Makenzie's Short Story

Sunburns, ice cream, and family gatherings It's Memorial Day weekend, and room to walk freely on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas is scarce. Makenzie and her family are searching for the line to buy boat ride tickets so they can tour the locale. The queue was too long for them to manage Rather than fighting the size of the line, Makenzie and her family ended up going to "I Scream U Scream" for ice cream. Once the boat ride ticket line dwindled down to a manageable size, Makenzie went to stand in a vacant spot so they could get tickets. While standing in the warm May heat,she spotted her good friend from high school, Ryan, dangling a fishing pole into the river. Because it had been a few years since she'd seen him, she made her way over
to his makeshift fishing spot to visit. As she started to tap on Ryan's shoulder to get his attention, the police simultaneously whisked him away. Even though Makenzie knew he wasn't supposed to be fishing in the river, she had no idea where these policemen were so forcefully taking him. Puzzled and a bit frightened, Makenzie went back to her family. As she approached, her mom vociferated, "Makenzie, where have you been I have looked for you up and down this river!" "Mom, I was over there talking to Ryan from high school," Makenzie nonchalantly replied.
Thirty minutes passed and they were finally stepping onto the tour boat As she sat in the front of the boat surrounded by unfamiliar faces, besides her family of course, Makenzie was still perplexed at why the police so brutally took her friend
away.

A few hours passed, and Makenzie and her family were just about to finish their tour. As the tour guide directed their attention toward the historical Crockett hotel, something caught her eye rolling from one end of the boat to the other. She looked around to see if anyone else had seen what she'd seen. When she realized nobody else's interest had been sparked by the movement on the floor of the boat, she snatched what had stole her gaze, thinking it was a bottle. She picked it up to find what appeared to be a miniscule scroll inside the bottle. She opened the bottle and struggled to get the scroll out. Eventually she managed to retrieve the tiny scroll from the even tinier opening of the bottle. Carefully unrolling the scroll so she could read it she whispered the message to herself, "Mr. Green, where are you these days I've heard some things happened I hope you're okay!" "Green? That's My teacher's last name." She wondered if the note is meant for her teacher or if is it a coincidence. Even though she is a sophomore in college, Makenzie is still a teacher's pet, and it just so happened that she was Mr.Green's pet.

Clink! Tick! The sounds of locks and keys. That's all Ryan is going to hear for the 24 hours 12 hours have passed, he hears someone in the cell next to him. "Hello" he whispered. "Yes?" someone replied. The two start talking and Ryan learns that his name is Bill and he is a theater teacher. He is in there for quite sometime, 50 years to be exact 48 hours pass and Ryan is finally getting to go home. He waves goodbye to his friend and wished him the best of luck. The first thing Ryan does when he gets out is call Makenzie and asks how she is doing. She invites him over and tell him about the scroll she found. When Makenzie gets finished with everything planed at the Riverwalk, she heads home. When she pulls up she sees Ryan sitting on her front porch. Ryan and Makenzie negotiate for a couple of hours, coming up with nothing. They decided to just wait till Monday.

The fun filled weekend passes. Makenzie has Mr. Green 3rd period, and is anxious to see if he's there so she can as him what happen. 1st and 2nd period is long, because all she can ponder about is Mr. Green. She walks in and sees and sees a guy she has never laid eyes on She stops in her tracks, turns around and heads straight for the office "Where is Mr. Green?" Makenzie asked I'm afraid he will not be around anymore" the secretary said "He's not with us anymore, Makenzie, I'm sorry. Makenzie didn't say a word. She just walked out and went straight to class. She was not feeling great the rest of the day. The minute she got home she called her mom, and asked if she would call her teachers mom and see what happen. Minutes which felt like hours to Makenzie pass and her mom finally calls. She's very quick to pick it up "Makenzie it all happen this weekend." Makenzie started sobbing. "What did she say?" Makenzie said in between breaths "Not much." "All she said was that they were at a big family picnic, and he went to the bathroom and never came back." Makenzie was speechless. All she could do was hang up and think about everything she just heard. She gathers her self and calls Ryan, and tells him about her teacher Ryan really doesn't know Mr. Green because he doesn't go to school there, but he knows of him Ryan is shocked, but something in the back of his mind bothers him. It's that the guy beside him in jail was in there for murder. Ryan hears nothing that Makenzie is saying besides something about a sword. That makes him remember that his friend was a theater teacher Ryan forgot his name, but remembers it starts with a B. Ryan cut off Makenzie talking "I think I know who did it I was put beside a guy that was a theater teacher and was in there for murder serving 50 years. Makenzie wonders how long murderers could be in jail for. She looked it up. It said "Anywhere from 25 years to life" Makenzie could not believe her eyes. By now her and Ryan are off the phone. Makenzie remembered that she had put the scroll that she had found on the boat in her bag. She reads and examines it over and over and over. She thinks it's essential for the parents to have, so she texts her mom for the address. After an exhausting drive she arrives at the Green's house she goes and knocks on the door and Mr. Garcia opens the door. Makenzie remembers that he is Mr. Green's stepdad "Who are you?" he said very firmly "I'm Makenzie your stepsons student." She is very confused at the fact that his wife is in the back bawling , and he looked like he has yet to shed a tear "I'm just here to give you this letter" "Thank you now get going!" demanded Mr. Garcia. Makenzie left very frustrated and confused as to why he was so rude, and to why he wasn't crying. She remembers at the beginning of the year Mr. Green telling them that his real dad left him at a very young age. She also remembers very faintly that his name started with a B.

On her way home, her phone started ringing, she picked it up and it read, "Ryan." When she answered there was no "Hi", or "Hello", it was just "BILL!
HIS NAME IS BILL!" "Who Ryan?" she asked. He began to explain that the guy in the cell beside him was named Bill At that moment it struck Makenzie's mind that Mr. Green's real dad's name is Bill Instead of going straight home, she decided to stop at the police station. She asks for information on Bill Green. They don't tell her much , but they tell her exactly what she needs."His son worked at Stephen F. Austin and wrote novels." She thanks them and leaves. It's about 6:00, Makenzie invites Ryan over for dinner. During their dinner, Makenzie flips on the TV. The news is on and it's talking about Bill Green. "He murdered his son. His son was a College Professor and a horror novelist." Makenzie and Ryan's eyes lock "The reason being is that Bill was working in his tree house that only his son and him go to. A certain screw was loose, he figured it out after his whole house came crashing to the ground. Since he and his son had been fighting he decided to end it for good" the TV continued "Well that's a dumb reason to kill your son" laughed
Ryan.

Makenzie was in shock, but also relieved From that moment on, for the rest of the year she relived every moment that she had with Mr. Green over again. But, Is a dad really a dad?