On a particular beautiful day, I woke up around six o’clock and put on a shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, and black coat, and then I made my way to the bathroom. I finished getting ready in a dash. “Bus is here!” Megan shouted as we both sprinted to the driveway to get picked up from the bus. Soon enough the big yellow contraption pulled up. I stepped into the bus, sat down in the lumpy green seat, and started the drive to school. The whole day seemed to be filled with normal events until that afternoon.

“Hurry up, so we can go outside,” McKenna explained while Leah, Michaela, Megan and I ate our lunch quickly, so we could go outside to play on the blue and gold merry-go-round that everyone fascinated about. After eating I picked my tray up and put it in the wastebasket, gathered all my friends, and moved outside. Recess in the third grade was the best half hour of our lives. Outside, there are plenty of activities. There’s basketball, two merry-go-rounds, a swing set; there was even a big area of grass. I went directly out to the playground and ran to the merry-go-round like lightning. I looked at both and pondered which one should I get on.  The merry-go-round was going as fast as a windmill; therefore, it was loaded with people. Because of these reasons, my friends and I decided to go to the jungle gym that was located in the back of the playground where not many people went because of the condition of the equipment. We all huddled around the bars when I heard a voice behind me. “Hey, Morgan and Megan!” I heard my sister’s and my name being called, so I turned around as the recess advisor approached me. “I’ve been told to have you and Megan head over to the grass where your family will meet you.” I politely followed the advisor to the grass area where most of the family was gathered. I looked around and asked what was happening. As a third grader, I thought they where just visiting. I looked at the faces of my family members; they all looked sad, disappointed, and looked as if they had finished crying. My mom lowered to my level and looked my in the eyes and told me something I never thought I would hear. “On the way to work, Stacie got into a car wreck.” She dropped her head and looked back at me and explained she had passed away. She passed away. I stepped back and looked around to see if everything she just pronounced was correct. I looked at my aunt and saw the sorrow in her eyes and realized my cousin, the person I saw every holiday, was gone. We sat in the grass in silence. I grabbed my mother’s hand as the news kicked in. My mom looks at the two of us and uttered, “You have two options,” my mother explained. “You can either stay here or come with the family back to Sonja’s house.” I vocalized that I would stay at school and hugged the rest of my family members and slowly started to walk away.

Having fifteen or so people gathered around me brought attention to my friends who were waiting for me to get back. While slowly walking back to my friends on the merry go round, my mind went blank as I was still in shock. My friends hugged me and asked why I seemed so unhappy. I explained what happened, and when their faces dropped, so did mine. At that moment I realized that I was in no condition to be at school, so I preceded to the door and met my family to take me out of school. I sat in the chair waiting to be signed out while hugging my mom. After being signed out, I stepped outside. Flashes of memories of my cousin Stacie ran through my mind as a tear ran down my cheek, and my face became red. Till this day she still crosses my mind the whole month of October, even eight years later.