School Papers

It was a warm spring morning, around Mid-April. The dew was still wet on the grass, and the birds were awake, eagerly chirping. Everything seemed calm as the sun silently rose, but not everyone was so eager to the environment of awareness. Carly Ryan squinted as her dad opened the shades. She quickly tossed the covers over her head and rolled over.

"Carly, sweetie, wake up. You need to start your history project." Her dad whispered to her.

"Dad, I don't even know where to begin." She muttered.

"Well, getting out of bed will be a good start and get dressed; your grandfather is coming over."

As Carly slowly crawled out of bed and ran a brush through her wavy brown hair, and tossed it into a ponytail. She then scrambled to put clothes on her petite frame. She actually got ready with some haste because as much as she hated history, she loved her grandfather. Carly's grandfather, grandpa Tommy, was quite active for a ninety-five year old. He strut without a cane, chewed with all of his teeth, and had eyes that sparkled the brightest blue. Just like Carly's. He walked through the door and was ready to greet his favorite granddaughter with a hug and a kiss.

"How's my little princess doing?' He said with a chuckle.

"She could be better." She mumbled.

"Why is that?"

"I have this stupid senior history project due tomorrow. I have to interview someone who has experienced an important event in history and write a paper on it. And of course, just about everyone is doing either when John F. Kennedy was shot or September eleventh, so I need something completely original."

Carly's grandfather seemed to fall into a deep concentration. His brow furrowed, he rubbed his knuckles, and softly cleared his throat.

"Shawn, come here for a moment." Carly's dad came over to her grandfather, and listened closely as his father spoke in a hush tone. Shawn gave a small nod and turned to look at his daughter.

"Honey, we have the perfect person for you to interview."

"Who?" She asked.

"Your great-grandmother, her name is Leah." said Shawn.

"I have a great-grandmother? How old is she? I mean, dad, your pushing fifty-seven."

"So, you keep reminding me." He laughed. "Believe it or not, she's a hundred and thirteen years old. She is one of the oldest around. She used to be the social butterfly, but I am afraid that old age is finally getting the best of her. She's living in a nursing home, just a few miles out of town."

"How come you've never told me about her?"

"Well, she used to be a social butterfly, but as she begun to get older, she became quieter, distant. She kept her thoughts to herself, and soon, she stopped speaking. We did not know what to do with her. We felt it was best to keep her safe, in a place where her privacy could be respected."

"But dad, if she doesn't speak, how am I supposed to get an interview?"

"Well sweetie, we're kind of taking a gamble on this. She has seen many things, we are hoping that maybe, she chooses you to share her experiences with. Your mom was not about to crack her and neither could your grandmother. Maybe we just need a true Ryan female to open her up."

Carly rubbed her hands up and down her face. She needed an interview, but at what cost. What would she have to do to get her great-grandmother, someone she had not even known about, to talk.

"Alright." She sighed. "Where is this Nursing home?"