Lightning Strikes

The Essay

Belinda looked down at the plate the waiter placed in front of her and felt a longing so deep she didn't think she could bear it. A swirl of molten chocolate and caramel dripped over vanilla ice cream. Quickly melting under the weight and heat of the sweet topping the ice cream poured over the edges of a rich-looking chocolate brownie. The smell of sugar, chocolate and cream filled her nostrils. 

As Belinda's mouth watered and her dieting resolve flew out the window. It had been hard to get the baby weight off after the birth of her son and he was nearly ten now.  'But I'm at a birthday party after all,' she argued with herself. But in the back of her mind she knew there was always an excuse– a retirement celebration at work, a new bakery opening up in the neighborhood, a summer potluck. And Belinda had never met a treat she didn't like. 

'I'll just have a few bites,' she thought.

She dipped her spoon in first to the toppings planning on working her way through the layers before tasting them in combination.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Belinda. 

"Watch out, it's really hot!" said the friend sitting to her left.

Too late, the roof of Belinda's mouth already burned with pain. Sheepishly she took a spoonful of ice cream to cool it. 

And what a delicious creamy texture the ice cream had. She forgot all about her pain (and her plan to only have a few bites), sampled the brownie and then started back in at the top mixing all three layers together. 

She had to admit she was uncomfortably full but now a new resolve had taken over. If she was going to blow her diet she was going to eat every morsel of this fancy restaurant course. Even if that meant nothing but salads until Christmas.

Finally, plates cleared and party over, the guests stood up. As Belinda picked up her purse from the floor she heard a ping and saw the top button of her trousers hit the floor.

'Ah, well,' she thought. 'Perhaps salads until Valentine's Day.'

The End

Brian looked again at the big red F that his teacher had scrawled across the page. He was perplexed. He had followed the prompt to a 't.'

Write an essay on the inherent challenges in a hot desert. Imagine what your family would do. Remember good writing involves using all the senses and a struggle.

His teacher had also circled desert with her big red pen. Then slowly it dawned on Brian. While he enjoyed writing, spelling had never been his strong suit.