The Craziest Day of My Life Delaynna Mortvedt

The Craziest Day of My Life

I was walking home from school when Veronica, my best friend and I stumbled upon my “new” neighbor’s house. It used to be a happy-go-lucky house, pink with white brick, a picket-fenced yard, and a 2-car garage. It was the American dream. But our new neighbors completely darkened the house. It was painted black with dark grey brick, an electric fence, and added a new crickety porch. Veronica and I looked at each other, puzzled.

“Who are your new neighbors?” Veronica asked.

I replied with an unsure, “I don’t know… ”

We decided to ask our parents if we could visit our new neighbors. Surprisingly they both said, “Yes, you may…” So, after our homework, Veronica and I went up the crickety porch. “Creek, creek…” the porch sounded. It smelled of fall leaves, even though it was spring. We rang the doorbell, and to our horror, the “new” couple looked like the villains out of a horror movie. They invited us inside and they had dark wallpaper, a lit, raging, fireplace, and an extremely crooked floor. Veronica and I looked each other dead in the eye, still puzzled, but she looked more worried than anything. Dolls were everywhere, scattered all over the place, and soon a small figure emerged from a doorway. It was just a little girl, but our minds quickly turned to the worst. Her hair was as dark as midnight, it seemed like it ran in the family.

But then she said in an eerie voice, “Follow me…” Veronica ran out the door, at the speed of light. I was running right behind her, but the door slammed right when Veronica ran out. I felt a weird feeling like I was betrayed, backstabbed,

and so many other emotions. Immediately, once Veronica ran out, a massive thunderstorm hit. Tears started rolling down my eyes like a waterfall. I was sick to my stomach. The nauseous feeling was so strong I felt like I was going to pass out. Right behind the house, there was a dock, one that I have never seen before. There was a river right next to it, stretching as far as I could see. Tidal waves started forming quickly, so quick it seemed fake. It started to overflow. I wanted to jump out onto our roof, but I guess you “can’t” swim in rising water. I heard Veronica’s laughter, and I started to feel sick again. She was probably laughing because I was clueless, but what do I know?

“What if she was scheming this? What if she’d have let me die?”

The what-ifs were taking over my head like I was having a panic-attack.

I couldn’t control it at all so I started hyperventilating. The flash flood was getting higher and higher. Of course I went upstairs so I wouldn’t get devoured by the flood.

Every frosted window was locked, but that’s something I would expect from these types of people. I opened the drooping, sad curtains and while the water was rising something clicked. I had a ladder at the back of my house.

“So if I jumped, I could get to our rooftop!” I thought to myself quietly.

I opened the curtains and they creaked, a lot. I jumped out of the window, but then another thing clicked. It was April Fools Day! How did I know? While I was exploring the house,

I found similar decorations that weren’t colored black. But, at the time I didn’t think much of it. Just then, ANOTHER thought clicked in my head. Was Veronica in on this? I asked her a few hours after it happened, and she said “Yes!” jokingly. I wondered who the neighbors were. They turned out to be the real neighbors! But yes, the flood was fake too. When I jumped out of the window, I fell on solid ground and it was nighttime! I couldn’t believe EVERYONE was in on it. Even my parents knew! That’s probably why they said yes, otherwise they would’ve said no. I felt extremely clueless now. I didn’t know how I’d recover from Veronica “betraying” me, but I know I will soon. The river was projected from a projector on their ceiling. Everything made sense now. I am super happy that the crazy prank wasn’t real.

Delaynna Mortvedt, Grade 5 Roseau Elementary School, Roseau Teaching Artist, Stephen Peters