One Last Stop | Teen Ink

One Last Stop

May 22, 2021
By mariahaugustine BRONZE, Sioux City, Iowa
mariahaugustine BRONZE, Sioux City, Iowa
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

The night’s air was sticky and hot. It had usually gotten like this around the time of August in North Carolina. I look at the clock and it reads midnight. I think back to when my parents said to be home by 10:30 pm. I smirk, as I look over the cities buildings lights turning off one by one. I can hear the car’s loud engine running, as it used to be my grandfather’s. Comfort to my ears, my eyelids begin to fall. Abruptly, gasping for air, I wake up and look at the clock, 2:30 am, “I’m screwed,” I say softly to myself. I reach for my gear shift just as I hear a knock on my window. I look over, startled, and scared just to realize it was my best friend, Tori.
“What are you doing here?” I ask her.
She replies, “No, what are you doing here? It’s nearly 3 am.”
“I fell asleep and lost track of time,” I say embarrassed.
“You are so lucky I covered for you when your mom called me to ask you where you were,” Tori says, “I knew I would find you here, we used to come out here all the time as little kids.”
“I know” It seems like that was just yesterday. “Can you believe that we’re seniors next week already?” Her face that never seems to stop smiling drops into a solemn look.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask.
She answers “Nothing, nothing at all, I just can’t believe it that’s all.” Tori has been my best friend since the first grade. We have done everything together, and I couldn’t imagine my senior year without her, let alone my life. “Hey, what are you doing right now?”
 “What do you mean? I’m talking to you,” she answered with a confused tone.
“No, I mean do you have anywhere to be?”
 “Let me check my schedule for 3 am, obviously I have nowhere to be are you crazy?” she replied.
“Okay, dumb question, I know, but we are not ending our last week of summer without one last stop to Mr. J’s.” Tori and I have been going to Mr. J’s diner for as long as we could have remembered. It was the place where we grew up, we experienced the best and the worst times there, but it was ours. She quickly jumped into my car and we set off into the city. I knew we were getting close because I could see the red flashing lights right before the exit to get off that read “Mr. J’s Diner”. We walk in and sit at our normal booth in the far back right corner of the diner. We talked about our memories that we had and what our future would look like. Oddly whenever we started to talk about her future, she turned it back to mine. Before we knew it, the time was approaching 7 am. I had to get home and so did she.
I drop her off at her house but before she left, she said to me, “I’ll miss you, just know that I’ll always be around, just never forget about me, okay?”
I reply with “I’ll miss you, too,” with a slight giggle thinking she was just being silly, and I would see her next week. I arrive home and walk through the door; before I knew it my mom was charging at me. Thinking she was going to slap me for being out so late, I flinch. Instead, she hugs me so tightly that I could barely breathe. She asked me where I had been all night, I look at her confused and reply, “With Tori, she said that she told you I was with her.”
Her eyes gloss over with tears, she says, “Honey, Tori was in a car accident last night. I’m sorry, but she didn’t make it.”  


The author's comments:

Mariah

Sioux City, IA 

May 21, 2021

Dear Fiction Editor, 

I am submitting my fiction piece entitled "One Last Stop" which has 649 words for consideration in Teen Ink

I am currently a junior at Bishop Heelan High School, and submitting this through my creative writing class. 

Please recycle my manuscript if it does not fit your editorial needs. I hope to hear from you soon. 

Sincerely, 

Mariah Augustine


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This article has 3 comments.


on May. 28 2021 at 1:06 pm
SparrowSun ELITE, X, Vermont
200 articles 23 photos 1053 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It Will Be Good." (complicated semi-spiritual emotional story.)<br /> <br /> "Upon his bench the pieces lay<br /> As if an artwork on display<br /> Of gears and hands<br /> And wire-thin bands<br /> That glisten in dim candle play." -Janice T., Clockwork[love that poem, dont know why, im not steampunk]

did you realize it goes thru? its not a letter to the editor, its a note that will get shown to the veiwer.

on May. 28 2021 at 1:06 pm
SparrowSun ELITE, X, Vermont
200 articles 23 photos 1053 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It Will Be Good." (complicated semi-spiritual emotional story.)<br /> <br /> "Upon his bench the pieces lay<br /> As if an artwork on display<br /> Of gears and hands<br /> And wire-thin bands<br /> That glisten in dim candle play." -Janice T., Clockwork[love that poem, dont know why, im not steampunk]

um your side note has a lot of personal info.

on May. 28 2021 at 2:37 am
JustMe_Vaanya SILVER, Dehradun, Other
7 articles 9 photos 91 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Una Vida, I have come to accept that I cant experience everything in life. But what I will, I'll experience deeply..."<br /> -Shivya Nath

It's absolutely amazing!! I loved it! Hope I get some writing skills like you...