The Speckled Red Rock

       I have written and typed many things, from poems to short stories to the beginning of super spectacular novels. But if I were to pick and choose out of them all, my proudest piece would be The Red Speckled Rock. This short story started out as a painfully time consuming english project, yet it is finished meaning much more to me than a letter grade. Quincey Eliza Stanford is a young girl whose parents are divorced and she's stuck with her pesky mom, who hardly understands her. Quincey hates her life, she hates her name, the only two things she loves are the sea and her father. If Quincey could live on the water for the rest of her life she would. She would wake up early in the morning and row far out over the water and just watch the sun rise. Quincey's father understands this and understands her, which is why Quincey loves him. In the very beginning of the novel Quincey finds a speckled red rock that was washed onto the shore, it fits perfectly in her palm and stands out from the others, just like she does. One night Quincey's mom confronts her, telling her that they are moving to the city and that she is coming too. Quincey is horrified and decides to protest against such inhumane treatment. Quincey tricks out her old rowboat, giving it a roof with a tarp and re-attatching an old motor. Quincey rows out to the sea bringing only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for meals. The second day on her own, Quincey trips over the cooler, starting the motor which causes the whole boat to fly forward. Surprised, Quincey loses her grip on the red rock in attempt to turn off the motor. Her precious treasure flys out into the water, gone for good. That night is rough on Quincey and she finds it difficult to keep the blood circulating in her legs from sitting so long. The next morning she rows home and finds her father waiting on the dock. The whole reuinion is very emotional. Quincey's father said her mother phoned him worried, and that he would buy a house on the sea so that she could live there with him. At the very end, her father presents a rock which he had found in the water, that he thought she would love it to be in her collection. Quincey is overwelmed with joy to discover that the rock he found was indeed her speckled red rock, this symbolizes that she had been found. I enjoyed writing this not only because I was getting credit for it, but because it is a touching story, and because I enjoyed the challenge of comparing part of what Quincey loves (the rock as part of the sea) to being a part of Quincey. I believe that the story turned out well and I got 100% for my grade, which made me even prouder for completing it.