Little Girl On The Swings

Back again

Our story starts in a small Georgia town. Cassie Brookfield, that's me, is a seventh grader with a twin sister Ivy Brookfield.  We have a young brother named Isaac and parents named Seth and Mary. Everything began when someone came back.

We had been living in a wonderful little neighborhood for around five years at the time. Our best friend, Natalie, lived in the neighborhood as well and we were as close as anyone could be. Natalie had been best friends with Samantha Alexander before we had moved down the street. After Samantha had moved away, Nat discovered she was now living in the neighborhood separated from ours by a small bridge in the forest. And this is where the tale begins.

"Hey guys" Natalie said.

"Natalie! What's up dude?" Ivy called to our friend.

"You want to meet up with Samantha? She just moved into a house in the neighborhood behind ours." Natalie asked.

"Oh yeah!" I exclaimed. "I remember Samantha! We played Pokemon in her garage one time!"

"Yes, Cassie. That's her" Ivy said, annoyed at me.

"Well, let's get going!" Said Natalie excitedly.

After asking our parents if we could go with Natalie, we made their way to Samantha's house. We knocked on the door, waiting for a response.

An older woman answered the door, who Nat instantly recognized as Samantha's mother.

"Ms. Alexander!" Nat exclaimed excitedly, hugging the woman in the doorframe.

"Hello, Natalie. Are you here to see Samantha?" Ms. Alexander asked.

"Yep" Nat told her.

"I'll go get her. Samantha!" Ms. Alexander called.

Samantha came down. She was a little bigger, but I thought she was so pretty. She wore herself well. She had a sweet face, little make up, and long reddish blond hair. My sister looked noticeably uncomfortable, but greeted Samantha as a friend. After I hugged Samantha, she said "so what do you guys want to do?"

We had no clue. Ivy and I were about to be eighth graders, and Nat was about to be a seventh grader. It was a big year, with my sister and I having one year before high school.

"Oh I know!" She suddenly exclaimed. "Let's go to the swing sets! They're right by the pool!"

"Sounds good!" Nat said.

As we headed over to the swings, Nat and Samantha hung back, catching up leaving me and my sister to ourselves.

"I don't like her" Ivy said.

"Why not?" I asked her.

"I just don't. Nat is supposed to be our best friend. Not her's. " Ivy said, clearly upset.

"It'll be okay. Nat is still our friend, she just hasn't seen Samantha in a long time" I said. "We would do the same if we saw our old friends."

"I guess you're right" she said.

We finally made it to the swing set. There were three swings in the middle, and a baby swing on the right side. We all raced to get a swing, but me, being the shortest of us four, was last to the swings. We all agreed to take turns, deciding I would definitely not fit in the baby seat. And I didn't want to be one of those kids who get stuck and need the firemen to rescue me.

As we sat and talked about recent events, we realized it was starting to get late. Because Ivy and I didn't have cell phones, we had no idea what time it was. Ivy and I said goodbye to Samantha, and began walking through the forest, and over the bridge to get back to our neighborhood.

Because we were so late, our mom was furious when we got back into the house. She didn't know where we were and was worried. We apologized profusely, and Ivy added that the issue could have been avoided had we had cell phones. My mom knew this, but what we didn't know was that we were going to be given the option to get a cell phone very soon. With that, she gave us our dinner. We are quickly and then were off to bed.

The next morning, I woke up excitedly. I was going to get to visit with my grandmother and grandfather in Alabama this week. They were going to meet my dad and I half way, and then drive back to their home. I loved visiting my grandparents. I would eat good food, learn how to sew from my grandmother, watch our favourite episodes on the tv together, and be without my siblings for a whole week! I was so excited. I just couldn't wait until I was in their house.

As I hugged my sister and brother goodbye, I couldn't help feeling strange. I had no idea what was to come. As we drove away from my home, I looked back, unsure about leaving. But I shook it off and left, excited to see my grandparents.