Nathaniel D.'s Memoir

Fire Island “Fun”

“Here we are!” I chirped enthusiastically. “Fire Island!” The sun shone down brightly on this warm, beautiful day in the middle of July. This time, we were here to open up the house for use. I stepped inside the empty doorway, and set down my luggage. My younger brother, Gabriel, followed in shortly after me. He set down his luggage and sat at the table. He then took out a cheese stick from his pocket and started happily munching. My dog, Zoë tugged at her leash. I looked down realizing I had forgotten about her. I unclipped the leash from her collar and she set off to find my parents at the doorway.
“There you are Zozo! Who’s a good girl? You are! You are!” Mom perked Zoë’s mood with her little chant. Suddenly Zoë lost interest so she padded away and settled in a corner. Dad, being a history teacher, wasted no time dawdling and started to work on his power point. He worked on it all summer long, including now. He never “wasted” time relaxing, even on vacations. I was extremely tired and all I could think about was plopping onto the couch. I let my feet carry me through the kitchen, past the black furnace, and right onto the couch. As I picked up the remote, Gabriel sat beside me and started pulling it out of my hand. “I want Spongebob!” he wailed. “I don’t really care!” I responded bitterly. I hated my little brother’s love for Spongebob more than anything in the world! “Please!” he moaned. The sound in his voice caught me by surprise. I expected him to give up sooner. “Alright, go knock yourself dead with Spongebob!” I gasped.
“Time to go to the beach!” Mom hollered through the house. “Alrighty!” I replied. As I ran to slip on my bathing suit Zoë padded over to me and started sniffing me eagerly as though I were roast beef. “If you think you’re getting a treat out of me, think again!” I teased. “I’ll leash you up though,” I quickly stated before Gabriel took the chance away from me. “Honey, I think he’s too into Spongebob” Mom told me as if she read my mind.
The beach time flew by so fast. Zoë made the experience so much fun! “Man, I love the beach!” I quietly sighed to myself. “All the running and sunning and playing!” “That’s great dear,” Mom responded. “But it’s time to get some shut-eye.” “But I’m still worried about Zoë!” I sighed back half closing my eyes. “Don’t worry, she’ll eat,” were the last words I heard Mom whisper.
I awoke to the sound of Spongebob downstairs. As I rose to my feet I remembered Zoë, and how she didn’t finish her food. I stifled a yawn then went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I finished I went down to look at Zoë’s bowl. It still was piled high with food. She refused to eat all day. “Dad, please google something, google never lets us down!” I screamed. Zoë’s belly made weird noises so I felt concerned. “Well, maybe she’s sick or nervous according to google. It might pass.” “Wait!” Mom enthusiastically yelled. “If we remind her how hungry she is she’s bound to eat!” Mom ran over to the fridge, and pulled out a slice of meunster cheese. “I’ll feed her a section, and put the rest in her bowl!” Mom exclaimed. So Mom put it in her bowl after feeding her a section. Zoë hungrily devoured her food. “Wow, your mom is so smart!” Dad exclaimed. “I know.” Mom chirped sweetly.