Winter Street

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Liam Tai-Hogan                                        Tuesday, 19 June 2001

     

GCSE Coursework-Original Writing

Title- Winter Street

Theme given- Write a short story, 750 + words, on the theme: Things are not what they seem.

It was around twelve ‘o’ clock on the second Sunday after the move and they were at it again. It seemed to go on constantly, day and night, and always the same. John and Heather were the new couple that had moved next door to Mrs. Pennyfather and they never stopped arguing. It would start with something small Heather had told her, John it seemed had a very bad temper and the slightest thing could set him off. Then their would be screaming and shouting and eventually Heather would run out, crying loudly, with her hands over her face, into the Garden, and sit their shaking and sobbing on the old, pale blue swinging seat at the bottom of the Garden.

   Oh, how Mrs. Pennyfather longed for the days when the Krobobles had lived next door, in the big white house, with it’s ivory covered front and double pale blue garage. But when their children had grown up and moved away the house had become to big for the Kroboble couple and they had moved closer to the city to be with their children. But things had changed since the Kroboble kids could be seen playing around happily in their beautiful garden. The McKenzie’s had also moved away a year earlier, Mr. McKenzie and his family had moved because of his new job, he had been assigned as a ‘volunteer doctor’ to South America, were he felt his skills were more needed.

   Monday morning was the same as ever in July in Winter Street, just south of Southern California, the sun shone with it’s usual brilliance and the sound of the sprinklers from the Garden Centre across the street mingled with the sounds of the old, petrol lawnmower down the road. Mrs. Pennyfather glanced across at the drive next door, only to find that John and Heathers cars had already left, John drove an old, brown Cadillac 4litre, which roared as he sped out of the drive. Heather’s car was altogether different and quite unusual in America anywhere. It was an old European car called a Beetle, lime green with a small yellow flower painted on it’s curved, bonnet. Mrs. Pennyfather always thought the cars represented their owners well. Heather always seemed to be the small, frail type, but fun underneath when she wasn’t being oppressed by her sulking, grumpy husband.

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A day passed with nothing unusual happening in Winter Street, that evening however only John’s car had returned to the drive, Heather’s car however was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps something had happened Mrs. Pennyfather thought, maybe one of their arguments had gone to far and he had done something to her. Oh, poor Heather, she could be… No, don’t be silly she thought to herself, there was obviously a reasonable explanation for Heather not returning, maybe she was late from work or… she could be anywhere, there are plenty of reasonable explanations why she wouldn’t come home straight from ...

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