A Night Outside

As I took my last bite of spaghetti and meatballs, I noticed the lights flicker. Off, then on again. “Mom, what was that?” I questioned. “It was probably nothing, sweetheart.” She replied, seemingly unfazed by the flicker. The lights flickered again. This wasn’t nothing. I was about to put my bowl in the dishwasher to clean it, when the lights flickered completely off. I waited for them to turn back on, but they didn’t. Suddenly, I heard a yell from upstairs. It was my older sister, Riley. “Moooooooooom! What happened to the WiFi?! I was about to win the last level, and I didn’t even save my progress! Now I have to start all over again. Some of those battles were super hard!” I knew what she was talking about. It was the new video game our mom got for her, “Dragon Battle”.

I have short black hair, glasses, blue eyes (Which I got from my mom) and usually wear a shirt with superheroes on it. Riley has red hair (usually in a braid) no glasses, brown eyes, (which she got from our dad) and usually wears a t-shirt that says “I won ____ gaming competition.” Oh, and one more thing. I had no idea why she thought that game was fun. You just fight dragons. “Is this Sam’s fault?” I heard her ask. “Your younger brother has nothing to do with this. It’s just a power outage.” My dad called from downstairs. He was working on a new app for his company. He’d been working on it for the past month, and yet he’s still designing it on paper. “Mom, what‘s a power outage?” I asked. “It’s when the power goes out like this, hence the name ‘power outage’. I thought you would’ve learned this in school by now, you’re already 8!” “I don’t like it...” “me either, sweetie.” ”It’s so dark. I can hardly see a thing! I’m so scared...” “I understand, Sam.”

It was pitch black. I was afraid I was going to bump into something, like a chair, or the wall, or even my mom. I was afraid to move.

My dad came up from downstairs with a flashlight. He was carrying 3 more in his other hand. He gave one to both of us, and called for Riley to come downstairs. “COOOOMMIIIIIING!” she yelled. I heard her stomping downstairs. My dad gave a flashlight to her as well. We flicked on our flashlights. “Why does Sam get one? He’s just a kid!” said Riley. ”Well, you’re just a teenager!” I retorted. This was true. She was 13. “Stop arguing,” Said my mom. “Everyone gets one.” “This is no fun!” I complained. “I can’t read, I can‘t write, and I can’t even play video games!” “Well, I have an idea that might make our night a little more fun.” Said my dad. “We can camp out outside!” My sister cheered. She was VERY excited. “But... but... it’s cold outside! It’s dark outside! How will we even camp out?!” I exclaimed. My father went downstairs, and brought back up a tent from Riley and his last fishing trip. The tent was plain beige, but was soft to the touch. It had paw prints patterns on it, and I wasn’t sure whether they were actual paw prints or it was just the pattern on the tent. Every year they go on an annual fishing trip, and this year they decided to camp out there. He went back downstairs several times and brought up spare blankets, books, and sleeping bags. We brought these supplies outside, along with firewood and a matchbox. We were allowed to have campfires in our area. I brought out some s’mores supplies, and we set up. By the time we were done, it was 7:30 pm. Usually around the time I have dessert. “Can we make s’mores now?” I asked hopefully. My dad chuckled. “Sure!” I speared my marshmallow. when it was golden-brown, I took it off the stick and put it in my unfinished s’more. I ate it. “Mmmph,” I said. “this is delicious!” Thought it really sounded like ”Dish ish delishus!” Once I‘d eaten 3 s’mores, I grabbed a book and flashlight and snuggled into my sleeping bag to read. I was soon completely immersed in the book. It had pirates and adventures and mermaids and romance! I only wished I could be like the main character, Captain Sparrow. She was so brave, and adventurous, and fearless. I was just sensitive and scared. Eventually, the soothing sound of frogs chirping in the river nearby lulled me to sleep. I’m used to the frogs chirping, so it’s become a thing. Every night, the frogs chirp in the river outside. It’s even louder outside, but it’s more soothing too. In the morning, when I woke up, everyone else was gone. I peeked outside, and saw the lights on in the house. I walked inside, and smelled pancakes, eggs, and bacon cooking. “You’re awake!” Said my dad. He gave me a plate of breakfast, and I ate it. It tasted absolutely amazing. The pancakes were soft and chewy, with maple syrup and butter on top. They were perfectly cooked. The bacon was crispy and hot, but not burn-your-tongue hot or burnt. The eggs were fluffy and scrambled, and there was the perfect amount of salt and pepper in them. I was so glad the power was back on so my dad could cook this wonderful breakfast. Suddenly, Riley came downstairs. “I see you’ve borrowed my book, ‘6 tales of the seas’. How did you like it?” she said. “It was awesome!” I exclaimed. “There was all sorts of amazing things! My favourite character was Captain Sparrow.” and after that, we spent hours talking about the book. Turned out it was a series! There was 12 books, and my sister owned them all! I’d have to do some serious reading to finish them all. My sister promised not to spoil them for me. Who knew a power-outage could bring siblings together?