My Memoir: A Day To Remember

My Memoir: A Day to Remember
By Tristen Decker

We have always lived in the same town and in the same house. The hunter green and eggshell paint on our front porch was always peeling due to the occasional storms. The address placard fixed just above our door has had the end of the “2” broken off. In the backyard lay the remains of old stumps that use to be trees. As a child I was always too curious for my own good. One day, when I was 6 or 7, people were moving into a house only a few up from mine. I was so excited!  I raced to the glass door and smeared my face up against it in hopes of getting a better view.

“MOMMY!”  I yelled loudly.

“What Tris?” She asked from the kitchen.

“Can I go play with the new neighbors?” I asked.

“Not now, after dinner you can,” she said and went back to making dinner.

“AWWW!” I whined and bounded up the stairs.

I stormed into my room and slammed the door behind me before flopping down on my bed. A few seconds passed before a brilliant idea struck me. I was going to sneak out! Quickly I got up and turned on my purple TV then tip toed out of the room and closed the locked door behind me. I crept down the flight of stairs and prayed that the subtle creaking wouldn’t give me away. If my mom heard me then I’d never be able to pull this off! Once I finally reached the bottom, I opened the front door and weaseled through it.

Outside it was a clear summer day; the sun beating off the white sidewalk was nearly blinding. The smell of fresh cut grass and burning pavement filled the air. Later on in life I would recognize this as the intoxicating smell of summer. I jumped down the steps and onto my neighbor’s front lawn. I crossed the yard and made my way over to the moving van. As I got closer I noticed that there were three kids, two looked older and one younger. They all began to snicker.

“Hi! My name is Tris, would you like to play?” I asked.

“Sure.” Said the girl.

We all ran to the backyard and started drawing things on the sidewalk with chalk, I drew my name and a series of smiley faces.

“Hey,” said the older boy “I’ll give you a chocolate bar if you go up to the haunted house up there!” He pointed up the street to a noticeably older house.

“Okay!” I said enthusiastically, but they all started laughing.

I brushed it off and started towards the house. When I got there I squatted down and peered through the side basement window. The eerie feeling of being watched suddenly washed over me and caused me to turn my head. What graced my sight was a girl sitting on a porch swing.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Danielle, who are you?” she counter questioned.

“Tris, do you wanna play with me?” I asked and gave up on my other “friends”.

“Sure just let me ask.” She said. Danielle slid off the swing and went inside. After a few minutes her voice pierced the silence.

“MOM!” she screamed. I could only hear one side of the conversation. “CAN I PLAY WITH THIS GIRL I FOUND?”  She asked. A few more seconds passed before the girl came out on our porch.

“Okay, I can play with you.” She said with a smile.

Together we played in her backyard. We ate candy and filled her wooden red wagon with sticks, rocks and other various things. At about 7 my mom had come out to the backyard and yelled up the street for me to come home. I begrudgingly said goodbye to my new friend and went home.  
I woke up next day to the sounds of the other kids screaming at the top of their lungs. My mom helped me get dress and let me go play out in the backyard. I burst out of the house and over to the fence. I stood on the tips of my toes to see over it in hopes that I would see my friend. The door was open and I could see their kitchen through the screen door. I looked around hastily when caught the sight of cascading blond curls. She was sitting on the ground playing with something; her back was towards me.

“DANIELLE!” I yelled out happily.