The Great Blackout

This is a short story about four friends who faced a blackout in their city.

There once were four children who lived in a neighbourhood. They were two boys and two girls. Their parents were friends with each other and so the four of them also became friends over time. The boys’ names were Jimmy Lee, a red-haired child who loved to read books about pirates and adventures, and Julio Ramirez; he liked the beach, music, and above all, playing the drums. The girls were Cassie Armstrong a little blonde who loved making pies and cakes, and Juliet Mancini, an animal lover. The four children always played in the neighbourhood park. They had known each other practically since birth, and so they were very good friends. When their parents met, the children would play hide-and-seek or hopscotch, they were always having fun.

One thing that these children really liked was movie nights every Friday. All the parents would sit in the kitchen to have adult conversations while the children enjoyed a good movie. When they met at the Lees’, they would watch movies about pirate adventures, because Jimmy loved pirates. When they met at the Ramírez family’s house, they would watch movies about surfers or see musical concerts, because Julio liked music and the beach a lot. When they were at the Armstrongs’ house, they would watch cooking shows where actors were baking big cakes or making delicious gourmet food, because Cassie loved to cook and wanted to become a professional Chef. And finally, when they were at the Manssinis’ house, they would watch movies about animals, or programs about animals in the jungle or in the great African savanna.

As you can see, these children were all very different but they understood that people are all not the same. They understood the preferences of one another and they took turns sharing the things they liked. That was why they were such good friends because it did not bother them that others were different. They would rather just have fun. These children also went to school together. When they had to make groups for a task, the four always came together, making a very good team and the teacher called them “my favourite quartet” because they had good behaviour in class and they knew a lot about the things that they liked. Jimmy liked history and books a lot, so when the task was to read something, he was the one who would explain it to his friends. Julio was very good at sports, so sometimes he would coach his friends. Cassie loved mathematics, so she would explain to the others how to add and subtract, and finally, Juliet loved scientific experiments.

All led quiet and happy lives, but one day something incredible happened to them. On a Friday night that was just like any other, they were watching movies at one of the houses while they ate popcorn. This time, it was at Lee’s house, so they were watching a pirate movie. Just at the moment when the buccaneers were boarding another ship, everything around them went dark. What was happening? Nobody knew. The scared children start screaming. Everything was so dark that they could not even see their own hands. They tried to get up and go to their parents but since they could not see anything, they tripped over their own feet and fell, until a light entered the room. It was Mr. Lee, Jimmy’s father, who had entered the room with a flashlight to look for the children. Mr. Lee always wore round glasses and a lumberjack shirt. He was a man who liked to camp in the woods and go fishing. “Are you all ok around here?” Mr. Lee asked.

“Dad, dad,” said Jimmy, “what happened? We were in the best part of the movie. Why is everything suddenly so dark? I’m so scared.”

“We are scared too,” the other three children said at the same time.

“Oh, there’s nothing to fear. There was a blackout in the city because apparently there was a failure with the electric supply company.”

“Does that mean we cannot finish watching the movie?” Julio asked.

“No Julio, I think not but it’s not something to be sad about. There are many things we can do when there is no electricity. I came to look for them so we can go out to the garden. We have put chairs and tables outside. There are several games that we can play. I’m sure you will not miss the movie night after you see everything we have prepared for you… “ said Mr. Lee. This was how the adventures of these four children begin in the middle of the blackout (to be continued).