Waffles on a

Rainy Day
Maddison Rex
For Luke Perkins, who gave me his billion dollar signature
that I erased and gave me a title of a book all in one 40
minute class period. (:

You don’t deserve it –

Pickles, or is it
Pancakes?
Chapter One:
You know, life is wild and crazy, and that’s okay. Things change, and
we learn to accept it. We all learn through our mistakes, and the mistakes of
others. I’ve learned that things will happen as they please, there’s no rhyme
or reason. You can’t change them. There’s a saying, that right now is a gift,
that’s why we call it the present. Wouldn’t life be great if we all could accept
that? If everyone could just live life day by day, and not have to worry about
tomorrow or yesterday. Of course, not everyone can.
It’s Tuesday. A very rainy Tuesday morning. Ever notice how every
this is dull on rainy days? Like life’s almost in black and white? I straighten
the last piece of my hair, just as my mom calls me down stairs to eat
breakfast. I walk down the stairs to the smell of freshly cooked waffles. I eat
half of one and grab my book bag. I head out the door, just as the bus pulls
up to my house. Funny how everything is timed perfectly, huh?
I climb the bust steps and go to the very last seat.
“Hi, Delilah,” Brendon says as I sit down. Brendon is my best friend.
We met on the first day of school on the bus. He was sitting in the seat that
the bus driver told me to sit in, the very first seat on the right side. He gave
me a piece of his strawberry pop-tart. We’ve been best friends ever since.
Brendon hands me a piece of his pop tart, and one ear bud. I eat some
of his pop-tart and stick the ear bud in my ear. His iPod is currently playing
‘That Green Gentlemen’ by Panic! At the Disco. We don’t talk, this is our
morning routine.
We get to school and I put some of my books back in my locker. I
grab my Literacy II book. I’m a sophomore, and fifteen years old. Brendon
is my only really close friend, and we don’t quite fit in. We’re not weird or
anything, just not nerds, and jocks, or preps. We’re not emo, or gothic, we’re
just kind of…in between. I take off my coat and hang it, dripping of the rain,
into my locker. I go to my first class, and the next few classes fly by, with
me in a daze.
I go to lunch, and sit at our usual table. Brendon’s already there, and
he asks as I sit down, “How come food fights only happen in movies?”
“Uhm, maybe because you’d get suspended?” I ask sarcastically.
“Well, yeah, but still I figured someone would have still tried it by
now.”
“I don’t know, are we still going to the library tonight to study?” I
asked.
 “Yeah, I have no clue what book to do my report on.” The rest of our
lunch is mainly small talk, and the rest of the day flies by.
After school, I ride the bus home with Brendon and luckily, the rain
had cleared up. We walk to the library, which really isn’t that far away. We
find most of the books we need, but we still can’t find books to do our
reports on.
“Hm…A children’s classic book to do a report on, that we read as a
child,” I say.
“Ah! I got it! You do The Secret Garden, and I’ll do Alice in
Wonderland,” Brendon says. We find his book, and go to find mine. I pick it
up, and it’s kind of old looking, to say the least. I brush off a layer of dust,
and open the front cover. A piece of paper slips out. I pick it up. It’s on a
yellowed piece of paper, with writing that’s a slanted, messy scrawl.
Dear Whomever,
If you have found this, than it’s your lucky day. If you can solve
this riddle, and a few others, then you will gain access to the secret garden.
The secret garden has brought me a great deal of wealth, and I hope it brings
you some, too. Now for the riddle:
I am a tall structure shaped like a capital ‘A’
I am awe inspiring, and made Gustave Eiffel say
That I deserve to be treated with consideration.
I’ll give you a hint; I am not in this nation.
I am nicknamed the ‘Iron Lady,’
WHO AM I?
Best Regards,
A. Non Ymous

Chapter two
“The Eiffel Tower,” I say.
“How do you know?” Brendon asks.
“Not in this nation, tall, ‘A’, Gustave EIFFEL,” I say.
“Oh.”
“The thing is, we’ll never be able to go there,” I say.
 “Madame Kay said that we’re going to Paris in a month, class trip.
She was going to say something tomorrow,” Brendon says. Madame Kay is
our French teacher, and Brendon’s Parisian cousin.
“So, are you in?” he asks.
“Of course, what I have I backed down from an adventure?” I asked.
“Never.” He smiles.
-----

A month later, I’m sitting on a plane, on my way to Paris. The first

day and a half we’re allowed to do whatever. Brendon and I have already
made plans to visit the Eiffel tower.
The plane lands, we check into our hotel, and we’re on our way to the
Eiffel tower. We get there and search forever. There isn’t so much as a note