The Unwanted Gift

The Unwanted Gift

Chelsea is a beautiful young junior high school student who loves meeting new people. Everyone who meets her loves her; Never having met a stranger, her parents worry that harm would come to her one day. Chelsea likes to hang out with her two best friends, Karen and Mia, whom she has known since they were babies.

It is Monday morning, and it is the last week of school before summer vacation. Chelsea is finishing up her breakfast before heading to school.

"Mom, may I have Karen and Mia over for a three-day sleepover, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday?"

"Yes, you may if their parents say yes."

At that very moment, as Chelsea's mom was answering her question, her dad walked in.

"Yes to what, dear!"

"Chelsea wants to invite Karen and Mia over this weekend for a three-day sleepover."

"Oh, okay, you know I have to go to California to close on that merger I have been working on for months, right?"

"No, I had forgotten! Well, the girls will be okay for one night," said mom.

"What do you mean, Mom? I thought Dad was going to be gone for at least a week? Are you going to leave me alone for a whole week?"

"No! I will be back Sunday afternoon. Your grandmother has asked me to help her in her garden, and you know what that means!"

"Fresh vegetables and fruit!" said Chelsea.

"Yes! I will leave on Saturday morning and be back before you girls go to bed on Sunday night."

"Now, all I have to do is ask Karen and Mia, then get their parents' parent permission. It sounds easy enough, but I am sure Mia's parents will make it complicated, as always," said Chelsea.

Chelsea walked away, mumbling to herself as if she were plotting something complicated. As she walked to school, she was thinking and conspiring a way to ask Karen and Mia's parents if they could stay Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. She was so heavy in her thoughts that she did not notice a garbage sack sitting alongside the street as it was garbage pick-up day for the entire neighborhood. Suddenly someone grabs her arm. It was Mia.

"You need to watch where you are going; you almost tripped over the garbage bag," said Mia.

"Hello, Mia! Thank you for not allowing me to trip!"

The girls talk as they are walking towards the school.

"Mia, do you want to come to my house for a three-night sleepover?"

"I would love to; my parents are going on a trip this weekend. That is great timing!"

"Yeah! There is just one thing," said Chelsea.

"What is that?"

"My mother is going to my grandmother's house this Saturday and will not be back until Sunday afternoon."

"Well, what if we don't mention that!"

"Perfect idea! Now I have to ask Karen if she thinks she can come over!"

"Her mother always says yes. Karen's sisters are such a handful that Karen gets to do almost anything she wants to do."

"I hope your right!"

The girls walk to Karen's house and talk to Karen about the sleepover. She said yes and then ran inside to ask her mother and father. She ran back out of the house to Chelsea.

"Hey! My parents said yes!"

"What? No playing around, no chores to do, nothing?"

"My parents are going out of town this weekend and needed to find somewhere for me to go. So I guess you solved their dilemma!"

"I need to tell you something. My mother is going to my grandmother's house from Saturday until Sunday afternoon. Will that make a difference?"

"It might, but I am not saying anything to them."

The three girls walk to school excited about their weekend and wonder about all the possibilities of their home-alone event.

"One thing we cannot do is tell anyone else we are going to be at home alone," said Chelsea.

"You are taking the fun out of it!" said Mia.

"If you tell someone, they might invite everyone from school over to my house, and I cannot have that! My parents will never trust me again if you do! So both of you promise right now that you will not tell anyone else!" Reluctantly they both agreed not to tell anyone about the sleepover and that they will be there overnight, just the three of them.

The three girls do not have but one science class; they sit together in the back of the room talking about their weekend and plan what they will do with all of their time.

"You three in the back!" said Mr. Peterson. At first, the girls did not hear him. Mr. Peterson clears his throat and shouts!

"What are you three doing?" Mia was the first one to notice.

"I apologize, sir; we were just planning out our weekend."

"Since the weekend is four days away, I suggest you pay attention to the lecture because there is a test on Friday, and it worth fifty percent of your grades! We have been learning about volcanoes; Can you tell me ten interesting facts about them?"

"There are three different types of volcanoes; volcanoes erupt because of escaping magma," said Chelsea.

"Volcanoes can be active, dormant, or extinct," said Mia.

"Volcanoes multiply quickly," said Karen.

"That is very good, but the three of you are not going to be sharing answers, so I recommend you turn around and face the front to listen to the lecture," said Mr. Peterson. The class continues, and the three girls decide to wait until after school to discuss this further. They pay attention to class and participate in all of their classes throughout the day. After school, they get together and share a list of things to do while over at Chelsea's house.

"That is a great idea we have come up with; let us make up some lists and compare them to see what we have come up with," said Chelsea.

"What if we only see each other on Friday and try not to speak until then. It might make the lists easier to create, " said Mia.

"A surprise? Sounds like fun!" said Karen.

The three girls did not walk together to school as usual, and they did not even speak in science class. They were determined not to say a word to each other until Friday after school.

Friday finally arrived, and the girls came together. They circled at least one item on each person's list and then cleared it with Chelsea's mother. Watching movies on Friday night, swimming in the pool on Saturday, then more pool fun Sunday. They reserved Monday for spur of moment decision. They walked home from school and decided to meet at Chelsea's house.

Later that evening, Chelsea's mother had dinner on the table just when Karen and Mia had arrived. I showed the two of them where they could put their belongings and then back down to the dinner table where my parents were waiting for them. Dinner was out of the way, and Dad announced he was leaving on Saturday to make the business meeting; then, mom said she was leaving on Saturday but would be back on Sunday.

We ate dinner because we were famished and went into the den to start our videos. We had such a great time watching videos and talking that we did not realize we stayed up all night.

"Geez, I guess we had better get some sleep before going swimming," said Mia.

"You two go on. I want to see mom and dad off," said Chelsea.

Just then, mom and dad came down with their suitcases.

"Well, I am off Chelsea, be careful and make sure the doors are all locked, and the alarm is set...all weekend!" said Dad.

"Chelsea, I am only a phone call away if you need anything. Remember it will only take thirty minutes for me to get back if you need me," said Mom.

"I think we will be okay for twelve hours!" Chelsea said sarcastically.

"I love you, Chelsea," said Mom.

"I love you too!

"Bye, Dad, I love you!" said Chelsea.

"Bye, Pumpkin; I will see you in a week!

I waited till my parents had driven out of the driveway and started down the road. I then went in, locked the door set the alarm, and went upstairs to get some sleep.

When we finally got up, I was groggy, but I managed to get up.

"A suspicious-looking package covered in brown paper is on your front porch," said Mia.

"I do not remember my dad saying he was getting a package," said Chelsea.

I get up and put my robe on, then looked out the window. Not being able to see the front porch from my bedroom, I went downstairs to the front door. Our door has a window in it, but it is thick and stained. I opened up the door to look at the package.

"There is no name on the package. Who would have left it here?"

So I pick up the package and take it into the kitchen.

"Wait, what is that noise?" said Karen.

"What noise?" said Mia.

"The box is ticking!" said Chelsea.

"What do we do? What do we DO!" yelled Mia.

"We call the police!" I told them.

"Maybe we beat it with a baseball bat?" said Karen.

"If you do, it might go off!" said Chelsea.

"My dad is a cop! He said to drown a bomb in the water !" said Mia.

I picked up the package, run to the swimming pool and BOOM!

"CHELSEA!" both Mia and Karen shouted at the top of their lungs.

Both Karen and Mia are standing there speechless, mouths hanging open and arms stretched as if they were going to catch something. Chelsea slowly walked back into the kitchen, where she left Mia and Karen. Chelsea's clothes were tattered and covered with soot. She had soot in her hair, all over her face, and when she opened up her mouth to talk, it looked like smoke came out! She spoke with a wheezy sound to her voice.

"Mia, your dad was right!"

Chelsea starts to cough, and her friends took her arms, one person on each side to help her to the couch. They sat her down as they were shocked at seeing their friend that way, but they were relieved she was still alive. It took no time for the police to arrive, and yes, Mia's dad was one of them. All three of them looked at the police walking through the door, and when they turned to look at each other, they screamed real loud and passed out!

~The End~