The alarm rang. It was Saturday, this had to be some sort of mistake. Then I remembered, this is no mistake, Mom volunteered me to help clear out the Lempke house across the street. I got up, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, and went to the kitchen and grabbed a cup of joe. We lived at 138 West Duffin, so it was just across the street. Mrs. Harrison was outside with a clipboard directing the whole operation.
A truck from the Salvation Army arrived. Their workers began to load the furniture. Mrs. Harrison directed me and her two sons, Baskin and Robbins (I'm not kidding those are the names she gave the kids. No wonder they were the way they were). I was 17, they were 13 and 14. They were big guys, but ambition was not their strong suit. Basically, they were mamas boys. The did a lot of whining. She said," Matt, you and Baskin and Robbins go to the basement and begin to bring out all the things you find down there. The supermarket gave me a lot of boxes. Just fill them up and put them in the dumpster". I now noticed that a truck had just placed a dumpster on the front lawn.
The basement was full of things. Baskin and Robbins were picking through the things to have a light box to carry up to the dumpster. They were cleaver in leaving the bigger stuff for me.
I wanted to get this thing done. I had a lot to do on Saturday, and yeah, that school report was not getting itself by done by itself. I filled a box up, and it was heavy. I struggled up the stairs, out the door and to the dumpster. I was lifting the box to get it over the side of the dumpster and the bottom fell out of the box. There was crap, excuse me, things all over the group. I was really steamed and Baskin and Robbins were nowhere to be found. I was scooping things up and throwing them over the side into the dumpster. Something caught my eye. It was shiny and I picked it up. It was a silver ring. It had a design on the front, it looked like a cross. but it wasn't a cross. It had extra pieces. I looked inside and there was an inscription 11th Panzers-Charkov 1942.
It looked interesting so I put it in my pocket. Like, I was not stealing it. Everything was to go in the dumpster. I thought, maybe I got a little something out of this project. Sure, it was nice to help Mrs. Lempke, but dealing with Mrs. Harrison and Baskin and Robbins took any joy away to be sure.
I looked at my watch and it was 4:00pm. I didn't even stop for lunch. I realize I was famished. I only had a cup of coffee when I got up. I walked back across the street to our house to see what might be available to eat. I could smell hamburgers on the grill. Sure hope there are plenty because I'm ready to chow down.
YOU ARE READING
The Silver Ring
Ficțiune adolescențiHigh School senior working on history paper about World War 2 finds a silver German World War II ring. The dead German soldier, owner of the ring, appears to the student, and asks his help in returning the ring to his family so that his soul may fi...
