She sat on her cheetah print bed with her black laptop in her knees attempting to catch up on some homework. Her phone dinged with a text from her best friend that read, “I’m coming down your driveway. Let’s go do something.” She slipped on her black, worn-out Vans, grabbed her North Face jacket, and walked outside into the cold, crisp, January air. Her friend Jordan pulled up in her 1994 Honda Civic that rattled and squeaked and the paint was chipped and peeling. The door creaked when it opened, and she quickly got inside.
“We won’t be gone long. I just need you to run to Wal-Mart with me. I need to get some makeup and some girl stuff,” said Jordan.
The car sputtered when Jordan backed up. She wasn’t sure how this thing was still running. Jordan turned on her ghetto rap music as they drove the long drive from Haskell to Benton. The car shook from the vibrations due to the music. They took exit 117 and turned into the Wal-Mart parking lot. That was when her cold eyes landed on the truck.
She said, “Jordan. What the hell is going on?”
Jordan didn’t say a word as she pulled up next to the gray 2010 Dodge truck. Jordan got out of her car and quickly did an exchange with the driver of the truck. Not a word was said when Jordan got back into the car. In fact, it was a long drive from Wal-Mart back to Haskell. The radio wasn’t even playing. Minutes later Jordan pulled up to her house to drop her off. She went to open the door when she was interrupted by Jordan.
“Wait. I know what you’re thinking,” said Jordan quietly.
She relaxed herself in the faded, cloth seat and closed her eyes. Her mind raced while trying to find the right response. She took a deep breath and her nostrils were filled with the smell of cigarettes. Her lungs began to burn. She opened her eyes and came to the realization that Jordan had lit a cigarette.
“No, you don’t know what I’m thinking. If you did then you would have known not to take me with you. I don’t want to be a part of your drug deal. If you get pulled over and I’m in the car then I’m going down with you. I have too much to lose and you know that. So no, you don’t know what I’m thinking.” The tone in her voice was sharp enough to cut diamonds.
Then, without hesitation and before Jordan could formulate a response, she opened the door, removed herself from the vehicle, and slammed the door shut so hard that the mirror rattled. That was the day that she walked away from Jordan, and she never looked back.
I just recently finished "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. I had no idea what this novel was going to be about going into it; all I knew was that our 10th grade English class study it. Right off the bat I noticed that our narrator was not your average Joe. The narrator is death. When I realized this I said to myself, "Oh this is going to be good." The novel is all about the Holocaust and it is shown from a German point of view. Leisel Meminger's mother gives her away to a foster German family. On the trip to this new family, Leisel's brother dies. So right from the start death is there. I'm not going to give you a synopsis of it, because I think you should read it for yourself. Just know that a German family hides a Jew in their basement for a while, and death is around every corner. That last line of the novel really got me though..."I am haunted by humans."
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