A Short Story on Acceptance Written by Me!

I enjoy trying new genres and new styles of writing. For a school project I wrote this short story on acceptance and embracing everyone's differences. Never be afraid to write! Hope you enjoy! Leave your thoughts in the comments!

★★9:57 AM★★

As Talia walked out of her family, the Williams’ summertime cabin, in Park Rapids, Minnesota, she glanced up from her phone as a blue jay jeered loudly. Cheep-cheeeeeep. She looked around her, into the sunny deep green forest to seek out the royal blue wings of the creature. The bird then fell quiet, as if it didn’t want to be found. Talia continued on, strolling in the lush grass until she reached the waterfront. There, her twin sister, Leilani, lay in the Adirondack chair, reading a book in her swimsuit. Talia focused in on Bolt, the family’s Sheltie, splashing in the lake. Talia sat down in the chair next to her sister and continued playing Block Blast until she got a text from her mom. It read “We are home! Where are you?”. She replied “By the lake with Leilani and Bolt.” She relayed the message to Leilani and continued with her game. A minute later, their mom, her long straight brown hair in a fishtail braid, walked over. She planted a kiss on both of their heads and greeted them. “Good morning! Did you sleep well?” They both nodded. Christina had left early before they woke up for her 2-hour pilates class. Her dad was still in Minneapolis, finishing up his last landscaping job there before he came up to Park Rapids and landscaped here for the summer, the same they have been doing since the twins were born and they bought the cabin. He will be here on Monday. 

★★1:35 PM★★

After eating lunch at The Sunset Diner, the Williams’ favorite Park Rapids restaurant, Leilani, Talia and Christina drove down to Main Street to look for some summertime clothes and bathing suits. Leilani purchased a pair of ripped jean shorts, a couple of half-off oversized t-shirts and a white bathing suit. Talia decided on a couple of shorts, a dark gray hoodie for the chilly sunset and a turquoise swimsuit. Their mom just got a broad-brimmed sun hat. Then they went and got some flip-flops at the local shoe store, light pink for Leilani and lime green for Talia. After their shopping spree, they got in the car and drove towards the house.  As they pulled into the gravel driveway, they were surprised to see another car in the driveway. It was a black pickup truck with the words Sun and Sand Landscaping stencilled in bold letters. Their dad was here, early! The girls hopped out of the car and ran to the front door. In the kitchen, they found their dad, tall and sunburnt, with his sunglasses hanging on the collar of his shirt. They paused at the door threshold, though, because he was talking to someone. They recognized who he was, of course, they did. He was their dad’s best friend from college, Jason Moreno. They both paused their conversation and Paul, their dad, walked over and hugged them both. “I brought visitors!” he announced proudly. Talia was the first to talk. “ Visitors? Jason and who else?” He went on to explain that Jason had called him last week and they had arranged that it was about time for Jason and his family to come up and stay for the summer. So Jason and his daughter had driven up with him this morning, arriving just after the girls had left. Jacob mentioned that his daughter, Beatrice, is the same age as the twins, fifteen. He said that she was unpacking and exploring the yard. “Ok, we will do the same!” they agreed, running up the oak steps. They had both unpacked enough to find the basic things they needed for last night when they arrived, but needed to fully set up. They walked down the hall and stopped at the first door to the right, their usual shared bedroom for the summer. That one had been theirs because it was the biggest, with a tall ceiling and big windows that let in the brilliant sun. But, instead of their tattered colorful duffle bags they had placed there last night, there were two black ones and a small metallic suitcase. They looked at each other, confused. Just then, Jason ran up the steps, panting. “I forgot to tell you! Beatrice is using your guys' room this summer because she needs the biggest one. We helped by moving all of your bags to the other unoccupied bedroom, down the hall. I know it is smaller, but you will have to sleep there. I’m sorry!” He did look sorry, his forehead creased with concern. Talia, the more accepting one, just smiled and said that they would manage just fine. They walked to the other room, painted orange and yellow and got to work.

★★4:27 PM★★

Beatrice had still not appeared yet. The girls didn't know where she could be. The property wasn’t that big, so big that you would be gone for hours at a time. But to be fair, the girls had not moved from their spot on the two bean bag chairs in 20 minutes. “ Do you want to go find her?” Talia asked. Leilani checked her watch, it read 4:49. “Maybe in a bit.” she replied, content with reading her book, The Summer I Turned Pretty, even though she had read it at least four times. She loved all books, but especially ones that were set in the summertime. But…. a couple of minutes turned into a couple of hours as both girls fell asleep from the long day and early morning. 

★★8:09 PM★★

They both groggily woke up around the same time. They got up and headed downstairs. Christina, Paul and Jason were playing cards in the living room. The smell of tacos wafted over from the kitchen. The parents went on to say that the girls had just missed Beatrice, as she had gone outside to look for animals. Beatrice had come in and played board games and helped Christina make dinner while the dads watched the football game, earlier. “We have to meet her!” Leilani exclaimed excitedly. The adults shared awkward glances that Talia and Leilani picked up on. “There is one thing…” Jason started, “Beatrice is very-”. Ring-ring. It was Christina’s phone. “I have to pick this up, sorry girls. Go try to find her!” she said and hurried off. They did just that. They went out the back door, walked across the patio and out into the sunset.

★★8:20 PM★★

A shrill scream pierced through the night. Leilani jumped, surprised. She recognized the sound, it sounded like her but it couldn't be! She ran over to her sister, her heart pumping. What could it be? She arrived, panting to see her sister staring into the trees with wide eyes and a ghostly white face, a rare sight because of her naturally tan skin. “It was tall…like ten feet tall…in front of me…then it ran away!” she sputtered out. “Well….let's think. What could it be?” Leilani said, always the logical one, even in times of distress. Leilani, the older (by 8 minutes) didn’t want to admit that even she was shaking from fear.  They stared into the emerald trees and looked up at the velvet sky speckled with faint stars. They waited in silence for a couple of minutes, waiting. They started to lose focus, staring into the darkness, focusing in on a pine tree, the needles swaying in the light breeze. Suddenly, there was rustling. The girls jumped, clutching each other's arms. Their hearts pounded. The creature emerged. Talia was right, Leilani thought. It was about ten feet tall, maybe a bit more. The creature resembles a teenage girl. A lot like one. She had skin the color of cinnamon. Her eyes were a dark chocolate brown. Talia looked closer, the girl’s nose and face shape were the same as Jason’s, her dad’s friend. Just as Leilani opened her mouth to ask, the girl spoke.  “Hi, I’m Beatrice, Jason’s daughter. I really didn’t meet to scare you. That tends to happen a lot…Sorry!” The two girls' hearts were still pumping but had slowly calmed back to normal speed. Beatrice smiled warmly. She was quite friendly, actually, Talia thought grudgingly, even if she almost gave me a heart attack.

★★8:53 PM★★

After the girls talked a little more, they all headed inside. The twins learned that Beatrice was homeschooled but played house-league soccer and she loved working for her dad’s landscaping business. She bonded with Leilani because they both play soccer. The girls explained the exciting story to their parents and ate the delicious tacos Christina had made. Then, full of Mexican food, sleepily said goodnight and went upstairs to go to bed early.  They dozed off to the sound of crickets and cicadas with the humid air blowing through the open hallway window.

★★9:01 AM, the next day★★

The girls woke up to the sun streaming through the windows and chickadees chirping. It’s nature’s alarm clock, Beatrice thought happily. She rolled out of bed, got dressed and went downstairs. The smell of pancakes, syrup and fresh fruit drifted over from the kitchen. She joined the parents and Talia sitting at the island. Bolt was begging for sausage, his face resting on Paul’s knee. Beatrice loaded her plate with a stack of pancakes with butter, a couple of sausage links, strawberries and pineapple. She pulled up the squishy leather chair from the living room, for she would break the little metal stools in the kitchen. Then, after breakfast, the girls swam, played soccer in the large field behind the cabin and then later, headed inside to play Mario Kart because they were getting sunburnt and hungry. Simply put, the girls have all become great friends and talk about everything and anything. It was like they had all known each other since kindergarten!

★★2:56 PM★★

However, there were some difficulties for Beatrice. She was ten-foot-two-inches and living in a cabin with her dad and her new friends. It was always hard for her to make friends. She had gone to her local public school up to grade three. Then, she was five-and-a-half feet tall while her classmates were about four-foot-four inches. She wasn’t bullied, actually, just left out of everything. But, she was happy now, especially now that she had two great friends she had met not even twenty-four hours ago. She was grateful that the Williams were so accepting of her. Of course, it wasn’t easy. She had to crouch down low when she passed under the doorways. Her hair brushed the ceiling in some of the rooms.  She had trouble finding clothes that fit her. In Minneapolis, her dad had to pay a lot of money for a seamstress to make most of her clothes. She was very grateful for her dad. He did a lot for her.  She is learning how to sew, though and can make some simple clothes, such as tote bags and once a pretty white skirt. 

She had always wondered why she was so tall. When she was little, she just thought it was because her dad was pretty tall. He was six-foot-four. But when she grew taller than him when she was nine, she knew it was not that. A couple of years ago, she had gone on a deep dive, researching on her computer for hours a day, trying to figure it out. She had thought it was maybe a rare growth problem where too much of one hormone is produced but she was taken to a couple of doctors and they all disagreed. She was perfectly healthy. It must just be a weird, almost magical experience. 

★★3:06 PM★★

“Hey, Beatrice. I was wondering if you would like to go back to school next year. You would be in grade 10. You could go to Brookside High School, the same one the twins go to. How would you feel about that?” said Jason. It was quite a shock to Beatrice. She had never really thought about it. She wanted to, she thought, because then she could make friends and everything. She told him that she would have to think about it and they would talk about it with Leilani and Talia. Her dad said that that was a good idea but he would need to send in the forms by July 31st because school started September 2nd. So then Beatrice went to find her new friends and tell them the news. They were excited for her and told her that they would be her tour guide if she decided to go. They really wanted her to go. The only reason Beatrice was hesitant was because she was worried she would get bullied. The girls assured her that her classmates might be a little confused and exclude her at first but then they would be kind. Leilani and Talia promised they would stick up for her. Beatrice said that she would definitely think about it and tell them her decision in a couple of days.

★★11:02 PM★★

Beatrice didn’t want anyone to know but she was really debating what she should do. Should she continue being homeschooled? It was pretty boring and she couldn't do any fun activities that you would normally do in school, like art or gym. But, being homeschooled means you don’t get bullied or left out. And she could still hang out with the twins. Or should she go to Brookside High and meet new people and enjoy high school for the first time? There she would be able to have fun with Leilani and Talia all the time and play on the school soccer team. She chose her decision and then fell into a deep sleep, exhausted

★★8:58 AM★★

Talia walked downstairs and announced her decision to her family and the Williams. She was met with smiles from the parents and hugs from the girls. Bolt, sensing the excitement, barked happily.  “We will take you back-to-school shopping!” Leilani said the one that loved shopping. The family laughed. Beatrice grabbed a plate and grabbed some bacon, a waffle and a scoop of scrambled eggs. Later that day, they hung out more, and went swimming with Bolt and the twins filled Beatrice in with information on their friends and peers. After dinner, the girls stayed up late, watching a movie and eating popcorn. Their laughter echoed through the house. I have the best friends! Beatrice thought. She was very grateful that her first loyal friends were so accepting of her.