Illustration of a town street with text, "Gone Again"
Illustrations by Chris King
Fiction in a Flash,

Gone Again

Starting over isn’t easy—even when you’re an expert.

By Kristin Lewis
From the March 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: to explore dynamic character in a work of short fiction

Complexity Factors
  • Purpose
    This short story explores the challenge of moving often that the children of military families may have to contend with.
  • Structure
    The story is written in third person. It is mostly chronological.
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity
    Vocabulary: Contains some higher-level vocabulary words, such as agonizing, plummeted, reckoning, slog, and tantalizing. Conventionality: The language is conventional.
  • Knowledge Demands
    The story refers to the Marine Corps, Carlsbad, Okinawa, New Bern, and Frank Sinatra.
Lexile: 850L
Featured Skill: Character,
Common Core Standards
  • Anchor Standards
    R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.5, W.3, SL.1
  • Grade 6
    RL.6.1, RL.6.2, RL.6.3, RL.6.4, RL.6.5, W.6.3, SL.6.1
  • Grade 7
    RL.7.1, RL.7.2, RL.7.3, RL.7.4, RL.7.5, W.7.3, SL.7.1
  • Grade 8
    RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.3, RL.8.4, RL.8.5, W.8.3, SL.8.1
TEKS Standards
  • Grades 6, 7, 8
    1c, 2a, 2b, 3, 4, 5e, 5f, 5g, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, 7a, 7b, 7d, 8a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 11b

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SPOTLIGHT ON: DYNAMIC CHARACTER

A dynamic character undergoes a significant change over the course of a story. How does Kiera change during the story?

Kiera stared at the lasagna. The tantalizing smell of basil, tomatoes, and garlic filled her nose. Melty mozzarella, creamy ricotta, and glistening noodles were stacked, layer upon layer, to perfection. 

Kiera squeezed her fingernails into her palms as hard as she could—willing the tears in her eyes to go away.

Stupid lasagna.

Meanwhile, her mom and dad and little brother were scooping enormous portions onto their plates as if everything were totally fine. It was like aliens had landed in the backyard and her family’s response was to just . . . eat. Their new neighbors, Ron and Anna, looked so pleased with themselves for putting together this little welcome meal. They’d even lit a candle and set out a vase of freshly cut flowers.

“Kiera, I heard lasagna is your favorite,” Ron said. “It happens to be mine too. Maybe we could swap recipes sometime.”

Swap recipes?

That was the last straw.

There were many terrible things about moving. Kiera should know. She’d moved five times in her 14 years. Her parents were Marine Corps officers, so they got sent to different locations every few years. And with each PCS—that’s military lingo for “permanent change of station”—came the slog of packing up and moving on: cheap cardboard boxes that smelled like soggy dirt, the zip-zip-zip of rolls of tape being unwound, the endless folding and wrapping, the trash bins heaped with all the stuff you didn’t have the energy to haul to yet another home. 

There were the goodbyes to teachers and friends and coaches and neighbors and neighbors’ pets. There were the holes in your heart left by their absence. Kiera had said goodbye to so many people she thought her heart must look like Swiss cheese. 

Then there was the first day in your new house, when you had to cope with the weird stuff you found tucked away in cabinets and drawers, like rusty nail clippers and crusty sponges—inescapable reminders that someone had lived in that house before you and now they were gone. 

And when you unpacked, there was the reckoning of everything that didn’t make it, that somehow got lost along the way. 

Kiera had a list:

  1. Okinawa: teddy bear from Grandma
  2. Carlsbad: jar of slime made with Chris
  3. New Bern: earrings Misa mailed all the way from Japan for my 11th birthday 

Sometimes Kiera lay awake at night imagining a tragic fate for each lost belonging. The teddy bear fell out of the plane. It plummeted into the sea. Seagulls pecked out its button eyes.

The jar of slime tumbled through a hole in the bottom of a moving box. Chris rescued it from the sidewalk and put it on his shelf to remember her by. But then he stopped remembering her and threw the jar in the trash to make room for some new slime he had made with some new friend.

And the earrings? They slipped out of her pocket and into the street. A big truck ran them over, crushing them into a million pieces that a giant rainstorm swept into the sewer and rats ate them. 

Now here Kiera was, in her sixth house, in her sixth town, with a graveyard of treasures littered around the world. 

On the walk over to Ron and Anna’s, her parents had tried to cheer her up. They’d pointed at the Starbucks she could walk to after school. They’d said something about kids her age in the neighborhood. They’d even found a dojo for her. Her mom rattled off some 5-star reviews.

But to Kiera, it was mindless jabbering. Because really, what was the point?

“Aren’t you hungry?” Kiera’s mom asked, with an expression that said Please try. Please don’t be rude to these nice people.

Kiera looked down at the lasagna Ron had put on her plate. She cut off a tiny corner. She figured she’d chew and swallow as fast as she could. There was no way she was going to savor it.

But then something unexpected happened. 

The moment the lasagna hit her tongue, Kiera remembered the first time she’d made lasagna for Chris. She’d just moved to Carlsbad, and he was doing a Frank Sinatra impression. His voice sounded to Kiera like melted butter on waffles. 

She remembered eating lasagna in Okinawa for her seventh birthday. Some kids brought over mochi, and Misa made her a bracelet.  

Kiera remembered those two agonizing weeks when her dad was deployed. He’d said they wouldn’t hear from him for a few days, but then 15 days went by. She and her mom made lasagna every night to comfort her little brother. She remembered the feeling when they got word her dad was OK and when she finally saw him, how she hugged him and never wanted to let go. She remembered that after that, Misa was the first person she’d texted. 

And in fact, Kiera realized, she and Misa still texted practically every day.

So maybe it isn’t about what you leave behind. 

Maybe it’s about what you take with you. 

Kiera looked at her family. Her brother had sauce on his ears. How did he do that? Her dad was talking to Anna about planting a tree. And her mom? She was looking at Kiera the way moms do when they see right into your heart.

“So?” Ron asked. “What do you think?”

Kiera smiled as she politely wiped her mouth. “I think it’s the best lasagna I’ve ever had.”

Writing Prompt

Think about how Kiera’s attitude about her new home changes over the course of the story and why. Then imagine you’re Kiera. Write an email to Chris about your new home. 

This story was originally published in the March 2024 issue.

Slideshows (1)
Audio ()
Activities (9)
Preparing to Read
Reading and Discussing
Reference
Skill-Building Activities
Quizzes (1)
Answer Key (1)
Slideshows (1)
Audio ()
Activities (9)
Preparing to Read
Reading and Discussing
Reference
Skill-Building Activities
Quizzes (1)
Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

Download the Lesson Plan

Table of Contents

1. Prepare to Read

2. Read and Discuss

3. Write Your Sequel

4. Connected Reading

Essential Questions: How do we cope with change? What role do friends play in our lives? What does “home” mean?

1. PREPARE TO READ (10 MINUTES)

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Project the Vocabulary Slideshow on your whiteboard. Review the definitions and complete the activity as a class. The audio pronunciations of the words and a read-aloud of the definitions are embedded on the slides. Highlighted words: agonizing, plummeted, reckoning, slog, tantalizing.

2. READ AND DISCUSS (45 MINUTES)

  • Read the “Spotlight On” box on page 19 or at the top of the digital story page.

  • For students’ first read, have them follow along as they listen to author Kristin Lewis read her story aloud. The audio read-aloud is located in the Resources tab in Teacher View and at the top of the story page in Student View.

  • Have students reread and annotate the story independently. Here are some symbols you might have them use: 

∞ = connection

⭐ = important

❓ = I don’t understand

💭 = “I’m thinking . . .” (add words and comments)

💙 = love this

  • Alternatively, have students complete a double-entry journal during their reread. In their journals or on a piece of paper, have students create a T-chart. In the left-hand column, have them record three to five lines that jump out at them or feel particularly meaningful. In the right-hand column, have them record their reactions to these lines through questions, comments, connections, or analysis. You can find both a print and a digital version of our Double-Entry Journal handout in the Resources tab. 

  • Divide students into groups to discuss their annotations or double-entry journals. Then reconvene as a whole group and pose the following questions, some of which may draw on students’ reading responses and group discussions. (If you prefer to have students answer these questions in writing, use the Discussion Questions in the Resources tab.)

Discussion Questions (20 minutes)

  • What is your first clue that Kiera is unhappy? The first clue that Kiera is unhappy is the detail that while Kiera is at the table looking at her piece of lasagna, she is squeezing her fingernails into her palms, “willing the tears in her eyes to go away.”

  • The story begins with a seemingly happy moment—with the delicious smell of lasagna, Kiera’s favorite dish. Why is Kiera trying not to cry? Kiera is trying not to cry because she is upset about the fact that she has had to—yet again—uproot her life and move to a new place. Because her parents are in the military, she has to move around a lot and she is feeling angry and upset about her most recent move. She feels so overwhelmed with her emotions that she can’t even enjoy her favorite dish. 

  • In one part of the story, Kiera lists her lost belongings and describes what she has imagined happened to each of them. What does what she imagines tell you about her? Answers will vary. One possible answer is that the tragic fate that she imagines her lost belongings have suffered tells you that Kiera is afraid of being forgotten and losing the bonds that she has formed with her friends in different places. She might feel that she too is lost.

  • What is Kiera’s main conflict? Is it internal or external? Explain. Kiera’s main conflict is that she keeps having to move. Her conflict is both external and internal. Externally, her conflict is that she is physically far away from many of the things and people she loves. Internally, she is battling with her own feelings of loss and sadness about the things and people that she’s had to leave behind. She can’t get excited about the dojo or Starbucks in her new neighborhood, or about the fact that there are kids her age there. She just thinks “What’s the point?” She even keeps a list of what she’s lost. 

  • How is the conflict resolved? The external conflict is not quite resolved. Kiera is still in her new town, and will presumably one day have to move again. But she eats the lasagna she is offered and tells Ron that it’s the best she’s ever had. This suggests she is open to connecting to the people in her new town. The internal conflict is partially resolved as Kiera comes to the realization that she has not really lost the people that she has met in other places, and that she will always have her memories and experiences to look back on, as well as new memories and experiences to create in her new home with her family and new friends. She also realizes that even though she is physically separated from Misa, they are still very much in each other’s lives, as they text each other regularly.

  • What does the last line tell you? What can you infer about Kiera’s attitude? The last line, “I think it’s the best lasagna I’ve ever had,” tells you that Kiera is feeling much better about her situation. At the start of the story, she is on the verge of tears and calls the lasagna in front of her “stupid.” The lasagna makes her sad because it reminds her of friends that she had to leave behind. But at the end of the story, after reflecting on her happy memories with her friends from all over the world, she feels better. She’s realized that she hasn’t really lost anyone, and her commenting on how good the lasagna is signifies that she might be ready to move on and create new happy memories with new people.

Critical-Thinking Questions (5 minutes)

  • Has a joyful or happy memory ever made you sad, like Kiera’s memories of lasagna? Answers will vary.
  • Do you think it’s harder to leave someone behind or to be the one left behind—or do you think it’s about the same? Explain. Answers will vary.

3. WRITE YOUR SEQUEL (60 MINUTES)

  • Have students use the Featured Skill Activity: Character to help them to respond to the writing prompt on page 20 in the printed magazine and at the bottom of the digital story page:

Think about how Kiera’s attitude about her new home changes over the course of the story and why. Then imagine you’re Kiera. Write an email to Chris about your new home.

  • Alternatively, have students choose a task from the Choice Board, a menu of culminating tasks. (Our Choice Board options include the writing prompt from the magazine, differentiated versions of the writing prompt, and additional creative ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of a story.)

CONNECTED READING

Connected fiction from the Scope archives about coping with change:

Text-to-Speech