Stories - Young Adult Fiction

YAF Table of Contents

 Reading Comprehension Index

War of the Words 1

That’s a pretty good title,” said Marsha.

“Thanks,” replied Fred. “But you know sometimes, I think my story should be called Away with Words.”

“I know what you mean,” she said. “Sometimes, I think studying for the SAT is for the birds.”

“It does get one down, doesn’t it?”

“It does. Let’s not dwell on it. Read me what you have so far.”

“Okay. Here goes nothing.”

As John and Jillian strolled along the damp sand, a zephyr from the sea cooled them slightly. Jillian was a bit unkempt from ah, don’t ask from what. At any rate, she had grass and stuff strewn all over her back.

“The brazen hussy,” Marsha interjected.. “Sorry. Continue.”

Fred smiled wishing that the story was about Fred and Marsha but he was not brazen enough to tell her so.

At the end of the beach, set high on a cliff was a majestic edifice, the home of a curmudgeonly reclusive, billionaire. Lights from the mansion gleamed in the warm night air.

“Have you ever been in that edifice atop the cliff?” John asked.

“Yes,” Jillian replied. “I used to tutor his kid. It’s a beautiful place.”

“I bet it is.”

“You should see the solarium. On cold winter mornings, we used to have our lessons in the solarium. It was awesome. The sun was streaming through the floor to ceiling windows and outside it was bitterly cold with more than a zephyr coming in from the sea.”

“I bet it was lovely,” John said.

“It wasn’t lovely all the time,” she said.

“One cold winter morning, Arnold and I were working on a literature assignment. I’ll never forget it. The wind was howling, but we couldn’t hear a thing from inside the solarium. It was kind of eerie. A ship going down the strait began to flounder. Right before our eyes it broke up. There was flotsam everywhere.”

“What about jetsam.”

“They didn’t have time to jettison anything. The ship sank like a stone.”

“You couldn’t really see it all that clearly, could you?”

“You bet we could. I forgot to tell you, there’s a huge honking telescope in the solarium.”

“That’s weird,” John said. “I mean the part about not being able to hear anything. I remember as the storm built up the noise turned into a raucous crescendo.”

“It was all over by the time that Arnold and I had finished our lesson.”

“Do you still tutor Arnold?”

“Nope. His Dad sent him away to boarding school. He should do well there. He doesn’t suffer from a paucity of brainpower. He’s just a mite lazy.”

“Did he have attitude?”

“Not in a pejorative sense. He was more ethereal than anything.”

“Delicate or spiritual?”

“Spiritual. He would write the most beautiful poems, but he simply wouldn’t apply himself.”

“That’s the end for now,” Fred said.

“That’s not a bad story for starters,” Marsha replied. “Do you think we’ve done enough for one day?”

“Sure,” Fred said. “Why don’t we go for a stroll along the beach?”

“Great idea,” Marsha agreed.

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