Marlie Brock's entry for the Junior Beta Club state convention creative writing submission:
It was a rainy Monday afternoon when I heard someone knocking on my door. When I looked outside to see who was there I was surprised to see only a box on my doorstep. I knew it couldn’t have been something I had ordered because I always go and pick my stuff up from the store. I put my brave face on and decided to open it. I was startled by what I saw. It was horrifying and cute at the same time. It was a baby alligator. I was not as scared as I was before now that I knew it only had a few teeth and none of them were sharp.
There was only one other person in the house, it was my husband, Derrick. He has always wanted a pet but we never had anyone to look after it since we are always busy. I grabbed the box and went inside the house. Derrick was sitting on the couch, watching football, as usual.
“Derrick…what is this?” I asked him.
He looked at me and started blushing. “Heh heh, I forgot to tell you I ordered us a pet” he said nervously.
“What?” I said angrily! He started blushing some more.
“We have nobody to look after him!” I yelled.
“We can teach him to take care of himself” said Derrick, after I calmed down.
“What? HE IS AN ALLIGATOR!” I screamed.
“Well, there are pet training classes and I already signed him up” Derrick said.
“Ok, but if he is trouble he is out of here!” I said in a firm voice. Derrick agreed to this.
Our pet just finished training and he is as good as can be, he can take care of himself, too. We named him Danny which means he is officially part of the family. I am glad Derrick talked me into this. It is nice to have a pet you can rely on, and a pet that can comfort you through hard times.
I think that Danny is one of the best things that has happened to me.