The Best Fourth of July
“Got you!” said my older brother, Alex.
“Cheater!” I screamed. Alex and I and our cousins were in the middle
of an intense game of tag in our swimming pool.
A squeaky chirp came from Catarina’s phone.
Catarina is my 13-year-old sister; she wasn't swimming. Instead, she was just
hanging out in a chair by the pool. I knew that the chirping sound mean another
text which would lead to drama with my parents.
I decided I wasn't going to let any drama spoil Fourth of July fun with
my family. I continued relaxing in the pool, hiding from my cousin who was
“it.”
The sky was
a midnight black, and it was completely filled with cold darkness. Luckily, the stars came out to light it
up. How pretty, I thought to myself.
“You’re
it!” said my cousin laughing. She told
me I was daydreaming and not paying attention.
I focused and dove under water, extending my arms to swim faster. I couldn't see because my eyes were tightly
shut. I felt a leg and screamed, “I got
you!”
“That’s
impossible,” blurted my cousin, “We’re all the way on the other end!”
I opened
my eyes and lifted the leg. I quickly realized my mistake since the leg was my
own. “Oops,” I mumbled quietly.
“Fireworks!”
screamed a friend. “Let’s get a floatie
and watch.” I heard a sizzling sound, as loud as a rocket ship, and knew they
were going to set off a colorful bash of sparkly lights. My dog, Izzy, ran in front of the fireworks
and yelped with her loud dog voice. I
screamed at her to stay away from where the adults were setting off the
fireworks.
“Awesome,”
screamed one person in the audience. “Cool,” said another. “Wow!” I thought. I looked at the trees’ leaves and thought how
pretty they looked with the fireworks going off beneath them; they were filled
with a multitude of colors: apricot, orange, pearly white, indigo, grassy
green, glossy red, lavender purple, silver and bronze. The sky was awesomely filled with colorful
sparkles.
“They are
so beautiful,” I said to myself, as I climbed out of the pool to get a small,
blue, squishy cupcake filled with warm caramel.
I had made the cupcakes in a flag formation earlier in the day. The stars and stripes were a vibrant red,
white and blue. I sighed and said softly, “This is going to be a great year.”
The last
fireworks set off, and they were the biggest and brightest yet. They made a loud popping, snapping and
"kabosh" sound. Everyone
watched in silence.
Izzy
started barking like crazy again, as I hopelessly sank down into the pool
trying to relax. These are the little
moments you treasure, I thought, and I have ever since.
