U is for Unplugged
With many thanks to my Facebook friend, Megan Slattery who inspired this story this morning with her Facebook post about her wonderment at seeing a young couple walking along enjoying the spring day without being buried in their phones or having ear buds hanging out of their ears.
Shauna hurried along, phone in hand,
texting with her friend, Casey. She was late for French class once again. Her
eyes never once left her phone as she rushed
across the pedestrian bridge. Suddenly she collided with someone and her phone
flew out of her hand. She shrieked as she saw it go hurtling over the bridge
and heard a splash.
“Noooooooo!” she cried.
.
She turned and focused on the dazed girl
sprawled on the ground next to her.
“Are you okay?” Shauna asked, helping
the girl to her feet.
“I lost my phone!” the girl wailed.
“Me, too,” Shauna said, trembling in
panic. Both of them looked over the edge of the bridge to the murky depths of
the river below.
“This sucks,” the girl said and started
to cry.
“Oh, come on now,” Shauna said to
reassure her. “It’s not the end of the world. A phone can be replaced.”
“My life was in that phone,” the girl
said between loud sobs.
“Oh, me, too,” Shauna agreed. “Sad that
we’re so dependent on them.” The girl nodded and picked up her knapsack.
“Let’s take a walk and calm down. I missed French class again. Madame Laplante will be angry, but what else is
new?” Shauna said trying to sound more positive than she felt. “What’s your
name? I’m Shauna.”
“Candace,” the girl said, wiping away
her tears. “Hey, I have Madame Laplante, too. You must be in my class. I never
noticed you before.”
“I didn’t notice you either. Guess we
were buried in our phones,” Shauna said and the two girls laughed.
They walked along the forest path
watching the ducks and swans floating in the water nearby. Snowdrops and daffodils
peeked out of the new grass.
“I never knew the river had swans and
ducks,” Candace said.
“Neither did I,” Shauna admitted. “And listen
to the birds chirping in the trees. What a racket!” They watched the antics of
the squirrels tearing through the trees chasing each other.
They spied a cantine when they came out
of the forest and bought some soft ice cream. Sitting on a park bench, they ate
their cones.
“That guy in the cantine is pretty cute,
eh?” Shauna observed. “I never noticed him before.”
“He is a hunk, for sure,” Candace said. “He
said his name is Brock.”
“What a great day!” Shauna said, stretching
out her bare legs.
“I agree,” said Candace. “So what should
we do about our phones?”
I am participating in the A to Z Challenge writing a blog post for every day in April, except Sundays. http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/
Here are my previous posts for the challenge:
A is for Andante or Allegro, which one are you?
B is for Beauty of Birds
C is forMy Favourite Words begin with C
D is for It's Still a Delightful Day!
E is for Elusive Eloise
F is for Forgive and Forget
G is for Guilt
H is for Holiday in your Head
I is for Introverts can have Impact and Influence
J is for Jack and Jill
K is for Katie the Klutz
L is for Lollygagging
M is for Magical Moments
N is for Never Again
O is for Object
P is for Picture Perfect
This is a lovely way to showcase a fictionalised version of a real life event. And so true. We do need to unplug and see the world with our own eyes. That seems to have gone 'out of fashion' altogether!
ReplyDeleteA Uruguayan called Jose
A timely story with a good message, Cathy. Personally, I don't understand this obsession with smartphones. How can a person's 'whole life' be contained within? (This must be a generational issue. LOL) I love the way you illustrate how the girls became reacquainted with the real world.
ReplyDeleteHahaha!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds at work again, Cathy!
I also wrote on getting unplugged today! :D
Happy AtoZing!
Chicky @ www.mysteriouskaddu.com