G3+Group+6

=Breaking Memories= ** By Caroline Woronoff, Bailey Plymyer, and Jared Sarnoff ** My eyes opened slowly, I saw a blurry scene. Sirens rang in my ears. Suddenly, a man’s voice broke the slur of sounds. “Mallory." It was a police officer. Officer Brookes was on his nametag. “Do you  remember what happened?” he said.

“No, I just remember going to the store with my parents. Where are they?” I whispered.

“I hate to inform you, but your parents were sent to the hospital; we were too late.”

Earlier that afternoon, we had been driving down the highway and we were discussing our upcoming trip to Paris. We wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower at night, where my dad had proposed to my mom. We had the trip finalized and there were just two days until we left. That’s when our plans changed, and why I am now sitting in a deserted, cold, bleak hospital lobby in Rhode Island. The quiet tones of beeping machines were in the background. My mother is already gone; my father is hanging to life by a thread. It’s pretty obvious he’s not going to make it, and I am wondering about my unfamiliar future. My head was spinning, my heart was racing, and my legs were jittering.

“Excuse me, Miss Rodgers?” quietly whispered a voice. I looked up to see a nurse in a white dress.

I knew what was coming. All I wanted to do was cry. But I didn’t, because I was a 14 year old adult in charge of my own life. There is no one to remind me to bring extra money to the movie theatre for popcorn or to bother me to clean my room.

“Yes?” I replied.

“I hate to be the one to tell you, but...your father just passed away.” She was looking at the floor, without eye contact. That made it even harder not to burst out in tears.

“Where do I go now?” I asked.

The nurse said to me, “Your uncle is flying in from California and he’ll be here shortly.”

Locked in a place where my parents’ bodies lay, lifeless. What am I supposed to do now? The sun set and I fell asleep. I awoke again in the early hours of the morning. The chairs were uncomfortable and the vinyl squeaked when I moved around, but I had to spend my last few hours with my parents without complaint. Who was my uncle anyway? I never met him, and all I know about him is that he is my mom’s brother.

The automatic door slid open and a man with curly brown hair and a light blue button-up shirt sauntered into the waiting room. He started approaching me like he already knew me. My stomach flipped. Was this my uncle, my guardian, the person responsible for my life?

"Mallory, this was for your mother. I want you to have it," he said. How did he know it was me? In his hand he held a small blue package tied with a white ribbon. He held out his hand and the package for me to take it, a slow tear rippled down his face. I removed the ribbon and wrapping paper and a silver bracelet with glistening white pearls on the ends rested in my hands.

“It was for your mother; I was going to give it to her for the upcoming anniversary.” I stared from him to the bracelet, back and forth, in shock. He was breathing deeply, trying not to collapse. “I want you to have it, so you can remember her a little better.”

I sat speechless; he must have known her well; it reminded me of her so much. The shining silver matched her deep blue eyes. Those kind and sincere eyes that always knew when something was wrong.

“Th- thanks,” I stuttered, a little shocked. "But how did you know it was me?"

"I may have seen a few pictures over the years, but you look just like your mother" he said. I smiled a little, but then the memory of her made me sad. We silently left the hospital, knowing that our relatives were gone, remembering the past. We made a quick stop at my previous home, and headed for the airport.

“Gate A22, flight 2100 to Los Angeles,” said the voice over the loud speaker.

“That’s us,” my uncle told me.

“Umm, I was just wondering, what should I call you?” I questioned.

“Charlie, Uncle Charlie, whatever you like.” We boarded the plane and found our seats. The flight was long, and I was bored.

“Okay. Charlie, what does your house look like?” I whispered to Charlie; he was reading and I didn’t want to disturb him. He set his book down and engaged our conversation.

“Well, it is white brick with lots of vines, and there is a wooden fence surrounding the property. I live in a small town called Montebello located about eight miles outside of Los Angeles and there is a lot more heat than in Rhode Island.”

"It sounds beautiful."

"Yes, the temperature is always great, even in the wintertime right now. There are palm trees, many of them in some areas. Even though there are a lot of buildings and trains and other industrial things, it is definitely a beautiful area, and you will like it.

“Do you have any pets?”

“A blonde dog with curly hair. Her name is,” he paused, “Grace.” I froze. Grace, my mom’s name. I knew they were close, but I don’t know if I can live with so many reminders of who I now live without. Charlie could tell I was upset. My head was down, my tears were streaming, and I was holding my silver bracelet tightly in my grasp.

I glanced down at my bracelet and spoke softly, “Grace.”

“Do you miss her?”

“More than you could ever know,” I replied. I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest. I slowly drifted to sleep. When I awoke, we had landed in California.

I finally got to the front of the plane. I stepped down the stairs, feeling the cool, but pleasant, breeze against my face. I glanced around to see what it was like: there were many buildings and factories. I could hear the sounds of trains honking, and other planes flying in. All the passengers got into a bus, which was going to transport us to the main part of the airport, with the gates. We collected our luggage and went to his car in the parking deck. I got into the passenger side while Charlie got into the drvier's seat. He started up the car and we drove away. We passed by many factories in this highly urban developed area. When we pulled up to the house, I noticed it was exactly like I had imagined. The charming and inviting white house that had the look and feel of a cottage, only a little bit larger, gleamed in the sun. The bright and fertile green grass filled the yard. I reluctantly crossed the threshold of my new home, where I would spend the next years of my life.

Two months passed, and Charlie finally forced me into going to school. It was my first day attending Montebello High School, and I was not exactly sure what to expect. I was a little self-conscious, coming into the school year as a freshman in February, and I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me because of the loss of my parents. Charlie dropped me off, but I wouldn’t let him walk me in. I pushed open the big metal doors and was suddenly surrounded by a sea of high school students. I went about the day feeling very isolated. A few girls talked with me but it seemed like they were only doing it out of pity for the new girl. I discovered myself rubbing my bracelet every time I was lonely, so that I had a memory left to hold on to. When Charlie picked me up at the end of the day I didn’t really want to talk, but I couldn’t escape his questions.

“Did you meet any friends?” he questioned.

“A few,” I lied.

“Really? What are their names?” he asked.

“Well… ummm…” He cut me off.

“Did you really think I would buy that act? You’re no better at lying than your mom,” he said. I started rubbing my bracelet rapidly. The thought of her name brought tears to the rims of my eyes.

“Mallory,” Charlie began. “I know you miss her; I do too. But it has been two months since that unfortunate day. You have try to accept the fact that they are gone without forgetting them. You can't go on living your life wishing they were here,” Charlie said.

“What!” I shouted. The car pulled up in front of the house, Charlie looked concerned.“Accept the fact that they are gone! Keep going on with my life without ever registering the fact that my parents are gone!” I cried. I ran up the stairs, pounding my feet on each step, dashed into my room, and slammed the door. I was so angry I grabbed my backpack off my back and threw it across the room. SNAAAP. I looked at the mess I just created and saw one thing, a silver bracelet split in two and hooked onto my backpack.

“No!,” I whimpered through my crying. I crawled across the floor and unhooked my bracelet. That’s when reality hit me. Charlie was right. I can’t let my emotions control my life. It is possible to let go of my parents and remember all the fun times we had together as well.

“You okay?” Charlie’s voice interrupted my tears.

“Yeah, I did break my bracelet, though.” I looked down at the damaged bracelet. It was laying there, limp and shapeless. From that moment on, I knew I was changed. I broke my last material memory of my parents. I would no longer be able to always have it with me

“Mallory, I’m so sorry. I know you loved that bracelet.”

“I will have to live without it. I still have my memories, and I will never forget my parents. One of my favorite memories with our family was when we watched __Remember the Titans__. We had a great time, but what was so interesting about it was how we discussed the camera angles and the choice of wording in the script. It’s not something the average family does, but we had a lot of fun doing it.”

“Looks like you might have a future ahead of you,” said Charlie.

“Maybe I do,” I trailed off and started picturing my parents and it eventually became pleasant dreams.