Creative Writing: Charles Darwin's Life-Personal Narrative

It was rolling, desert scrub in every direction and after a scorching summer, the landscape was a burnt yellow. Father and daughter bounced down the road in a dusty, green hatchback, throwing up a fine trail of dirt. Jasmine sighed, her breath clinging to the window she was leaning on. Darwin looked over but the angle made it hard to see anything. She let out another breath, this time more audibly. Finally, Darwin thought. “Something wrong Jazz?” She dropped an eyebrow at him and then turned back. OK. “You want some tunes?” Jasmine grunted. So much for tha- “Fourth time this year,” she said suddenly. “Thirty-eighth since I was six.” She looked over. “Not that I’m keeping track or anything.” That couldn’t be. He frowned. Hong Kong had only been …show more content…

A few early exits here and there and- He winced at the math. Darwin didn’t think about their nomadic lifestyle much. He knew it was tough on his daughter but the world was a tough place and he took his responsibility of guiding her through it very seriously. To her credit, she had never showed the slightest bit of resentment. Until last night. He’d been busy packing most of the day so he broke the news to her over dinner. Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth and a startling hatred flashed across her eyes. But before he could react, Jasmine nodded and wordlessly went to pack. She would maintain her silence for the next seven hours. “No big deal though. I mean, I was just getting used to it there. It’s not like it’s hard to find people my age these days, who happened to like me by the way. Did I mention that?” Darwin nodded. “There was a carnival coming up too.” She threw her ticket onto the dashboard. “Carol had-.” She stopped, her gaze wavering, the angry glow fading briefly. “She had asked me to go with her.” She locked eyes with him. His stomach knotted up. She’s not old enough for …show more content…

She was slightly ahead of her new friends, a wide, irrepressible smile gracing her face. Friends! Her smile became a stupid grin. “Adventure awaits guys!” she said, waving at them. But they hung back, trailing slowly behind her. What’s the hold up? They stopped completely and Carol emerged from the group, although it looked like she had been pushed. “Um, can we talk?” Carol said, looking at her feet. Jasmine’s heart sank as she nodded and followed along, fighting the urge to vomit the entire time. “So, the carnival’s on Friday,” Carol said, turning so abruptly that Jasmine nearly ran into her. Jasmine ducked her head and blushed furiously. “And I didn’t mean to leave this to the last minute, it’s just… hard to say.”It’s hard all right, hard to think I was stupid enough to mistake pity for genuine affection. “Ru and Alex are going by themselves and you know Mabel and Joseph might as well be joined at the hip. So… that just leaves you and me.” Carol licked her lips. Yes, and who would voluntarily spend time alone with me? “And we haven’t exactly known each other for very long but I was wondering, if you