Point of view: realistic fiction 8

The Tornado

1. “Drive faster, Jada!” Hailey told her older sister. “Those storm clouds are dark and ominous—I don’t like the way they look.”
2. The girls were heading home from Freeze Frame after their usual Tuesday night ice-cream run where they famously took advantage of the buy one, get-one free midweek promotion. Hailey always selected a single scoop of chocolate chip in a cup, while Jada alternated between the chocolate cookie dough shake (extra-thick!) and the banana split parfait.
3. “OK, Miss Weather Girl, Miss-I’m-a-nerd-and-have-a-picture-of-a-tornado-on-my-cell-phone. We’ll be fine . . . besides, I don’t want to speed, ya know. . . I’ve only had my license for two months, remember?” Jada quickly but smoothly stuffed a massive scoop of her shake into her mouth while keeping her left hand on the wheel.
4. Hailey studied the cloud formation to their west and mentally calculated the time since she first spotted the cumulonimbus clouds. She thought they had ample time to get home, but now she was second-guessing it—the clouds had turned an eerie greenish-dark gray color and had exploded in size. Rain started to fall, and soon, the first ping! of hail hit the windshield. Hailey rolled down her window and the wind whipped through the car like an angry beast.
5. “This doesn’t look good! Turn around, Jada, and travel south away from the storm,” Hailey shouted.
6. “Can’t we just outrun it?” inquired Jada. “I can speed up, or, look, there’s an overpass up ahead—we can park under there and wait for the storm to pass.”
7. But the rain shaft promptly enveloped them and visibility worsened. The girls couldn’t see that a wall cloud was forming at the base of the thunderstorm and picking up speed as it rotated counterclockwise.
8. “Pull over, Jada! A funnel cloud is probably forming—we need to locate a ditch immediately!”
9. Jada slammed on the brakes, and her shake catapulted toward the Chevrolet’s dash. The girls scrambled out, and Hailey motioned a screaming Jada to a dry canal.
10. “Cover your head, Jada!”
11. Within minutes, debris swirled overhead. A humongous tree branch whizzed past, then something metal skipped by on the ground above them. Hailey guessed it was a mailbox or possibly a small patio table. Jada panicked and Hailey grabbed her hand. “It’s OK, Jada. Stay calm. It’ll be over quick.”
12. When the wind died down and the pounding rain ceased, Hailey stood up and peered over the top of the ditch. She knelt back down next to Jada and the two sat there, huddled and soaked, but relieved and thankful.
13. Jada slowly located her voice and said, “You’re the smartest girl I know, Hailey, and I’m glad you’re such a brainiac about the weather!”