A New Writing Assignment

I have another writing assignment... this story is based on an experience I have had but with all stories things are made up so just enjoy the story!

She got up and walked into the kitchen to get a drink of ice-cold whole milk, none of that skim milk for her. She wanted the real stuff, at 13years old- calories or health was not of any concern. It would just be a delicious treat before calling it a night. The room was dark; the only light was coming from a low glow outside. Switching on the light inside she could see that it was her eldest brother running from a field at the edge of the property but something was not right. Her brother 16 years old at the time was rushing toward the house yelling for help. He was a handsome man with china white complexion, and dark black curly hair cut short per the fashion of the day. He was wearing a burgundy colored V-neck sweater and jeans. She was trying to process what she had just seen, first there had been a bright flash and someone was running…yelling for help. As the person was coming closer and closer to the back door of the kitchen, she just looked on with puzzlement. Was it really her brother? She first noticed the slate grey powder clinging to the skin surface, his face was unrecognizable. There was no visible blood, cuts or bruises. All she could see was a face covered with a slate grey powder, two eyes looking back at her filled with horror. There were so many thoughts racing through her head- what needed to be done, how could this be fixed, and what the heck happened out in that field?
What in God’s name had caused this disaster; she knew he had been building a rocket. It was in the time of Sputnik and the push to get men in space. Her brother’s first love had always been Physics, and his second was Science. When he was much younger, he experimented with chemistry sets, made a crystal radio, an intercom, and a gas-powered go-cart using a lawn mower engine. He even ventured into horror movies using his friends as actors. His intelligence had been a curse and a gift because it was difficult for him to find people that understood his passions.
The idea of building a rocket came to him one summer afternoon. He noticed the pole being used as a clothesline would be suitable for the central part of the rocket. He would just need a top capsule and fins to stabilize the rocket as it went into space. Then a parachute to bring the capsule back down and rocket fuel to get the rocket off the launch pad. Rocket fuel was the “Gorilla in the Room.” Their parent’s method of parenting was very hands off- as long as no one was injured during any project their kids attempted, it would be deemed a success. Even though her brother had done a great deal of research into propulsion, rocket design, math, physics, and the chemistry of launching a rocket, however something had gone wrong. That night he had been in the field conducting experiments into what combination would be the best to launch his rocket however, an explosion occurred with his face receiving essentially the entirety of the blast. What she viewed on his face was the residue of the chemical explosion.
He was not crying out for assistance but standing stoically in the kitchen as his parents came in from the front room and were trying to decide what they should do. His mother had begun by using a clean face cloth trying to remove the grey powder from his face. Everyone was stricken with panic and it was resonating in their voices with a gasp because it seemed that several layers of skin were coming off with each pass of the cloth. It was decided that this was something very serious and that it needed to be treated by a Doctor in a Hospital setting. She needed to watch the younger children so her brother, mother and father could rush him to the hospital. If the skin came off with a soft touch what would his face look like, how could they fix the mess her brother had gotten himself into?
She was too young to go visit her brother in the hospital. The staff at the hospital didn’t realize that she had been the one to see the horror on her brother’s face and her parents panic. She needed to see the healing process; however, the staff made that decision for her. Luckily, her brother was in the hospital for only ten days. On his triumphant return home, she had made banners welcoming him home. His face was white and smooth, the moles that had once been on his face were gone, - and the blast had blown off his moles.
The entire exploit was never really discussed. The rocket remained in her parent’s attic until her mother’s death. There was no more talk of space or any projects done without supervision. Her brother teamed up with a retired Physics Professor to work on prisms. His work won him a regional award in the Westinghouse Science Fair and a trip to San Francisco to compete for the National Westinghouse Science Prize. Unfortunately, her parents did not learn- they sent her brother alone to California; he survived his trip but it would have been nice to have at least one parent to cheer him on. He did not win the National prize but he won a college scholarship to a prestigious University. She would always remember the day they both walked out their high school together. There had been an all school assembly that day to honor her brother’s work with prisms. Seeing him on that stage was an experience that filled her with pride and even hero worship that was not repeated until she had her own children.