The Poison Ivy Plan
Fiction
Davy and Hannah had been best friends since they were in diapers. The nine-year-olds lived two houses apart but shared the forest in their backyard. Mr. Summers, the old man who lived between them, owned the land and gave them the proverbial green light to access it whenever they wished.
The forest became the children’s sanctuary over time. It spanned miles; a river ran through it.
One Sunday afternoon while building a fort out of large sticks and dreading their return to school the next day, Davy came up with a plan.
“Hey,” he said. “You want to skip school tomorrow?”
“Duh,” Hannah replied without hesitation. “But how are we gonna do that?”
Davy smirked and beckoned Hannah to follow him. She knew that look – it meant he was up to no good. He led her off the trail about twenty paces before they stood before it.
“Poison Ivy?” Hannah asked. She folded her arms over her chest. “I don’t know…”
“You’ve never gotten it before, right?” Davy asked. Hannah shook her head. “Me either. It can’t be that bad.”
Davy stepped toward the patch and ripped a handful of the unmistakable leaves from their stems. He began to rub them all over his bare arms. Hannah hesitated at first but eventually joined him.
“Maybe we’ll get a couple days off from school,” Davy said, laughing, as he tore up leaves and rubbed the oily remnants on his legs, the back of his neck – everywhere.
“Don’t go too crazy,” Hannah said. “There, I’m done.” She had covered her arms and legs.
The sun had started setting over the hilltops to the west. Streaks of light poked through the leafy trees.
“We better head home,” Hannah said. Both of their families had the same rule: don’t be late for dinner.
The next morning, Davy’s mom called Hannah’s.
“Morning, Heather,” she said. “Sorry for the early call…I just wanted to check on Hannah. Did she get into that poison ivy too?”
“Hmm, no, I don’t think so. Hold on a minute. Hannah!” After a few seconds, she came back on the line. “No, she doesn’t have anything on her. Why? Is everything okay with Davy?”
“Hmm…maybe she’s immune. He’s covered in a horrible rash from head to toe. I mean…covered. He must have been itching all night, poor kid. I’ll probably have to take him to the ER.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry,” Heather replied. “Well, Hannah’s fine, and she’ll be getting on the bus soon. She can pick up his homework for him if you’d like.”
“That would be wonderful.”
Soon after, Davy was sitting in the backseat of his mother’s car, getting whisked away to the Emergency Room. His whole body burned, and he fought with every ounce of his being to not scratch the spreading rash.
As they pulled into the hospital’s entrance, Davy thought, Maybe school isn’t so bad after all.
Thank you so much for reading “The Poison Ivy Plan” — I hope you enjoyed it!
Writing prompt: If you are aiming to get some words on the page, write about something foolish you did as a child — one of those bone-headed moments you can look back on and laugh about. Or, write a fictional story about a child who goofs up in some capacity and has to deal with the natural consequence.
Have a great weekend!
I’m so allergic to poison oak and poison ivy that I might have gotten a rash just from reading this story!
I have never had a reaction to poison ivy, so either I am immune or just lucky. I tend to think it’s the first.