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THE SUMMER HEAT HAD TAKEN A BREAK FOR THE DAY AND THE TOWN OF COAL CREEK HAD BEEN MET BY A GREAT RAIN THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO CARRY OUT THE MAJORITY OF THE WEEK. Dawn was reading a copy of Harper Lee's new book How to Kill a Mockingbird. She was told by a friend that they were coming out with a motion picture soon that would star the handsome Gregory Peck. Dawn saw him a couple of years ago alongside Audrey Hepburn with her mother and fell in love with his soft eyes that seemed so comforting.
She remembered after the movie her and her mother went to the ice cream parlor next door to the cinema and gushed over the romance between the two characters. It seemed like so long ago and made her want everything to go back to normal.
The thought of the memory made her want to just be with her mother in these trying times but her grandmother thought it would be best she stayed with her just until school started in September. Dawn was counting down the days until she got to go back. She was going to start high school and in four years she would go to some university. Then see where her life goes after that.
Then a flash of lightning gleamed through the windows lighting up the whole room followed by an immensely loud clap of thunder making the girl jump in the soft accent chair gripping her book tighter. The sound of rain fell harder making begin to worry about her grandmother that was currently at her weekly quilting club with one of the women at church.
Dawn looked down at her leather watch that read 3:30 and she sighed. the lights started to flicker and the lamp next to her went out. She placed the index card into the book reaching her hand over checking the light clicking the nobbut it didn't turn on.
She let out a sigh before heading to the kitchen looking next to the stove checking the matchbox. Empty.
She quickly rushed to the restroom to check the cabinet above the sink. Knowing her grandma she likes lighting candles to keep her bathroom smelling like roses. It was also empty.
She cursed under her breath knowing if she walked to the store now she would be shunned by her grandmother, but she didn't want to be sitting in the dark during the storm. For all Dawn knew it could last through the rest of the evening.
She walked into her bedroom grabbing her leather bookbag stuffing in her wallet, a towel, and her red and white sneakers to change into once she got into the store. Slipping her raincoat on and finding a pair of her grandmother's irrigation boots tucking her jeans into them.
The walk was long and cold and she regretted every fleeting minute of it. The thunder that clapped and the flashes only made the pit of her stomach grow with worry for her well being out in the storm. She started sprinting in the boots that were a size too big with her feet soaked from the inside. She thanked herself for not wearing socks and instead of tucking them into the edge of her sneakers knowing her bag would keep them dry. She did, however, wished she chose to wear a skirt instead of jeans because she knew the denim would be dried slower than any other material.
