand and threw it at the closed door.

Knock Knock

"Leave me alone." Amy grumbled into her pillow.

"Oh sweetheart don't be like that." Her mother entered her room, picking up the crumpled paper off the wooden floor and slowly sat beside her on the bed. Her hand affectionately relocated Amy's faded tawny dog, Scruffy, first.  

"Amy...  my darling I know this move has been a shock to you and, believe me, your dad doesn't want to leave this house either." It sounded to Amy like her mum had been crying too.

"So don't leave." It was so simple in Amy's mind.

"We have no choice. Daddy has been offered a very important position in England. He will be in charge of all the gaming software. And you know how he loves his computer games. He just cannot turn this opportunity down. Its been a big dream of his for such a long time." 

"His dream not mine." Amy pouted, looking down as several tissues were pushed into her hand.

Gathering Amy into her arms and nestling  them both against Amy's pillow, her mother kissed her forehead, squeezing her gently. 

The tears slowed as Amy breathed in her mother's comforting floral scent. Suddenly she felt so tired. Her anger had all but vanished.

Amy heard her mother unravel her list. Then she hugged her again. This time Amy could definitely feel her mother's tears against her own cheeks.

"This is a wonderful list and I am sure daddy would have loved the pillow fight. I know I would have enjoyed playing in the fort and going to the Zoo. How about we just delay this list until we return from England?" 

Amy could tell her mother was trying to make her feel better. And it did help a little.

"I know it won't still be the holidays but I'm sure we can fit everything in before we move."

"Then take me with you." With a determined frown, Amy pushed away slightly, so she could stare up at her mother's face. Noticing for the first time how tired she looked.  

It was a face so similar to hers. At least that's what everyone kept saying, especially their dimpled smiles. She always thought her mother looked beautiful. Her barbie-blonde hair pulled up into a pony tail mirrored her own. The sprinkle of freckles splashed across her straight nose and her creamy skin that browned darker than dad's after they had been to the beach.

"Oh sweetheart, you know that's  not going to work. You hate flying and all daddy and I will be doing is looking at lots and lots of houses. Believe me, you would be bored after the first two or three. We just want to make sure we find the perfect place, for the three of us. One with a huge backyard... just like you always wanted. And we promise we won't decide on any house until we get your approval."

"What if I stay here, then?" Amy's smile lit up her tearstained face. "I'll be ten in a couple of months. I don't need a babysitter.  I can take care of myself."

"Absolutely not! What type of mother do you take me for, leaving a nine-year-old home alone for four weeks? That is out of the question."

Her mother sighed as her shoulders drooped,  leaning her forehead against her daughter's.

"This is a lot to ask of you, my darling, we know. And if Mrs. O'brien from next door had been available  you could have easily stayed with her. But as it was such short notice, she already had plans. Grandmother Winter is away in Egypt and doesn't return for another month, and my mum and dad are still helping your Aunt Jessica with her new baby, Thomas. By the way, they all send their love, and if it makes you feel any better, they haven't had a decent night's sleep in weeks. They forgot how exhausting babies could be." She hugged Amy even tighter.

"But why does it have to be Aunt Penelope?" Amy whined. "I don't even remember her. And I heard dad say she was 'weird'."

"Did he really say that? I will have to have a word with him later." Oh no, daddy was in for it by the looks of that fierce expression. Then  her mother smiled genuinely at Amy. "She's not weird, just... different. In a loveable way, I mean," she added quickly. "Your daddy just never understood her, that's all. But I can guarantee one thing." 

The corners of her mouth turned up slyly.

 "You won't be bored."