Two Stories about Friends

Two stories. Short. Simple. Each story about two friends. In one, two boys walk along the beach and look at a starfish. In the other, two boys shoot off fireworks on a vacant lot. Each of these very short stories is, in its own way, complex. Not only do the stories provide a vivid picture of where they take place, but they also each reveal a great deal about the characters, their relationship to each other, and their relationship to the world.

As you read the stories, and they deserve reading more than once, pay particular attention to the two boys. The boys have a very strong presence. And they are quite different from each other. Notice how the differences are revealed. In “Clam Sushi,” for example, the two characters display quite different ideas about what should be done with the starfish. In both stories, however, it is clear that the two boys are very close friends. They seem to enjoy just being together.

Project: Write a Very Short Story
Your story should be no longer than one or two pages. The action should take place in a single location. Include two characters, as Daniel does. Show us how different they are different.

You might think of yourself as writing a scene for a play – just one scene. The scene may be at the beginning of the play, in the middle, or at the end. Both of Daniel’s stories are clearly placed in the middle of a day, although he doesn’t tell us what happens before or after.

Like Daniel, make your scene a “slice of life.” If you want to write several short pieces, consider writing scenes that reveal different moments in what is really a long and complicated story. You might even try to tell a long story by just writing the highlights in the form of brief sketches.

There are different ways you can show us how your characters act and respond to each other. In one of Daniel’s stories there is dialogue. In the other there isn’t. If there is dialogue in your scene, remember to make it as realistic as possible. The language of spoken English is not as precise as the language of written English. Let your characters tell us who they are by the natural way they talk.

Friends and Fireworks

by Daniel Bethea, age 12

Batam, Indonesia

On Sunday afternoon my Irian Jayan friend Fanda and I walked to the deserted lot full of kalimunteng bushes near our Batam house, on the paved road going to our church. When we arrived we played with fireworks. Their bright flames looked like spotlights in a circus. Sparks that fell to the sand reminded me of Expo ’86. My friend started roasting ants with his fireworks. The sizzling ants sounded like corned beef cooking in an iron skillet. The handles of the fireworks warned but didn’t burn up. Smoke and the odor of burnt plastic filled my nostrils as Fanda melted rubber. I saw a train of ants leading to a squashed berry. I felt in my pocket for the smooth surface of my last big kalimunteng. I didn’t want the ants to get it. I could still taste my second to last big berry..

Suddenly my dog, Santan, started barking his head off at a baby. The infant screamed back at Santan so he ran to me for help. I stroked his fur and told him to hush.

As we left I heard rocks crunching and popping. They were brittle and dry because there hadn’t been any rain for a while. We ran home, the rocks grinding together under our feet.

Clam Sushi

by Naomi Wendland, age 12

Lusaka, Zambia

Batam Island’s fierce tropical sun glared down at me on that Sunday afternoon, the day of Fanda’s birthday party. As I walked down the mud flats at low tide, I nonchalantly flipped a starfish over. Suddenly I stopped and yelled, “Fanda, come quick! There’s something green in the middle of this starfish!”.

He ran up and questioned eagerly, “Where? I want to see!”

“This easy-going starfish is turning his stomach inside out to eat this unfortunate clam,” I told Fanda as I moved the starfish to uncover just that.

The clam lay there, apparently dead. The pow erful suction cups of the starfish had pried open its shell. About half of the juicy pink flesh remained in the shell.

“Hey, Daniel, go get your knife and we’ll see how much he’s eaten,” Fanda suggested shrilly.

“No, that’s mean. How would you like it if a starfish came and cut you open to see what you ate?” I retorted.

“Well,” Fanda replied, “he could see I’m eating cake, so he wouldn’t need to saw on me.”

“You can see that he’s eating clam,” I replied.

In the end, we left the greenish brown starfish to finish his living clam chowder alone.

(From the January/February 1991 issue of Stone Soup.)
Copyright 1991 Children’s Art Foundation

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