We are in Quito for Christmas Break! Yay! House/pet sitting for the Coyle’s while they are in the States.
Had to get some food and groceries, so we went to the San Luis Shopping mall.
After dinner at the KFC in the food court, Abigail and I asked if we could go up the escalator.
The descending one.
And Mom said yes.
Didn’t expect her to let us, but I figured she thought it was safe enough for a 12 and 10 year old. It didn’t click that she doesn’t really let us do anything that we won’t learn from.
Let’s just say my shins are pretty banged up, and my face made contact with the ‘moving stairs’ more than once. Way more than once.
And afterward, we ran in to a security guard upstairs.
I started to freak out. I couldn’t breathe, my throat was swelling up, and my converses seemed to get smaller. I looked for a girl with brownish/reddish/blondish hair like mine so I could say “Look! The culprit who climbed up the down escalators!” if things got bad.
I smiled and tried to look smaller, tried to disappear. But all the officer said was something about the Play Zone at the other end of the mall.
That was probably the longest time I’ve ever held my breath. EVER.
Then we went to Crepes and Waffles, the ice cream parlor that we went to on my birthday.
After our banana splits (with little paper umbrellas stuck in them), tiramisu, toffee brownie, and clown-shaped ice cream, we headed outside.
It was pouring rain, and there was lightning and thunder.
“Put the umbrellas in your pocket,” Dad told Abigail. But the thunder was louder, and it almost deafened us.
“Huh?” Abigail asked.
“PUT THE UMBRELLAS IN YOUR POCKET!” he repeated.
A man with a (real) black umbrella was standing near us while my dad said this both times.
“I would if I could,” he said, shaking the umbrella off with aggravation.
And Dad didn’t realize until we told him, an hour later.
-Madeline Studebaker