Stuck in the Chimney in July

My name is Jessica Zhang. I am 16 years old, and a young pianist living in Kansas. Having won numerous awards, I am a respected figure in my neighborhood and community, with most people admiring me for being a levelheaded, sensible young lady. In the summertime, I spend all day practicing, and when I am not, I am usually teaching piano lessons. Otherwise, I give concerts in my neighborhood.

However, like most teens, I am prone to making silly mistakes and doing stupid things. One of them particularly stands out. It happened a few months ago when I went to teach a piano lesson. Below is the story:

One warm July morning, I opened up my eyes to beautiful sunlight shining through my window. I yawned, and stretched. Exhausted from an intense practice session the day before, I was getting ready to teach a piano lesson today to my student, Ada Hu.

I got up, and stretched. After a shower and brushing my teeth, I decided to leave. It was 10 AM, and the lesson was going to start in 30 minutes. The sun shone brightly in the sky, the breeze ruffled the leaves, and the weather was so nice and warm. I slid on my pink flip-flops as I set off to my student's house.

As I arrived to her place, I checked my phone. It was 10:20, and I still had time before the lesson would begin. I stood at the door, waiting until the lesson time.

Just then, I saw a ladder. A ladder that led to the rooftop. And then, an idea popped into my head. I was going to make a surprise entrance into the home. I would surprise Ada, as well as her older sister, Abby, by sliding down the chimney and into the living room.

I slid off my flip-flops, and left my phone on the porch as well, under my shoes. I climbed barefoot up the ladder. The metal burned hot under the sunlight as I climbed up onto the roof. Slowly but surely, I made my way upwards onto the roof. Carefully, I walked towards the chimney. The dark blue nail polish on my toenails glittered in the sun as I made my way to the chimney.

When I got to the chimney, I peered down. It was dark. And full of soot. "Oh well, I'll just have to take my chances. Besides, I'm rather skinny anyway," I said to myself. I was wearing a white t-shirt and white short shorts. I lifted my left leg and put it into the chimney, followed by the other leg. With my hands grabbing onto the chimney's edge, I lowered myself into the chimney before releasing myself.

"Here I go!" I said to myself. I began sliding down the chimney, as my body brushed tightly against the walls. I was sliding down slower than I thought I would. The chimney was dark, but I was going to make it.

Then, I stopped moving. There I was, in the chimney at Ada's house. Except I wasn't sliding down, I was stuck in place. I used my hands to push against the walls, hoping to help myself slide down further. I tried wiggling my body, but it was no good. I was hopelessly stuck. I tried kicking my legs, but that didn't work with. I was stuck.

Panicked, I knew there was only one thing left I could do. Call out for help. As I peered down, I saw that my feet were hanging in the fireplace. I decided to call for help.

"Help me, help me, I'm stuck in the chimney! Ada, Abby! Get me out of here!" I cried.

I heard footsteps coming. "Jessica? Is that you? How did you get stuck in the chimney?" Ada asked.

"Oh my God!" I heard Abby exclaim.

"Yes, it's me! Get me out of here, please!" I cried.

"Don't worry Jessica! We'll get you out!" Ada assured me. I felt two pairs of hands grabbing onto my ankles. I felt fingers tickling against the bottom of my right foot. I giggled.

"Jessica, on the count of three, we'll pull you out. Ready?" Abby said.

"Yes, I am!" I laughed.

"One, two, three!" they said, before giving a sudden tug with their arms. They pulled, and pulled, but I was still stuck.

"Why don't we try again?" Abby said. They grabbed hold more tightly of my ankles and feet.

"One, two, three!" they pulled again. It was no good. I was still stuck.

"Why don't you try pulling with your full body weight?" I suggested.

"We'll try one more time, Jessica. If this time doesn't work, we'll have to call for help. On the count of three, we'll pull with all our might," Abby said.

"One, two, three!" They gave the biggest pull they could muster, and I came free in an instant.

I slid free out of the chimney and into the living room, landing on my bottom. There, I saw Abby and Ada also having fallen onto their bottoms.

We looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

I was covered in soot and dirt from being inside the chimney.

"Jessica, what were you doing?" Ada asked.

"What were you thinking?" Abby asked.

"I don't know," I replied, sheepishly. My face turned bright red from embarrassment.

"Why did you go down the chimney? Why didn't you simply come in like you usually do?" Ada asked.

"I just thought it would be fun to try sliding down the chimney and surprising both of you. But don't you do it, that was a painful experience! Thanks to both of you for pulling me free!" I smiled.

"It's alright Jessica," Abby replied.

"Where are your shoes?" Ada asked.

"I took off my flip-flops when I arrived here," I replied.

"Let's have our lesson, shall we?" Ada proposed.

"Of course!" I laughed.