"Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way." (Jem, p. 62)

When I lived in Canberra, about 9 years ago, I clearly remember one time when I really did something my parents didn't like and was really ashamed because of it. My younger sister was about 3 and I was about 7. We asked my mum if she would take us on a bike ride. She said she would but we weren't fully happy until she also PROMISED us that we would go on our bike ride together BEFORE we went and did the food shopping (errrgh!!). So, with that in our minds we went about preparing to go on our bike ride. We filled up our drink bottles, denniel got a sun hat and we did a few practise laps up and down our street. When we pulled back into the drive way, about 20 minutes later, my mother was standing there and said to us, "Girls get off ur bikes and put them backn in the shed. I'm going inside to get my car keys and I want youn sitting in the car when I get out." Of course, we screamed and cryed and carried on and told her how she had PROMISED to take us BEFORE the shopping was done. She said that she was sorry but that we really had to get the shopping done first and that we would go together when we got back. So when she went inside, I convinced my little sister that we should go on our own bike ride because it just wasn't fair. She was worried and said, "Well how about we wait till mum comes back out and we'll ask her again?" Everntually I convinced her that mum wasn't going to take us and that it was ok because we would go on our bike ride, mum would wait for us and when we got back we'd do the shopping like planned. So off we went, We rode down our street, around Tuggranong Lake and off into the back streets of places we'd never been before. We had been riding for about an hour and a hlaf, (although it only seemed like 20 minutes to us) when I decided to take us both home, the only problem was that I didn't know where that was!! So I decided that the way we would find our way home was to go up through the streets, along the main rode and we would find our way back that way. So off we went through the main streets, and as we were coming up to the main road, a lovely police man that I had failed to see before approached me and asked me where my parents were. I said that my parents weren't with us and that my sister and I were on a bike ride together and we were heading home. He said, "Well were do you live and I can take you there?" I said I didn't know, but I knew that if I followed along this main road I would get there soon. He told us to wait a minute and called someone over his radio. When he got off from talking to someone on the other end he said that my dad and my uncle were on their way and that we were very lucky that he had found us; everyone was worried sick about where we were. So about 2 minutes later (we realised we had been going in cirlces a little) my dad and uncle pulled up in there car. They thanked the officer, put us in the car and drove us home. My dad was furious, he said that we should never have left without telling mum where we were. Then he started making numerous phone calls to people we didn't know. When we turned up home, most of the neighbourhood we in my front yard. The women all sobbing and the men pulling up in their cars around about the same time as us. All the women ran at us, and hugged us telling us that they were worried sick with worry. So mum and dad thanked everyone and sent them off home. Then they took us inside and we got into a LOT of trouble. Mum said that she was never going to let us go bikeriding again without an adult (which for us meant NEVER!!), and that we were grounded until further notice. My sister and I were beside oursleves, we didn't see how going on a (small) bikeride was such a big deal, but I was never so ashamed in my young life; my sister and I could never go riding without an adult again!!