Emma Noelle and Her Stinkertongue

“Emma, breakfast is ready.” It was 7:00 on Saturday morning. Emma Noelle was getting ready for her day. She was going to be with her dad for the weekend and into most of the week. She was excited. She only saw her dad every few weeks. Her mom and dad were divorced. She had been living with her mom. She got up and changed out of her pajamas.

“Coming!” she yelled. She ran down stairs. Her mom handed her a plate of pancakes. “When is dad gonna be here?” Emma asked. She was eager to leave. Her mom was getting ready to go to work for a parent teacher conference. She taught fifth grade.

“He'll be here at eight. Be sure to take your bag. There are some snacks in the refrigerator for you to take for the trip. I'll see you later,” she picked up her keys and left. Emma finished breakfast and went upstairs to her room. She picked up her bag. She never left the house without it. It was filled with stuff, her wallet, her knife (a hunting knife she bought for emergency-neither her mom nor her dad knew she had it), her notebook, some pens, a slingshot, a flashlight, her laptop, and marbles.

She ran downstairs and put some chips, some cookies, and a water bottle in her bag. She went outside and locked the door, putting the spare key back in the house plant. Then, she froze. She thought she saw a lizard as big as a small car run across the street and into the woods across from her house. She walked across the street to the woods. She started to explore. She knew the woods (they weren't very large) and the friendly old man living in them, Mr. Blosk. After half an our of searching, she began to think she had imagined the lizard. She went back and waited for her dad.

“You ready?” Emma was going to leave. Her dad had just arrived. They were going to go on a road trip from Colorado to California. Her dad, Bert (who she never called dad), wanted to try his new truck. It was a camper he bought after leaving his apartment.

“Ready,” she said. “Let's go.” They went to the van. It was bigger than Emma imagined. There was a bed, a mattress, a TV (Luckily with Rock Band-for 630-and a DVD player because it had no cable), a sink, and a small closet.

“I'll be driving up front. The water tank is full, but don't run the sink for too long. You can watch TV or play the X-Box if you want..”

“Okay, thanks Bert,” Emma replied. Her dad went to the front. She went and sat down on the bed. The camper looked pretty cozy. She looked out the window near the bed. Then, she saw the lizard. It was just the tail, but she was sure she had seen it. She opened the window connecting to the drivers seat.

“Bert, I-” she began. How could she make it seem like she saw a giant lizard? He wouldn't believe her.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Never mind.” She couldn't tell him. How silly would she sound? She closed the window. I'm probably just imagining things she thought.

About two hours later, they stopped for gas. Emma went to explore around the area. It was mostly woods. She didn't want to get lost in the woods so, she just walked to the back of the gas station. There were huge rocks back there, some the size of the camper. They formed a ring. Emma went in the ring. She wondered how the rocks became formed like they were.

“Hello,” said a gruff voice behind her.

“Hi,” Emma said turning around. Her heart froze. She was staring at the giant lizard.

“What's your name?” asked the Lizard.

Emma was scared. She reached for her knife.

“Please don't use that on me,” said the Lizard when Emma drew the hunting knife.”I mean you no harm.” Emma was never going to use the knife. She only used it for scare.

“How do I know your telling the truth?” Emma asked. She really was very frightened of the Lizard.

“You have no choice but to believe me,” it said. “I swear on my tail that I won't hurt you.” It looked like it was telling the truth. For some reason she couldn't explain, Emma believed it. She put away her knife.

“So, what's your name?” she asked

“You may call me what you like, for I have many names. I have a name for every place in the world.”

“I'll call you Stinkertongue.”

“That name is fine.”

“I guess I should go now.” Emma thought she was dreaming. If not, she thought she could leave the Lizard and never see it again.

“I made this place. The rocks, the woods, the fuel,” it said.

“How?” asked Emma. She was curious. If he was telling the truth, she wanted to know how he did it.

“Emma! We're going!” Bert was calling her.

“Bye.”

“I won't be leaving you Emma.”