Fire

I stared at the birds flying around after a short, surprisingly cold winter. It was weird, because it usually stays warm...ish in San Francisco. The birds were acting like there was a limited supply of twigs and all the other junk they use to build their nests. They worry too much. I walked back inside, feeling warmed by the sun.
“Mom, when is lunch?” I asked. I was starving. I don’t usually eat breakfast on weekends, because I’m too busy sleeping until 11.

“Well, Christa, lunch is whenever you want it to be. It’s been ready for a while,” my mom said. “I made a stir-fry.” My mouth watered when she said that. I grabbed a bowl and dumped 3 giant spoonfuls in. Then I settled myself in front of the TV and turned on some cartoons. But then there was this “breaking news report.” I sighed, wondering what it was. Then a guy on TV started speaking:

“Attention all people who live in Watersford: A fire has been spotted in the woods nearby, and is spreading quickly. You have been asked to evacuate your homes immediately. Fire crews are working hard to try to put out the fire before it reaches you.” I froze. Watersford is where I live. Even worse, my house is just in front of those woods. I glanced out the window and didn't see anything at first, but as I looked closer I saw a faint cloud of smoke.
“MOM!” I screamed, jumping off the couch. She came running, and I pointed at the TV. She screamed, too, and ran upstairs to get my brothers. Oh, yeah, I have 2 brothers, Nick and Josh, who are twins. Sometimes I like to pretend they are little girls, because they are always getting into my closet and trying on my... clothes and stuff. Yeah... well, anyway, I really don’t like them.
I grabbed my lucky sapphire charm necklace and ran outside, grasping it in one hand and one of my brother’s hands in the other. My mom soon followed, clutching my other brother’s hand. We quickly piled into the car, wondering where to go. I asked exactly that.
“Mom? Where should we go?” I had a sense of urgency in my voice, for the simple reason that I COULD SEE THE FIRE. Mom didn’t answer, just started driving. She told me to call Dad, so I took out my phone.
“Hey, kiddo. What’s up?” he asked, like nothing was wrong. I told him everything, and he asked if we were all right. I rolled my eyes and said yes, we were already halfway down the highway. Then I realized we were going to the mall. Usually I’d be super psyched to go to the mall, but today I didn’t feel the same excitement. It wasn’t a surprise why. I said "bye" and hung up.
When we got there, I got out of the passenger seat and spotted my friend Claire with her mom and little brother and sister. She lives in my neighborhood, and thank GOODNESS she got the TV message. I desperately hoped our neighborhood had not been engulfed in flames. I pictured a blackened wasteland, people searching everywhere through the charred rubble for family members and friends, children crying over the loss of their things... I shivered and tried not to think about that.
“Hey, Claire!” I shouted and waved my hand. She turned in my direction and waved. Then she told her mom something and ran over to me.
“I guess the mall is a really popular fire evacuation center, because I saw about half of the people in our neighborhood here. And that’s just in the parking lot! I haven’t gone inside yet,” Claire told me breathlessly.
“Then I bet you there’s even more people inside,” I said. We followed our moms inside the mall. Sure enough, I saw almost everyone from our neighborhood (that I knew). We scanned the large crowd for anyone we knew. Claire saw our friend Abby pushing her way through the huge mass of people, looking lost. I ran up to her.
“Abby! What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I can’t find my mom.” She said, looking nervous.
“Where’s your phone?” Claire asked.
“Uhhhhh... it’s at home,” Abby said, clearly wishing she had brought it along.
“Here, you can borrow mine,” I offered, handing her my phone. Oh, yeah, my phone is like, awesome, because it’s a smart phone and it has a glittery pink case. It has ALL of the super addicting games like Angry Birds and Temple Run, and this awesome game called Blast Monkeys. Anyway...
“Thanks,” said Abby, dialing her mom’s number. “Hey, mom? I have to ask you something. WHERE ARE YOU?!?!?!” Abby screamed.
“I’m in the Boston Store outlet! I'm coming to get you! Stay where you are. Wait, where are you?” I heard Abby’s mom say.

Abby sighed. “Ummmmm...I’m right outside of the Barnes and Noble outlet,” Abby said, looking up at the sign. “Bye.” She handed my phone back to me. I put it in my pocket and stuck a piece of gum in my mouth.

While our moms were mingling with each other, we toured this new outlet called Justice. It’s like girl heaven! There’s makeup, jewelry, accessories, stuffed animals, and the most amazing shirts! We stood in awe as people walked around us.

We walked around, picking off stuff that we thought we would want to buy. In the end, I got a bottle of lip gloss, nail polish, eye shadow, and a teddy bear. But the checkout lady was really mean and ugly, and I felt like throwing up when I looked at the huge, pus-filled wart on her chin. I was still feeling nauseous after I paid, and I'm sure Abby and Claire did too, because they were looking a little green in the gills.

Anyway, when we were walking out of Justice, my phone beeped. I checked it.

"Hey, it looks like I got a news update," I said. "Attention all Watersford residents," I read. "Fire crews have managed to control the fire in the forest behind your neighborhood, so it is safe to come back now. Nothing has been damaged."

Claire and I both sighed in relief. I called my mom.

"Hey, mom. I got a news update on my phone, and it said we can go back now. If you need to find us, we're right in front of the Justice outlet," I told her. 

"That's great! I'll come get you," My mom said.

"Oh, and can Claire and Abby sleep over tonight?" I asked. Claire and Abby smiled.

"Sure, but only if their moms are okay with it," Mom told me. Claire was already dialing her mom's number, and I handed Abby my phone again.

***

I jumped out the car after we pulled up into my driveway. Claire, Abby, and I sprinted to my backyard, where the woods were. Of course, my yard isn't all forest. We ventured into the woods, and after about thirty seconds, we saw the charred and blackened remains. I clenched my fist over my sapphire pendant. If the fire had been burning for just a few more minutes, my house would have looked the same as the woods did now.

"This is scary. There's nothing alive here anymore," Abby said, finally breaking the silence.

"Well, duh," Claire said. "There was just a huge fire that could have engulfed Christa's house!"

"Let's go inside and watch a movie or something. It's getting late," I suggested. Indeed, the sun was starting to set behind the clearing, making the destroyed forest look even eerier. We all shivered and ran inside.

After settling down in our sleeping bags with a bowl of popcorn, we turned on a movie.

"Christa? Claire? What would be the first thing you would do if your neighborhood was engulfed in flames?" Abby asked.

"Well, I would stop, drop, and roll, then run screaming like a maniac," I joked. We all laughed. "But then, I would make sure all my friends were okay."

"Hmmm...me too," Claire decided. "But, I would probably scream like a maniac before stop, drop, and rolling," She giggled. Abby snickered and I rolled my eyes, while stifling a laugh. Then I sighed and we fell silent, reliving the events of our day.