Meg starred out the window watching the snow fall and blow into drifts. She saw her dad shoveling a path to the barn. The Vermont mountaintops were white as if it were whipped cream on chocolate ice cream. Dark clouds raced across the blank gray sky. The snow swirled with the wind creating patterns of glistening snow. It had been snowing since last night and into the morning, and still at three o’clock in the afternoon.
Meg was bored. Her German shepherd, Jacob, was lying on her bed gnawing a rawhide bone. Her dad was out shoveling snow, and her mom was out of town for the week working on getting a book published. She had nothing to do, no one to talk to, and no one to play with. At times like this, she had to find something to read. So she rolled off her window seat and walked over the bookshelf that sat next to her bed. She ran her index finger over the bindings on the shelves. She had read almost every book on the shelf more than once. This time however, nothing sparked an interest. She flopped down on her bed next to Jacob and sighed.
“ Do you have any suggestions Jacob?” She asked the dog. Jacob looked at her and barked.
“Your absolutely right Jacob! I should just get up and find something to do. Anything would be better than sitting around starring out a window.” And with that, she got up and walked out of the room.
Once downstairs she went into the living room and skimmed the bookshelves there. The living room shelf consisted of mostly her mom’s cookbooks, and her dad’s favorite novels, which didn’t interest her in the least. Meg got up again and went into the kitchen, this time not in search for a book. She opened the fridge and took out a soda and cracked it open. She then looked at the clock. It was only 3:17. She could still make it to the library if she left now. Her only problem was, 15-year-old girls can’t drive.
Once she had downed her soda, she put on her coat and gloves and went outside in search of her dad. She trudged along in the snow with Jacob at her heels. The wind whipped her hair across her face and the snow stung as it hit her. Soon she reached the barn and pushed the heavy doors open. It was much warmer in the barn. Jacob shook himself off once he got inside. Meg was greeted with many nickers and the warm smell of horses. She spotted her dad, throwing hay down from the loft.
She climbed the ladder and walked over to her dad. He looked over his shoulder when he heard her coming.
“Hey dad.” Meg said as she sat down on a bale of hay.
“ Hey sweetie. What did you come trudging out here for?” Her dad asked.
His brown hair was full of hay, and he looked tired but his brown eyes were still bright. He smiled like he already knew what she was going to ask him.
“Well it looks like you might already know.” She smiled back at him. “I was wondering if you’d be willing to take me to the library. I need something new to read.”
“You know Meg, I’d think you would have already read ever single book in this county’s library system. Soon we’re going to have to move just so you have a new library to read.”
“Well,” Meg smiled “I’m almost there, still have a few left to read. You better pick a place with a big library with plenty of good books or I’ll be quite upset with you and I’d have to tell mother!” She laughed, and so did her dad.
“Sure Meg I can take you to the library as soon as I’m done here.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting down with the horses.”
Meg climbed down from the loft and went from stall to stall petting each horse’s nose, and bending down to rub the mini horse’s head. Finally she came to the last stall in the isle, which held a Clydesdale gelding around three years of age. The nameplate on the stall door bore the name, Clydes. Clydes was Meg’s own horse that she had raised from a colt, with some help from her dad of course. He was the nicest horse, gentle and sweet. Meg loved to ride him, but in the winter it was too cold but she still exercised him in the paddock now and again.
After spending some time with Clydes Meg’s dad came down from the loft and told her he was ready to hit the road. Her dad dropped her off at the library and then he went to the hardware store while she looked for some new books. Meg always loved the library. The peace and quiet, and the smell of books drew Meg in. She began searching for the perfect book, down shelves, finger tracing the bindings. Every now and again she’d stop and skim through a book, then she’d either place it back, or tuck it under her arm. After a while she had accumulated a fair amount of books and took them to a table while she waited for her dad to come pick her up.
As she sat and read she heard someone sit down in front of her. She glanced up from her book, and then jumped. Her best friend Nate was sitting in the chair across from her.
He had an armload of cookbooks and he placed them all on the table before her. Nate was 18, three years older than her. He was one of her only friends (she wasn’t popular at all).
He was tall and had curly black hair and brown eyes. He was one of the most popular guys at school, every other girl wanted to go out with him. He was probably the reason no one like Meggie, she got to hang out with a popular guy while she herself was a total geek. But she wasn’t dating Nate, they had known each other for a long time, and they were good friends. She loved hanging out with him.
“Gosh Nate! Don’t sneak up on me like that, you scared me!” Meg said. The librarian shushed her.
“Sorry Meggie, but I need your help.” Nate replied. He always called Meg, Meggie.
“ Okay what can I possibly help you with? Your ten times smarter than me!”
"Not when it comes to choosing cookbooks for a mom that’s about to throw an early Christmas party for the entire family. Which one do you recommend?”
Meg looked through the titles: It’s a Vegan Christmas, Meat the Holidays, and other such titles. She laughed, and then pointed out which books she would get out for his mom.
“So, what are you doing for Christmas break? Going anywhere, Meg?” Asked Nate.
“ I’m going on vacation to Australia with my dad and my brother Jack. Dad said I could bring one friend. The only problem is I don’t have any friends other than you.” Nate looked at her funny. “ Oh! I could bring you. Right, sorry about that. Do you want to come with us?”
Nate smiled “Anything to get out of the crazy family party and the ridiculous matching sweaters.”
“Awesome! I’ll tell dad as soon as he gets here to pick me up. Dad says we leave on Monday so be ready in two days!” Meg was excited now to have her best friend going with them on the Christmas trip.
Soon Meg’s dad came to pick her up and they were in the card going back home.
“So dad,” Meg began, “ I’ve found someone to go with us to Australia!”
“Really. Who have you found?” He asked
“Nate, he has nowhere to go for Christmas and he doesn’t want to do the same things he does every year.”
“Alright, did you tell him when we’re leaving?”
“Yeah I did, he said he’d be ready by then.”
Her dad was about to say something when his cell phone rang. Meg watched the snow out the car window and listened to the phone conversation.
“Hello? Yes this is Luke Elwes.” She could only hear her father’s end of the conversation. “Yes I can be there tomorrow. Okay I’ll see you then” He hung up.
“Who was that?” Meg asked.
“A friend of your brother’s.” He answered. “He called for Jack because he was in class and forgot to call me,” Here Meg giggled, her brother forgot everything. “I’m going to pick him up from his college tomorrow afternoon.”
“Alright!” Meg was excited; she couldn’t wait to see her brother.
Soon they were back home, the wind had picked up and her long brown hair blew across her face and in her mouth. Jacob greeted them at the door, jumping and barking. Meg threw off her coat and headed upstairs to her room. She lay down on her bed and began reading a book by Frank Peretti; Jacob ran in and jumped onto the bed with his bone in his mouth. She patted his head and continued reading. She read on for quite a few hours, and soon it was 7:30. She got up and stretched, as did Jacob, then she went downstairs.
Downstairs her dad had dinner on the table. Meg sat down in her usual chair next to her dad. Her dad came and sat down and said the prayer, and then they started eating. Her dad had made hotdogs and baked beans, with French-fries. Her dad was no culinary genius (unlike her mom who was a cooking expert), but he kept her alive and his cooking didn’t taste terrible.
“So dad,” Meggie asked, “Could I come with you tomorrow to pick up Jack?”
“Well I don’t see why you can’t. We have to leave around ten o’clock tomorrow morning, okay?”
“I’ll be ready by then dad!”
After dinner Meggie went up to bed with Jacob. Her suitcase was packed and she was ready a day early. Still she was excited for the trip even though they didn’t leave until Monday she was prepared in everyway. She picked up one of the books she got from the library, a book by Jules Verne, her favorite science fiction author. She read until the words on the pages blurred. Finally she put down the book and went to sleep with Jacob beside her.
Note: If there are any mistakes im sorry. i wrote this in word and it was weird when i copy pasted into this thingy. so sorry again. also I wrote this over a long period of time. SORRY IF IT STINKS!! YAY! PEACE OUT! untill next time
