Lost and Found

Meg couldn’t find her phone anywhere. She knew her parents were going to be so upset with her. They hadn’t wanted to buy her a phone for her birthday because they thought she wasn’t responsible enough to keep up with one. But she had begged and pleaded and tried to convince them she was responsible until finally they had given in and purchased the phone for her.

Now, she knew she was proving them right.

She and her friends had been at the waterpark for only an hour when she realized her phone was nowhere to be found. She wanted to take pictures using the camera, but when she went to get her phone, it was gone. Despite her best search of the area, she couldn’t find the phone anywhere.

Meg sat down on the chair beside the pool. She could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks. She hoped the others thought it was just water from the pool. She didn’t want them to know she was crying.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar tune. The ring was coming from her phone, but where was it? She jumped up from the chair and began frantically searching through bags and under towels. When she looked up, a guy about her age was walking toward her with her phone in his hand and a grin on his face.

“I knew eventually I would find the owner this way. The relief that went across your face when you heard your ringtone was so obvious. I believe,” the stranger said as he held out her phone, “that this belongs to you.”

Meg couldn’t stop grinning as he explained he worked at the snack bar and had found her phone there. She remembered now having it with her when she went to get a drink, but when she left, all she had in her hands was her purchase. Meg thanked him for finding her phone. She wasn’t sure if she’d tell her parents about losing her phone, but she was definitely sure that she had learned a lesson about being responsible.