4 of 33

Write now Article Tools

TITLE: The Mystery of the Missing O'Connell

SECTION 1: Suspects
Mailman
Mr. Jared
Old Man
Marie

SECTION 2: Story

Marlene and Jean were bored. They felt stuck in the drowsy, sticky lull of mid-July. Summer break was great-at least that is what they kept repeating to each other so that the true boringness of their boredom wouldn't break the magic that is "summer vacation." The girls both languished on the sofa in Marlene's family room. Marlene's mother worked from home on some vague Internet business that Marlene wasn't particularly interested in, but it did keep her mother at home and for that she was grateful. For nearly all of her twelve years, Marlene's mom had worked endless hours in a huge corporation and was rarely available for either Marlene or her younger brother, Matthew. This summer, however, was different. There was no Camp Mosquito or Y.M.I.HERE program for Marlene to suffer through. Instead, she had the joy of being bored right within the walls of her own home.

Fortunately, Marlene's mom invited Jean's mom to send Jean over everyday so that Marlene could have "playdates" (a term Marlene hated since it sounded so preschool and not at all appropriate for two girls on the verge of starting middle school). Jean was Marlene's best friend and agreed with her on most crucial topics in life including the primary ones such as Matthew being an infernal pest, Mark Tyler being the hottest boy in sixth grade, and July 12th as being the most unbelievably boring day of the year. Jean, however, had a wonderful sense of optimism which sustained Marlene who was not the most cheery of girls. In fact, it was safe to say that Marlene had a somewhat gloomy disposition. As her brother Matthew noted, Marlene "sucked the joy out of everything she does." Jean, however, acted as the perfect foil to Marlene's negativity because life for her was filled with ponies, unicorns, and white puffy clouds.

Marlene's native cynicism, however, alerted the two girls to a mystery that had begun to unfold within the quiet streets of their suburban neighborhood that July day. As Marlene stared out the bay window of her family room, she saw the mailman ringing the doorbell of the neighbor across the street, Mrs. O'Connell. Many of the children in the neighborhood were convinced that Mrs. O'Connell was an alien. She was the Perfect Housewife; unfortunately, there were no signs of the Perfect Husband. No one had ever seen a Mr. O'Connell at 124 Jay Street. Marlene had asked her mother several times

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Short stories: The housewife mystery?
We want to hear your view. Write now!