Katelyn Aguinaga

10/30/17
H English II
Narrative Essay
My Turtlelertle.

When my brain woke me up, my skin was cold. My feet felt like they were becoming

hypothermic. That’s why I started wearing socks to bed in the winter. However, on that day, it

was just the middle of autumn. Crunchy leaves were falling between the cracks in the sidewalk

and stuck to car windows. The faint sound of eggs baking in cooking pans sent signals to my

brain: it was the weekend. I took a deep breathe to stretch my arms and legs. The smell of

cooked bacon overwhelmed my senses. I could almost taste. My stomach growled as I leaped out

of my bed. I bounced on my toes as I ran don the stairs and into the kitchen. As my bare feet hit

the cold marble floors of the kitchen, I shivered. I looked at the kitchen table and noticed a partly

folded up white piece of paper. Using my 20/20 vision, I read the top of the paper. I freezed in

my spot when I read the name of my middle school. Under it, it read “Report Card”. I looked to

my father, who was drinking his almost black coffee.

“Goodmorning,” he greeted me.

“‘Morning.”

My mom set down a plate of hot eggs and bacon in front of me. My mouth watered, but I

wouldn’t let myself get distracted.

“We saw your report card,” she declared.

“Oh? What…” I paused to find the words. “What did you think?”

“Straight As. Good job, kiddo,” he congratulated.

 I sighed in relief as I grabbed a fork and ripped through the egg whites. Bright yellow

yolk spilled out. I laughed to myself, thinking “Wow, I just killed a baby bird. Society is messed

up.”

“We want to reward you. So we’re going to the pet store later.”

“WOAHHH, FOR REAL?!” I yelled in disbelief.

“Yeah, geez calm down and eat your food.”

I smiled in content and gobbled down my food. I slipped on my Jesus 11s and set my

Gucci Slides by my bed. I ran to the car where my mom was waiting for me. As soon as she

closed the rusty garage door, I turned on the radio. I switch to 96.3 fm and turned up the volume.

Emo music blasted through the speakers. I sang along to the depressing lyrics that made parents

wonder why they had kids in the first place. I still blame society for everything that’s wrong with

this generation of children.

We parked in front of the nearest pet store. We walked through the entrance. The sound

of yapping birds hit my ears. I saw kiosks of different, human-like, dog treats. Tanks of different

fish and turtles created a circle in the middle of the store. The right side had dog and cat toys,

collars, beds, and grooming supplies. The left side had cats in comfortable living spaces and

ferrets, hamsters, guinea pigs, and several animal food choices. I looked at the fish and stared at

the glow in the dark ones. Even to this day, they still fascinate me.

As I circled around, I stopped at the turtle tank. Their heads dipped above the water line,

and I found it so cute. The red-eared turtles were basic, but I was broke, so I couldn’t ask for

anything nicer. I approached one of the employees.

“Hi! I would like to take a turtle home, please.”

 They smiled softly at me, “Sure. I’ll be right back. Choose which one you want.”

They left and I knew I had a hard choice to make. All the turtles were adorable, how

would I ever just choose one? I pressed my nose against the cold tank. One turtle sat up on the

rock and look right at me. I waved at it, just to be silly.

“Oi, who do you think you’re waving at?”

I jerked around. “Sor-” I started, but I noticed that no one was behind me. “Ry…” I

frowned in confusion. “Who said that?”

“What am I, chopped liver? Look down here, stupid!”

My ears followed the noise and my eyes fell upon the turtle tanks.

“Yeah, that’s right… ​now ​you’re gettin’ it.”

My eyes widened as I stared at the turtle sitting on the rock. It was looked right in my

eyes, and their mouth was opening and closing, matching the words that I heard. I almost

screamed.

“I’m going insane!”

“No, you wanna know who’s ​really ​losing their minds, eh? Me! I’ve been stuck in here

with these bozos for months!” The turtle complained.

“Why don’t you just escape?”

The turtle gave me a stupid look. “I’m not superman! I can’t just put on some

inappropriately tight tights and just mosey on outta here!”

“You’re pretty sarcastic for a turtle.”

 He scoffed, “Listen, kiddo. Just help me get out here, okay? Maybe I can bite the girl you

hate. This could be a beneficial relationship. Oh boy, at least I hope.” At that coincidental

moment, the employee came back with a glass container with holes at the top.

“So, did you choose your new friend?” They smiled. I pointed to the talking turtle. My

mother walked to me. “Are you sure you want a turtle?”

I looked at the magical turtle and it winked at me. “Yeah.”

The workers picked up the magical turtle and put him in the glass container. They gave it

to me. Mother went with them to pay for the turtle and food.

“I’m going to name you Kanye,” I smiled.

“It’s George Clooney, you dumb butt!” He turned away from me and sank in his green,

glossy shell.

I learned a lot from Clooney. I got his sarcasticness and his smart-mouth. He taught me to

be responsible and to take care of myself. In other words, I learned, instead of being trampled by

other people, to trample others and take pride in it. I learned not to cage myself in darkness, but

instead to try and gain freedom, and to bribe other people if I need the help. I loved George

Clooney, and I like to think he loved me, too. Sadly, he slipped through my fingers and I was

forced to let him go. I still cherish all the time we spent together. I’ll never forget him. Maybe I

should have fed him more often. Maybe I didn’t treat him as well as I should. I took George for

granted. Now, he’s gone. That was my deepest regret.

I don’t think I could ever get such a magical turtle again. He was one of a kind. When I

lost Clooney, I lost the capability to love. Now, I’m a dark, depressed, little weaboo.

I lost Wally/Waldo.