Tornado watch
as sydney unlocked the back door, she sighed at how easily it opened. she used to have to put her shoulder in just the right spot to force their old door to open. they’d had this new back door, this new house, for not quite a year. “it should feel like home by now,” she thought sadly before greeting her dog charlie, a spunky beagle with big brown eyes. three years ago, a tornado had torn through their town, decimating everything in its path, and their house, unfortunately, had been part of the decimation. it took two never-ending years, but sydney’s family rebuilt their house with the of a very generous insurance check, and according to her mom and little sister, the new house was an improvement. sydney could admit it was a little bigger and even a little nicer—the back door didn’t stick anymore, for example—but she preferred their old house, even with all of its imperfections.

sydney wasn’t left alone with her thoughts for long, because her 11-year-old little sister, sophie, burst in, chattering animatedly about her day. sophie tossed her backpack on the counter, gave charlie a treat, and started rummaging for a snack in the refrigerator.
sophie poked her head out of the fridge and asked her sister worriedly, “where’s mom? she’s not working late tonight, is she? ”

“i’m sure you’ll be delighted to hear that i’m on dinner duty again,” sydney said, unable to resist tormenting her sister. when sophie moaned, sydney laughed and admitted, “she’ll be home in less than an hour, so you are safe from the risk of food poisoning for one more day.”
giddy with relief, sophie bounced into the living room, and sydney heard the television come on. “sydney, get in here! ” sophie called frantically. sydney immediately knew what was wrong, because all day at school people had been talking about the dire weather predictions. before the tornado, she hadn’t remembered her classmates talking about barometric pressure or the fujita scale. “we now live in fear of supercells and sirens and everything we might lose again,” she thought.

sydney tried to stay calm as she watched the weather forecast with her frightened little sister. “the meteorologist said it’s a tornado watch, soph. you remember that just means tornadoes are possible, right? there is no tornado warning yet, and there might not be one, so right now there’s just a storm coming our way. we have our shelter in the basement if we need it. we’ll keep the news on and be smart, but we don’t need to freak out.” she forced a smile, hoping to reassure her sister, though she felt anything but sure herself.
“i haven’t even had time to get used to the new back door yet,” she thought as sophie disappeared upstairs. mom had a half-hour commute and should be headed home right now, unless she had to work late. , she would be coming in the opposite direction of the storm, but the storm was coming fast, and sydney hoped fervently her mom was coming faster.

the sky darkened ominously and then was illuminated by a brilliant flash of lightning. charlie, who had always been terrified of storms, tried to wedge himself under the sofa. sydney took three calming breaths and went to the kitchen to get flashlights, snacks, and a deck of cards. she pulled charlie’s head from under the sofa and clipped his leash to his collar. she was torn between watching the driveway for her mom and going upstairs to check on sophie. just then, sophie appeared at the top of the stairs, carrying every bag she owned stuffed full of her most prized possessions, and disappeared into the basement. she quickly raced back upstairs, this time with an armful of reusable shopping bags.
a loud crack followed by an immediate rumbling of thunder told sydney that the storm had arrived. she flicked her eyes to the television screen just as the yellow tornado watch turned to a red tornado warning. she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as the terrible truth sank in: somewhere nearby there was a tornado. she knew her mom would expect them to get in the shelter immediately. sydney looked at the driveway one last time, hoping in vain to see her mother’s car pulling in. sophie came down the stairs as the sirens sounded, loud and insistent. how does sydney’s character change in response to the storm?
adores her new home. however, once the storm strikes, she is reminded of her old home that was destroyed by a storm three years earlier.
is concerned about their house, but once the tornado sirens sound and they go down into the shelter, she realizes that the only thing that truly matters is that her family is safe.
is careless and unconcerned about future storms, but once she sees the news report, however, she realizes that they will never be safe in their current location.
is annoyed by her sister and enjoys tormenting her, but after the storm, she realizes how much her sister means to her and that her behavior is wrong.