Scratch to Silver

Sally stood frozen in the vast assembly area, biting her red, rosy lips. Her wide eyes betrayed the fear that gripped her as Mr. Macdonald approached. “I messed up. I’m late. He’s coming. You’re done for, Sally,” she whispered under her breath, her voice trembling.

Mr. Macdonald possessed an intimidating personality. He was a polite man but his mere aura could cause silence in a room filled with people. His resonant voice had a strange undertone that made the gentlest words feel like an unspoken challenge. He also exhibited authority through his look as he wore a three-piece suit. His shiny silver hair added even more grace to his aura.

Even the wisest of men found it hard to stand before him, let alone Sally.

Mr. Macdonald with a frown on his face, said very politely, “Ms. Sally Mathews, let your parents pay a visit to the school tomorrow. I want to have a word with them. Now, do me a favor head quickly towards your class room, you’ve already missed the first period.”

Somehow Sally managed to get through the school that day

Sally walked back home, her bag slung low over her shoulder. The weight of Mr. Macdonald’s words echoed in her head, making her steps feel heavier with each passing minute. "How am I supposed to convince Mom and Dad not to meet him? What if they find out about my other late days?" She sighed, kicking at a stray pebble on the sidewalk. The sound of children laughing in the distance only made her feel worse. By the time she reached her front door, her thoughts were a tangled mess, and her frustration was ready to spill over.

Reaching the home, she rushed straight towards her room, ignoring Mrs. Mathews greetings. As soon as she closed her bedroom door, tears streamed down her face. She buried her head in her pillow, her muffled sobs carrying the weight of frustration she’d been holding in all day. In this situation her fingers brushed over worn cover of her diary, a place she had always turned to when her thoughts became too heavy to carry alone

Sally flipped through her diary, her fingers pausing on a page filled with smudged ink and hurried handwriting. She remembered starting this story—a tale about a girl lost in a magical forest who had to find her way home. As her eyes skimmed over the words, she felt a strange pull, like stepping into a world she had created long ago.

"This isn’t half bad," she thought, a small smile creeping onto her face. She adjusted her position on the bed, her frustration momentarily forgotten as she continued reading. "I could totally finish this… maybe even make it better."

Sally sat cross-legged on her bedroom floor, her diary opened in front of her. She traced the faded ink of her old story, the words blurring slightly through the gleam of her unshed tears. She couldn’t shake the heavy feeling pressing on her chest—not about Mr. Macdonald’s warning, not about disappointing her mom again.

A soft knock at the door startled her. She quickly wiped her face with her sleeve and slammed the diary shut.

“Come in,” she called, trying to keep her voice steady.

Her dad stepped in, a small tray balanced in his hands. The comforting aroma of hot cocoa wafted toward her. “Thought you might need this,” he said, setting the tray down beside her. A steaming mug of cocoa, topped with a swirl of whipped cream, and a small pile of cookies sat on the tray.

Sally smiled weakly. “Thanks, Dad.”

He lowered himself onto the floor beside her, groaning slightly as his knees cracked. “So, want to tell me what’s going on, or should I take a wild guess?”

Sally hesitated, then sighed. “Mr. Macdonald wants you and Mom to come to school tomorrow. He said he needs to talk to you about me.”

Her dad raised his eyebrows but didn’t respond right away. Instead, he reached for a cookie and took a bite. After swallowing, he said, “That sounds like tomorrow’s problem. What about right now? What’s on your mind?”

She hesitated again before picking up her diary and holding it out to him. “I… I found this earlier. It’s just a story I started writing forever ago. It’s probably silly, but—”

Her dad gently took the diary and adjusted his reading glasses. As his eyes scanned the page, a smile slowly spread across his face.

Author's note:

This is the third chapter, if you want to know context, read the chapter 1 and 2...If you have got enough time.