by Dominic D.

Created on: August 25, 2009

Mike and Joe were sitting on Joe's front steps when I approached. It was shortly after dinner hour and this was our regular hangout. I would usually get there by six pm, and by seven, there would be about seven to ten of us always looking for something to do. Sometimes, we would just B_ _ _S_ _ _ all night(Fill in the blanks) until it was time to go home, other nights we would start walking until we found something to do. None of us was sixteen yet, so no one drove, or had a car. Walking was our mode of transport.

This one particular night, we decided to break into a garage on the next block over. As soon as it was dark, we quietly walked to the garage and after making sure no one could see or hear us, we got into the garage. This was more about curing our boredom than about stealing, but it did give us something to do. Once inside, it was dirty and smelled of used motor oil. There was no treasure to be found, but one of the guys found a large tube cutter. We knew what it was because one of our dad's was a pipe fitter and he used one in his trade. We decided to take it as we left this dingy garage.

We decided to keep walking and Joe, who held the tube cutter, used it like a baseball bat to swing at imaginary villians. As we laughed and joked we came upon a four way intersection, and there was a stop sign on all four streets. Mike suddenly got a brainstorm,

" Why don't we cut the sins off?"

To the rest of us, it was brilliant, so we took turns cutting the poles which held the stop signs until all four were down. We confiscated the red octagon shaped signs and took them back to the corner with us. We then stashed them in Joe's garage to be used for play at another time. The rest of the night , we just laughed and talked until it was time to go home.

The next day when I got home from school, I heard my mom's trembling voice talking on the telephone. I have never seen my mom this way and it sorta frightened me.

"Ma," I called, but with a wave of her hand she sushed me.

I dropped my books off in the bedroom, and went back to my mom who was off the phone by now.

She sat me down and then explained to me that my father had been in a serious car accident, and that my uncle was coming to pick us up to get to the hospital. Suddenly, I trembled also, and my legs got rubbery. I don't think I had ever even seen my dad sick, let alone something this serious. I hugged my mom as we quietly waited for my uncle.

The ride to the hospital was quiet except for the soft crying of my mother.

"Hurry." she pleaded to my uncle, and it was then I asked what had happened.

My mother was too emotional so it was my uncle who told the story.

"Your father was driving through an intersection when another car slammed into him," he said in slow deliberate words.

"but," he continued,

"Some vandals cut down the stop signs, and neither car knew to stop!"

Suddenly I began to gasp, and everything around me went black.

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