Flicker

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This was not as good as I had it imagined.

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Flicker

Lou smiled as she finished reading the email. It was sent out by the youth group she went to, and it was addressed to everyone who went there. Apparently they were having an event called "Overnight" where the kids could stay overnight at the school the youth group was held at (Deep Run Christian). It was a rather special occasion, as it was being held for the first time and for the end of the year for the adolescents. The event was set to take place that Thursday. Lou had nothing to do that day, and she thought it would be fun, so she determined that she would go to this event.

Because she did not want to be alone, and because these kinds of events are fun with more than one person, she decided to call some of her friends on a group call and ask if they were coming. It took a couple minutes but someone picked up.

"What's up Lou?" A familiar voice asked.

Lou smiled. "Hey Ida."

"What are you doing?"

"I just finished reading the email the youth group just sent out. Are you going?"

"I think I can make it, yeah," Ida replied. "Do you know if Scott and Carter are coming?" Scott and Carter were two of their friends. The four stuck together most of the time.

"They probably will, they never not come to these kinds of things."

"True." Lou paused, not sure what else to say.

"Well, see you there?"

"Yeah. See you."

Ida ended the meeting and Lou immediately felt ecstatic about the whole event. Despite the awkward conversation she could tell Ida was too. The thought of spending a night at Deep Run made her wear a broad grin, she couldn't wait.

Thursday night finally came, and Lou could feel the enthusiasm in the air as she walked into Deep Run's gym, where all the kids were. She held her sleeping bag in her right arm but put it down on the bleachers off to the side. People were shooting basketballs in hoops while others were simply talking to their friends. Lou spotted Ida immediately, watching as she was struggling to get chips out of a vending machine in the corner. Dodging some stray balls, she ran over and grabbed Ida's shoulders, scaring her from behind. She let out a yelp.

"I told you not to do that!"

"Hello to you too," Lou replied, grinning wildly.

Just then a pair of hands gripped her shoulders. She squealed and whipped around.

"Scott!" she cried out angrily and blushed out of embarrassment. Meanwhile both him and Ida were laughing wildly. He burst into laughter and the light reflected off of his braces wires, and Ida managed to wheeze out the word "Karma," from laughing so hard.

A voice through a loudspeaker boomed through the air; it was the head youth minister, telling everyone to head upstairs with their life groups. Ida and Lou said goodbye to Scott, and they parted ways.

As their group of eighth-grade girls headed up the staircase, Lou noticed the lights flickering from up above. She didn't think much of it and eventually forgot.

The group stopped in a seventh-grade classroom where they had a lesson about fears. It was quite interesting; to hear what everyone was afraid of and how God helps deal with them was very fascinating.

Soon after that everyone started setting up their sleeping bags and brushing their teeth. It was around 10:46 when the youth minister, Mark, called both boys' and girls' small groups into the gym again to make an announcement.

Flicker; My 8th grade short storyWhere stories live. Discover now