Serenity's Story

Beth was riding the bus home from school. She was 4 years old and just starting kindergarten. She was a thin girl with light brown hair, and light golden skin. She wore a pink T-shirt, jean shorts, and white sneakers. She lives in a two story blue house with her family in Glenco Mininsoda. She had a mom, dad, and two older sisters. Beth alway longed for something interesting to happen, like a tornado, or an earthquake. Everyday it was the same boring routine; wake up, have breakfast, go to school, come home, have lunch, maybe go to a friend's house, go home, eat dinner, and go to bed. School was the only interesting thing that happened.
The bus pulled up to her little blue house and opened its doors. Beth picked up her backpack and exited the bus.
"Have a nice night," said the bus driver.
"Bye bye," said Beth. She hopped onto the sidewalk and watched the bus drive around the corner. When it was gone she went into the house. The house was quiet, her mom was asleep, her dad was at work, and her sisters were at school. Beth set her backpack by the door. She walked through the kitchen to the staircase. She went up the staircase and went into her room. Her mom came in.
"How was school?" She asked Beth.
"Fun," said Beth.
"I'm glad," said her mother. "As soon as Daddy and your sisters get home we're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house."
"Yay!" Beth cried.
"Let's have lunch," said her mother. They went downstairs to the kitchen where her mother made chicken noodle soup and apple juice for lunch. Suddenly the tornado sirens blared. Beth screamed. Her mother rushed her into the living room, where the entrance to the basement was. They opened the door and ran down the stairs to the basement. Beth was even more scared there were two things she was afraid of, the tornado sirens, and the basement. However whenever the sirens blared it got rid of her fear of the basement, temporarily. She and her mom sat on the green sofa near the back wall. Beth sat on her mother's lap and her mother hugged her. They were soon joined by Beth's dad and sisters. They too sat on the sofa.
Outside, sitting on the roof of the house next to the little blue house, was a young dragon who was resting his wings. He was a traditional looking dragon with long neck, tail, huge wings, four legs with sharp talons, and the head of a monitor lizard. The dragon was red-orange with scarlet diamond shapes down his back, a scarlet belly, scarlet wings, and orange eyes. The dragon was as shorter than the blue house's porch. He had landed just after Beth went inside. He listened, with his powerful hearing, to the girl and her mother talking inside. Then when the sirens blared, he heard the girl screaming in pure terror and the mother shouting at her to get in the basement which seemed to make the girl even more scared. The dragon watched the sisters and dad come home.
Soon the sirens went silent and the family 5 emerged from the basement.
"Can we go to Grandma's house now?" asked Beth's older sister Katie.
"Yes we can," said their father. "Get in the Trooper." The three girls went outside and to the old white Isuzu Trooper. The older sisters got in, but Beth spotted the young dragon above the car. The dragon looked down at her, and smiled. Beth smiled back, but she also looked confused. She got into the car and sat between her sisters. She looked out the window, but could no longer see the dragon. Her parents came out and got into the car. Her father put the key into the ignition and turned it. The car seemed to wake up, slowly, and start up. The car backed down the driveway and into the street. The dragon took off and followed the car as it drove through town. He followed it to the highway and down the road. The dragon flew high over the road, the land lay before him as flat and green as a lily pad.
Soon the car entered the suburbs of Minneapolis. The dragon flew lower over it. It soon turned into an ally way beside a larger house with two balconies one on top of the other. The car drove into the tiny parking lot next to the back yard. It stopped and the family climbed out. The dragon landed on the house beside the big one. Beth spotted him and waved. The dragon smiled. Just then Beth's grandparents came outside to greet the family.
"Hi Grandma," Beth cried. "Hi Grandpa."
"Hi Bittsy," said her Grandpa. They all went inside the house, and the dragon landed in the back yard.
Inside the house Beth went into the large TV room where her uncles, Erick, Jared, and Barney, sat watching a football game. Beth's eldest sister Rosie sat on the dark blue, leather sofa beside Uncle Jared. Katie went in to a smaller TV room at the back of the house, where her cousins were playing video games. Beth had no one to play with. There were no cousins her age, they were all either younger or older than her. So she went into a play room at one end of the big TV room by herself. It had a lot of toys in there. She began playing with block when her older cousins, Willy and Taylor, and her two sisters came in.
"Hey we're going to play in here now," said Willy.
"Can I play too?" Beth asked.
"No," said Taylor, in a voice that suggested Beth had insulted him. "No little girls allowed in this game."
"Hey look," Willy teased, snatching a block from Beth. "I got a block." Beth burst into tears and ran off sobbing. Her cosines and sisters laughed. She went to her dad who was watching the football game.
"Can I watch a movie?" Beth asked.
"No we want to watch the game," said her grandpa. "Go play." Beth ran away. She went out the front door and sat on the porch steps. She had no friends in this family. They were always telling her to go away, or tricking her into leaving the room and her parents were too busy to notice. She hugged her knees and cried into them.
"Girl, why are you crying?" a voice asked. Beth looked up and saw the young dragon watching her.
"I don't have anyone to play with," she cried. The dragon lowered his head to her level. She stopped crying when she saw the calm, gentle look in the dragon's eyes.
"What's your name?" he asked, very gently.
"Beth."
"I'm Ruby," said the dragon. He nudged her hand, and Beth put her hand on Ruby's snout. His skin was hard and as smooth as silk. Ruby muzzled her tummy, she giggled. She hugged Ruby around the nose.
"You can play with me," said Ruby. Beth jumped off the porch steps and ran closer to the dragon. Ruby laid down in the grass. He out his head right onto the ground.
"Climb on," he said. Beth climbed onto his neck behind his horns. Ruby slowly lifted his head, Beth held onto the horns. Ruby got to his feet.
"Are you holding on tight?" Ruby asked.
"Yes I am," said Beth. Ruby opened his wings and took off, taking Beth on the very first dragon ride of her life.