1.1: Reading Exercise - The Twilight Schoolyard Warrior
- Page ID
- 275110
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Image by Mike Pennington CC BY SA 2.0
The Twilight Schoolyard Warrior
By James Thibeault
After a whole thirty seconds had gone by, Vinh texted his mom again.
~WHERE ARE YOU?
Dusk was no longer enjoyable. The sky’s soft orange glow shifted to a dark purple. There had been a few students walking around the backend of the school, but now they all had left. The headlights from the cars were beginning to look more pronounced—sharp beams stinging Vinh’s eyes as the cars drove by. Within a few minutes, his only source of light would be the traffic and his phone, which only had 5% on its battery. The middle school was completely shut down, with all its lights turned off, as not even the janitor was sticking around for Thanksgiving break. There was supposed to be a lamp that stayed on all night outside, but some of the high schoolers shattered it and the town couldn’t afford to replace the expensive light. Vinh wasn’t exactly afraid of the dark, which would be pretty stupid. He was nervous of bored high schooler, afraid some of them might sneak afterhours—doing things that they probably …
Someone touched him. Vinh jumped back. He poised himself to look like a skilled fighter. However, his fists were way too high in the air, and his knees were shaking. Fortunately, he didn’t have to defend himself, because there was no one. He felt his thigh vibrate, the source of the startle. He plunged his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Two texts:
~Sorry, running late. Need to be careful driving at this time. Lot of scary drivers.
~Be there in 15 mins. Stay there, I don’t want you stolen.
15 minutes! It would be dark as a black belt by that point. Vinh looked around—hoping to find any sort of light other than relying on his phone. There was a restaurant 10 minutes away, but then he would have to text his mom to say that he was going there instead. However, by the time he walked over to the restaurant, his phone would be dead. Then, what if something happened to him? Maybe a car runs him over? A stray dog bites his leg? Some high schoolers jump him? How would he tell his mom that he was horribly hurt with no phone service? No, the only solution was to say right …
A noise. He reached for his phone and pulled it out. Nothing. No texts. It was so dark now, even the light from the phone was blinding him. He stared at the background screen of his phone—a bear with a headband karate-chopping a table. Great, he completely forgot it was bear season! Now, he could add being mauled to death to possible things that could happen to him in 15 minutes. He glanced at his battery life: 2%. Vinh crammed the phone back into his pocket—hoping it would last just a bit longer. The noise. The one he heard a moment ago. It wasn’t his phone. It was out there. The noise was coming to kill him.
Vinh pressed against the cold concrete slab of his school. The noise, mixed with the bending of tree branches, was around the corner. Be brave, he thought, be a fighter. He breathed in deep, harnessing his energy, and exhaled—channeling strength through his twiggy arms. Vinh shimmied along the wall as though he was dangling over a high-story building. When he reached the corner, he took a deep breath and exhaled. His warrior eye peeked around corner and saw flash of something move. Vinh screamed and retreated back to the safety of the wall, hugging his knees. On the ground, he peeked around the wall again only seeing a squirrel looking for a few more nuts before nightfall. Vinh looked up to the soon-to-be-seen stars and sighed with relief. Then, embarrassment flowed through him as easily as air. He was a coward—afraid of a squirrel! Annoyed, he jumped from out of the corner and chased after it. Vinh stomped around as elegantly as Godzilla. The squirrel flew into the trees. At least something was afraid of him.
At this point, he was far away from his waiting spot. With the moon and the stars beginning to shine, he could only faintly see around. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to use his phone for light. He reached into his pocket and pressed the side of his phone. Nothing happened. He pressed the button again, and a little charging button commandeered the center of the screen. Now, he was in trouble. With no communication from the world, he was all alone. No, he thought, it was time to man up. It was time to fight.
Another noise. Vinh turned to it, but this time his chest was puffed out. Intently, he focused on the source of the noise. It was too loud to be another squirrel. No, it was steps. A person. Should he call out? Of course not, he thought, why don’t I just tell the murderer how I want to be killed. He creeped towards the sound—careful of his own footsteps. It was coming from his previous spot, around the corner. Then, he saw a light. Vinh pressed against the concrete. This had to be a murderer. They didn’t call out because they wanted to sneak up on their prey. At this point, he couldn’t run away. It was too dark to see where he was going. Vinh had no choice but to fight, he had to be a warrior. Kill or be killed. There was no turning back.
Vinh, sucking in a deep and powerful breath, exhaled with ferocity. He leaped around the corner, arms wide, and screamed, “I am a warrior!”
The attempted murderer dropped their phone and ran away to the safety of their car. After his eyes adjusted, Vinh noticed that the vehicle looked similar to his mom’s. “Oh no,” he whispered.
“Mom, it’s me!” Vinh said as he approached the car. Vinh’s mother was failing to open the driver’s side—pulling at it at least five times.
Pulling one more time for good luck, which resulted in it actually opening, Vinh’s mom stared in disbelief at her son, the so-called warrior.
“Why did you scare me like that! I thought you were kidnapped. I texted you at least ten times when I pulled in.”
“My phone died, and … I chased a squirrel.”
“Oh, I’m glad you had fun,” she said sarcastically. “I was afraid of running you over in this darkness, so I decided to walk. Big mistake. I’m going to be terrified of the dark for weeks. Get in.”
Vinh took a deep breath before stepping into the car. Although he had conquered the night, he would soon have to face a new fear—his mother’s wrath.