Lost in the Cold ~ A Short Story ✄ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The door opened, letting a cold breeze sneak in. I shivered, and peeked out in the hallway. "Hey dad." Dad looks up. His face is pale. "Oh, hey Alice. How was school?" He asks. "Fine." I reply. We both stare at each other for a moment. "You want cocoa?" Dad says finally, breaking the silence. "Sure." I go back into my room and stare at my homework. (34 + -57) + 72 = ? I groan. Why did middle school have to be so hard? I stare outside the window, watching the gray clouds swirl in the sky. It was always snowing and raining and cold here. "Cocoa's ready!" Dad calls, bringing me back to reality. I walk out of my room and into the kitchen. Dad hands me a mug full of steaming hot chocolate. I bring the cup to my lips and take a long sip. I immediately want to spit it back out. The cocoa's only luke-warm, the marshmallows are stale and the cocoa powder piles up into a ball at the bottom of the cup. I notice Dad staring at me. "How is it?" He asks nervously. "Good." I lie. Dad looks at the ground glumy. "I know it's terrible." "No it's not!" I assure him. Dad isn't convinced. "I'm going out." He says, pulling on his pale swap green coat. "Not to the Italian Rose!" I cry, grabbing his hand. The Italian Rose was a bar that my Dad always went to. "Alice, let go. I'll be back in a few." He throws off my hand and stomps out. I watch the door close. Who knows? Maybe he'll only have one drink. I go back to my room to finish my homework. The hours start rolling by. I had drunk all of Dad’s cocoa, finished all my homework, and Dad still didn’t come. The sky was speckled with dark gray coulda. I was starting to get worried. Finally, I slipped on my pale rose coat and stated to head outside. I was going to look for Dad. *Part two coming in 2021!* ✄ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I hope you all enjoyed the story! The music is If Only by Dove Camron and thumbnail made in Canva. Bye!
