‘Are you for Real’ by Poppy Hunter, age 14, Year 9, Thomas Clarkson Academy

Arriving at the tropical destination, I immediately felt the hot breeze hit me straight away. I was stepping off the bus and onto the scorching hot sand. It was summertime, and my friends and I decided to go on vacation together. I couldn’t wait; I was ecstatic. We headed straight to the beach; I was sweating. It was that hot. I felt so hot it was as if I were in an oven. After a few hours, we were getting a bit hungry, so we went to buy something to eat.

In the evening, we choose to set off and go explore the area. It was such a beautiful place; the sunset was so majestic. I felt so relaxed and happy. It was such a wonderful atmosphere to be around. As we were wandering around, we spotted something rolling around on the sand. I couldn’t quite make out what it was, but it looked like a small animal. We slowly and cautiously walked over there to take a closer look. It didn’t run away or get scared, so I picked it up; it was a tiny dog. It was so adorable, but how could I keep it? I wouldn’t be able to take it home, and there’s no one around, so I haven’t got any idea who it could belong to.

We decided to take it back to the hotel because we are not just going to leave it on the beach alone, are we? After a few days, it was getting to the end of the vacation. We were all getting packed up, and I got told we were leaving the hotel to get to the airport at 1:00pm. I was just waiting in my room for a little while since I hadn’t heard anything from my friends that morning. I didn’t think much of it because it was only 10:00am, so the others are probably still asleep. I went to see if the others were all packed and awake and if they wanted to get some breakfast before our flight. So, I walked to their hotel rooms. They weren’t there; their rooms were empty. So, I went to the reception to ask if anyone had seen them. The receptionist said she hadn’t seen them since they left at 10:00am this morning.

Are you for real? I can’t believe they left without me! And they didn’t tell me anything. I’m so upset; I don’t want to leave the dog here by himself; I want to take him with me. But I can’t take him on the plane. I’m so angry about everything; my friends betrayed me, and I can’t leave this poor dog here. I don’t know what to do…