Uncool, Dad.

I chose to tweet about a childhood memory that’s never really been forgotten. A classic 90’s Dad move where he decided to leave some of his kids in the car to run a “quick” errand, because he thought it’d be too much work to bring them along.

A POV story from my five-year-old self, the memory evokes the fear and panic I felt on that day. It turns out that my Dad had only been gone for less than 10 minutes. However, in the heat of the moment, stuck in a car with a crying kid, it felt like we’d been abandoned for hours.

Out of all of Module 2’s readings, I felt the most connected to the Eight Point Arc:

• Stasis: Teresa and her weekly piano lessons
• Trigger: Dad leaves Ken and I in the car. Ken starts crying and won’t stop.
• Quest: I need to get Ken to stop crying.
• Surprise: Since it’s Fall, the sky is getting darker earlier. We’re surrounded by multiple apartment buildings and in a full carpark. I don’t see a single soul around. It feels like hours since Dad left us.
• Critical choice: Do I leave to find Dad? Do I bring Ken with me or not?
• Climax: I decide to open the door.
• Reversal: Dad shows up just as I opened the door.
• Resolution: I realized that not as much time had passed as I’d imagined. Dad also realizes he never should’ve left us alone and I never should’ve tried to leave the car. Ken stops crying and we head home for dinner.