Lost & Found

Dani

Dani's POV

    "Mom, I'm home!" I yelled. My backpack made a thud as its weight hit the floor.

    "That's great, honey," she responded from her usual spot on the couch, nose deep in some magazine. "I hope that noise by the front door wasn't your backpack again."

    "Relax, I'll get it later," I said, taking a seat beside her. She rolled her eyes and I heard her mutter something under her breath. Probably something about how I should be more responsible.

    "I'm gonna go up to my room, 'kay?" I left without waiting for an answer. As I was going, I noticed that the basement door was open, which was weird because it's never open. There's always been a strict "No Basement" rule in my house that explicitly states that I am to be nowhere within three feet of the door. I've always wondered what was down there. It was one of the few rules my parents enforced, along with a midnight curfew and work/school should not mix with family time.

    I glanced over to my mom who was oblivious on the couch and, slowly, I started up the stairs. The open door beckoned to me and it was hard to think about much else.

~ * ~

    Later my mom called me down for dinner. Prior to this, I had been working on a riveting article for my Journalism class. I was so engrossed in the assignment that I tucked my notebook under my arm, excited to show my parents what I had so far. But, me being the klutz I am, I tripped and dropped it. I regained my balance and watched as it slid down the steps and across our wood floor as if it were a wet bar of soap. Its momentum pushed it over the basement threshold and it once again slid down the steps.

    Oh no, I thought frantically.

    "Danielle, come get your dinner!" my dad hollered.

    "C-Coming," I stuttered. I am not restarting that entire thing. But I can't ask my parents to get it for me. They'll just start on a half hour lecture about how I should be more careful and I should watch where I'm going and blah-blah-blah. I'm going to need to get it back myself. Not wasting another second planning, I hurried to the table so my parents wouldn't suspect anything.

    My parents chatted animatedly all throughout dinner. I continued thinking about how I would get my notebook. There were so many unknowns. What if they had some sort of security system with lasers, like on TV? No, that'd be ridiculous. Pressure plates? Wait, no; those would have gone off by now. What if they had cameras?

    "Ahem."

    I looked up from my dinner. "Huh? Sorry."

    "I said how was school?" I glanced towards my mom and saw her staring at me expectantly. I quickly turned away and answered my dad.

    "It was  fine," I said, still a little lost. "Nothing new. Just same old, same old."

    "That's good," he replied, no longer listening.

    I was basically ignored for the rest of dinner. When all was said and done, they excused me to go to my room. I just needed to come up with a plan.