Spartan Scroll

by JUSTIN LEE

I was on a mission.

It was March 20, my mom’s birthday, and, being the great son that I am, I still hadn’t gotten her a present.

I decided that I would get my mom her favorite flowers, ranunculus, and some chocolate with my $10 budget.

But, there was a slight dilemma to my plan—I didn’t have a car or my sisters to take me. I asked around to see if any of my friends would be willing to drive me, and it was finally settled.

After school, my mom called asking when I would be done. I lied, saying that I would be at school until around 5:30 p.m., giving me about an hour and a half to go to Trader Joe’s.

I left school with my friend at 4 p.m., rushing to be back by 5:30 p.m. We looked up directions for the fastest route to take. According to Google Maps, the estimated time it should have taken us was 25 minutes, which would have been plenty of time. But in actuality, it took us 40 minutes because of traffic.

With only 10 minutes to look around and buy the gifts for my mom, I darted into the store, immediately making my way towards the flower section.

Thoughts ran through my mind: What if they didn’t have Ranunculus or any of the flowers my mom liked?

As I looked through the flower section, I didn’t see anything of interest. But hiding the corner, I saw one last bunch of white ranunculus, the flowers I had been searching for.

After picking up dark chocolate from a nearby aisle, I immediately stood in line to pay, neglecting all the other glorious wonders that Trader Joe’s had to offer.

I payed for the flowers and chocolate, buying an extra paper bag and made my way out in under five minutes.

I was back on schedule, a big relief since she wouldn’t question me on where I was or what I was doing.

On the drive back, I ripped open the extra bag I had bought, tore off the plastic wrapping around the flowers and furiously tried rewrapping the flowers in brown paper. I finally made the bouquet of flowers presentable.

My friend dropped me off in my driveway and I stealthily made my way into the backyard, dropping off the flowers. I made my way back to the front door and rang doorbell.

My mom opened the door, oblivious to what I had done. When asked why I had to stay after school, I told her that I had to stay for journalism. It wasn’t completely made up, since I did stay for an hour, preparing for the competition that would be held the next day.

Now, all I had to do was wait until she was busy so that I could bring in her gift. Once she set foot into the garage to get the laundry, I immediately ran off to the back porch, got the flowers and chocolate and presented my mom with her gifts. Her eyes lit up and she gave me a big hug.

Mission accomplished.