I’m not exactly sure how many days it was gone before I
realized it; all I know is that one day, my mom told me to go to my room and
read (I have to read at least thirty minutes a day for school), and when I
looked for my book in the last place I remembered having it, it wasn’t there.
My mom is always moving my stuff around, so when she said
she cleaned the house that day, I figured she put it somewhere. I asked her where it was.
She said she didn’t know, and I guess she couldn’t help
herself by trying to teach me a lesson: “It’s not my book; if you would have put it away like you’re supposed to, you’d
have it. You need to keep track of your
stuff.”
So annoying.
I looked in my room, and it wasn’t there. I started to get scared. Overdue books are five cents a day after the
due date; if I couldn’t find it, this was going to get expensive, and I was in
trouble.
Middle school isn’t that
hard work-wise, but it sure is a lot of stuff to keep organized. I never really had to keep track of so much
school stuff before; how do they expect us to remember everything? Adults are so confusing; one day, they treat
you like a kid; the next, you’re expected to be perfect at everything and if
you’re not, you’re in trouble. It’s a
lot of pressure.
I hated it, but I started to cry. I didn’t know what was going to happen. Would I get detention at school for losing my
library book? Will I be able to check
out books again? I’m on the Reading
Olympics team, and mom already told me that we’re not buying all the books we
have to read. I have to read at least
ten books. What if I’m not allowed to
get them from the library?
I told mom again that I couldn’t find it, and she fired off
a list of places that I could look. She
told me to stop crying, that it “doesn’t do any good.” Well, I know it doesn’t, but I couldn’t help
it. I started yelling because I was mad
at her for making me feel worse, but mostly I was mad at myself for losing the
stupid book in the first place.
That was the wrong thing to do, because before I knew it I
was really crying and my nose was running and I was yelling and whipping pillows
around and slamming doors. It’s not my
fault; someone probably stole it, it got thrown in the garbage, it fell out of
my backpack on the bus, it got kicked down the hall. My mom doesn’t go for excuses and she started
to raise her voice and I knew I was in for it.
I don’t even remember what was said, but after a while we calmed down and
I asked her to help me look. She did,
and even gave me some ideas on other places to look for my book while I was at
school. I was still worried, but not as
much as before.
I thanked her and apologized for my blow-up. I asked her if she had ever lost her library
book when she was a kid. She said she hadn’t,
but that she had lost plenty of things and that it happens to all of us. She told me that if I couldn’t find it, that
I’d have to pay for its replacement with my own money, but we’d worry about
that only if we did everything we could to find it.
I still haven’t found my library book, but just thinking
about all those other places I might find it makes me feel better. I hope I find it tomorrow.
It's gotta be here somewhere. It's just GOTTA. |
*******
This post is inspired by:
Writing prompt #2: What was the last thing your child threw a temper tantrum over? Write a blog post from his/her point of view.
Oh gosh this reminds me that my youngest hasn't been able to check out a book at the school library because of a lost book. That makes me feel like a terrible mom. All mine fall into the category of "hard to keep things organized." Just like old mum. Glad your child was able to share it with you.
ReplyDeleteOh, he was able to share it all right. I feel a little bit bad about making him use his own money, but sometimes you have to make sure they feel the pain of a mistake the first time around. Hopefully a couple of bucks will do the trick.
DeleteAwww. I hope the book is found. Middle school is rough on the emotions.
ReplyDeleteThanks! And you have no idea. I had no idea.
DeleteLibrary books really should come with LoJacks!
ReplyDeletePlease tell me when this happens. It has to be right around the corner.
DeleteI never lost a library book but I did lose a dress of mine that I really liked and can't find anywhere.
ReplyDeleteClothing gone missing is the worst. I put it in the same category as finding a pair of jeans you love, and then finding out that they don't make that style anymore.
DeleteTrue story - I found a lost and very overdue library book at work one day and noticed that it was from my local library. I thought I'd do the person who checked it out and return it for them. So I brought it home, but forgot to stop at the library. Oops. That was like five years ago. Found it again recently, buried under a pile of stuff to donate/return/sell. Still trying to get that thing back there...such guilt!
ReplyDeleteOh well. At this point the person probably already paid to replace it. I'd probably just add it to my personal library or give it to the Salvation Army or something.
Delete