I really liked how Mr. Greco introduced us to this unit. The examples he showed us were really helpful. One example was of an animation without any sound, but it still conveyed what the character felt by their expressions. He emphasized very clearly that our story would have to include as much feeling without using telling details.

To start our story, we watched quick animations and short films to get ideas. We wrote two flash fiction stories to choose from. One was from the different types of stories we learned about and the other was about something that we disliked about ourselves.

I wrote about my driving experience in the summer with my dad during our cross country trip.

Chaotic Nature

My dad parked the car in front of Harris Ranch. Every time we went down to visit Grandma Jessie and Uncle Richard, we would stop there. I had previously nagged my dad about driving that day, but he kept declining any agreement I put forth. However, as we came back from the shopping center and into the car, my dad sat down stiffly like he was contemplating something. He sat in a forty five degree angle with his one foot outside of the car, and one inside. With a glow and warmth in his voice, he asked me to hand over a paper pad. As he wrote the date and location we were in, I understood that he changed his mind.

I gripped the wheel, eager to get out of the parking lot. Plenty of cars were zooming. My dad begun with the speech that “I am the car” and “I control what happens” before I was allowed to inch forward. The engine was already on. I just needed to move the shift to D for drive, let off my brake, and use my judgement. My dad jumped as I nearly scraped the car. When we came to the exit of the shopping center, I veered into the other lane to make the sharp turn in our Mini-Van. My dad was already waving his arms around, angrily explaining what I did wrong while I tried to keep my cool. To get into the interstate, I needed to cross two lanes where traffic went each direction in over forty-five miles. I was lagging at the stop sign when there were openings. He screamed to gun it, but i needed to slam the breaks to slow down for the turn to enter the interstate. With white fingertips, I hit the gas and then hit the worn down breaks, turning, and then accelerating to go with the flow of traffic.

But when we made our way to British Columbia, I was used to “driving smoothly” enough for my dad to trust me and fall asleep. We didn’t get a hotel for a long time the day before. As a result, Dad was exhausted. He dozed off within five minutes. I passed flat forest, moose crossings, and some hills for two hours alone in the morning sunrise. However, as I approached extremely windy mountains, my dad began to stir. He told me aloud to slow down, speed up, drive smoothly without opening his eyes. He didn’t open his eyes until I was going downhill uncontrollably. I lifted my foot off the gas, cautious of wearing the brake down but my dad woke up from his sense of my speed. Dad’s face turned bright red as he screamed to hit the brakes. I hit it, and he roared to let the brake off. As soon as I got down the hill, I pulled over. Dad bounced out of the car and fell to his knees, kissing the ground and praised mercy that he was alive. I handed the keys over to him after a four and a half hour drive.