Thwack!
I grinned as I heard the sound of the ball flying off my bat. I sprinted past the bowler to the other end of the pitch just as my ball landed in the high grass. My teammates cheered as they ran towards me. It was unbelievably hot, yet all of us still had the energy to get an ice-cream. We all said goodnight, calling to one another that we would be seeing one another tomorrow. However, it wasn't for another fun afternoon of cricket; tomorrow being the second day of September, it was the first day of school. I turned to walk home, as smiled at the person beside me. Living in the same neighborhood, Michael Clark and I always walked home together, and had been best friends since before I could remember.
"Great hits tonight," he complimented me and he brushed his sandy hair out of his eyes.
"Well thanks, you aren't too shabby yourself," I replied.
We walked a while without saying anything, but Michael broke the silence.
"I don't want to go back to school," he sighed.
I said, "Neither do I... First off, you'll need a haircut. And I want to swim more and play more cricket, eat ice-cream, and-"
"It's not that," he cut me off, " I just don't want to do anymore current event reports."
The smiled faded from my face. We had been at war for almost exactly a year, though, it didn't seem like it. There was rationing, yes. That is why we saved up for one treat before the school year. The only true difference you could see were the air raid sirens, war posters hung around London, and the lack of men. So many men were gone; brothers, fathers, uncles, husbands, sons, cousins; including both of your dads. All off fighting a war because a man from Germany was building an empire. Life seemed almost usual at home, with my two brothers always arguing. I knew Michael was right; the current events did become dull after a week. Not just dull, but down right depressing.
I said goodnight to Michael as I opened the gate to our house's yard. I heard my mother humming a tune. She turned, looked at me, and sighed.
"I suppose I will have to wash that skirt again," she said disapprovingly.
"I'm sorry... I did have a good game though!" I beamed.
"Well in my opinion, you shouldn't be playing cricket. You should be acting more like a young lady, after all, you are sixteen."
I spoke dramatically, "Oh! I shall never play a game of cricket again!"
"I'm sure you won't keep that promise," she replied as she bent over to pick more tomatoes.
"No, most likely not," I said, as I gave her a hug and ran inside to wash up for supper.
