Writing for my grad class - assignment 1

So, I thought since the first writing assignment for my graduate class was to write personally from a prompt, I'd put it here on the blog. That way, at least my (dwindling) followers would have SOMETHING to read this week.

We had a choice of about 15 prompts. None of them really resonated with me, but there was one like this: A time you knew you were in trouble.

So, I chose that one, and wrote about the one time I remember being seriously in trouble (at least enough that I was grounded from after-school activities for an entire semester). I think I've blocked out the major details, but it's still an interesting anecdote. We had to write EXACTLY 350 words. No more, no less. It was a great exercise in editing and word economy.

If nothing else, I'm sure mom will get a good laugh out of it.

•••
Friday night was the cast party for our winter musical. I chose to ride with one of my friends, and a senior friend, to the after party. I don’t even know whose house we went to or where we were. Once there, all I could think about was leaving. I was bored, and I was scared. At 14, I hadn’t been to a house party like that before, and I did not want to be around people who were smoking and drinking. I knew my parents would kill me.

The problem was I had no way home. I didn’t know where we were, but I knew it was somewhere near the Plaza or downtown. How was I going to get to Shawnee? Nobody else was ready to leave the party yet. I should have just called home, but I thought my parents would kill me for making the stupid decision to go to the party in the first place.

Looking back, I’m sure they would have been slightly perturbed at the prospect of picking me up after midnight, but that would have made them much happier than wondering where the hell I was at 5 o’clock on a Saturday morning.

Sitting at the party, I thought I’d be fine if I could just get home early enough that they would still be in bed. Mom never waited up for me, and Dad wouldn’t head for the golf course until 8 or so. Pretty solid plan, except for the fact that I forgot to turn off my alarm clock the day before.

Sleeping soundly, both parents were blissfully unaware their daughter was six hours past curfew, until my own alarm went off and woke them up.

•••