It was scary when I got lost. It felt like I was not going back home, like I was gone forever. I was eight and a teenager friend Stephanie brought me to her house in the Richmond.
I rode my scooter to Chinese Playground. It was four blocks from my house. Along the way I smelled porridge from Dim Sum stores. Pigeons ate bread in a garden. Buses honked on the streets. I knelt down and felt the cracks on the sidewalk with my hand. They felt rough. I had never seen them there before.
Stephanie met me at the playground and said, “I want to show you something at my house.” I didn’t ask what. I went with her and we took the bus to her house. She said that she couldn’t bring me back to Chinatown. I think she was lying because she lies to me a lot. The first time she lied to me was when she said I owed her money. The second time was when she said I lost a library DVD. The third time was when she told me her brother was sleeping and if I woke him up, he would beat me up. I always hated that Stephanie kept lying to me, but she kept doing it.
I left Stephanie’s house on my own and rode my scooter all the way across a very busy street. I found out later that she came outside and went looking for me. She didn’t find me and she went home. She said her mom would get mad at her for leaving the house.
I saw a women walking down the street. The woman looked a little young and she had blond hair. I asked her, “Do you know how to go to Chinatown?”
“Yes,” the woman said. “I know how to go to Chinatown.” She took me to her work place. I was thinking, Why am I going to her work place?
“Why are you here in the Richmond?” the woman said.
I told her that my friend Stephanie brought me there.
“I have to go home now,” the woman said, “and I can’t bring you back to Chinatown.”
I thought that she would. “Why not?” I said.
She asked me if I wanted anything to drink.
“Yes,” I said.
She brought me downstairs to a store and bought me an orange juice. She brought me back to her work place and asked me, “Do you want to play on my computer?”
“Yes,” I said.
I played some games and she said, “You need to call your parents.”
I called my mom and she said, “Where are you?”
“I am in the Richmond in this woman’s workplace,” I said.
My mom told me to give the phone to the woman so she could find out exactly where I was. I hung up and a couple of minutes later some police showed up. I didn’t know anyone called the police.
“Can you bring this kid home?” the woman said.
I followed the police to their car. “Can you drive me back to Chinatown?” I said.
The policemen said nothing and they brought me back to my home.
About the Author
Hi! My name is Tommy and I live in San Francisco with my mom and dad. I am 11 years old. I don’t live with my brother Raymond because he moved to El Cerrito. I like to play computer games like Runescape. I am also the author of The X Army, The Missile and the Citizens, and My Gold Fish Died. I am good at sports such as kickball. I also like playing Blob Tag because it is good for exercising. If I were a creature, I would be an alien because they have good weapons in battles.
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