Blog #5 - Fluffy

There were only 6 other boys besides Caris at Boy Scouts. After the storm, a lot of the parents had gotten worried about being away from their kids for any time longer than the school day. Caris thought they would actually be safer down here in the church basement. The sanctuary had been completely destroyed, pews and bibles were strewn everywhere but the basement had been completely untouched and actually looked cleaner than normal. They had planned to start their whittling badge but there weren’t enough people to do anything meaningful. Instead, they had eaten the snacks one of the moms had donated and talked about their days and experiences in the storm. Mark had waited under a mattress in his bathtub, Andrew lost his cat Fluffy and was still looking for him, Max had been out of town visiting his cousins and had missed the whole thing. Mr. Malone ended the meeting 30 minutes early because they each had already had thirds of the goldfish and apples and they had exhausted their conversation about the storm.

Caris didn’t have to be home for another hour so he decided to stop by the library to find a book about whittling to try it on his own at home. As he walked he noticed that even though it had only been three days since the storm, the town looked as if it had never happened. The sun smiled as if the same sky it sat in hadn’t just released rain and hail that had destroyed the town.

When Caris reached the library he went to the circulation desk to ask for direction but he couldn’t see over the top. His hand didn’t even reach the top to get the librarian’s attention. Finally, he located the book return slot and poked his face through there. The librarian chuckled at his attempt and his smushed face and pointed him towards the how-to books on the second floor. When he got there, there was already a large group gathered. He wondered what they were trying to learn. As he navigated the maze of legs around him, he heard broken bits of what sounded like a self-help speech. Ms. Christie would love this he thought.

“I didn’t understand the importance of the opportunities I had. I took them for granted and let the fame get to my head. I thought that my popularity and status could be used to cover up my immature actions. I didn’t realize that I should’ve used it to help others. I have since realized this which is why I am here now. I want to help you all realize that you have many opportunities around you, and maybe some you haven’t discovered yet. there are many important opportunities around you that shouldn’t be taken for granted.”

Caris didn’t know who was talking or where he was but he decided to take the speech as a sign that he’d made the right decision to forget his past goal of trying to find out about Mr. Evan’s murder. He’d have to take advantage of all the new people and opportunities around him to start new.