you have 10 minutes to write

Today’s writer’s notebook entry (for my students):

Write three small stories about yourself. Two of them should be true; the other should be false. Write at least seven sentences for each story. (Please write more than the following: I kissed a toad today. It was juicy.) Trick us into thinking the lie is a truth.

Here’s my example:

1. I was about ten years old. It was summertime. My brother’s and my chore was to pick up the apples that had fallen off the tree. We hated this job because a couple days on the ground and in the sun turn apples nasty and sticky. One day my mom and dad said we had to pick up the apples before we could visit our grandparents. I really wanted to go, but I procrastinated the dreaded apple chore. My parents left without us. I was steaming mad. I went outside after they left and started picking up the apples. This wasn’t a dainty game of pick-up, though, as I chucked them hard into the bucket. Then I started hurling them at the house. Harder and harder. And harder and then: CRASH. I broke the window.

2. This story happened a few years back. I was mountain biking in southern Utah with three friends. We’d been going for about four hours and I was starting to get tired. We were riding down a pretty steep section and I lost control. I tried to brake but my wheels were already sliding. I couldn’t do anything to stop the inevitable fall, so the crash came. I hit the rocky ground as well as some unfriendly vegetation; my right leg came in direct contact with a lovely, prickly cactus. Surprisingly, I didn’t cry—probably because I wanted to keep on my tough mask. I pulled out the five cacti needles as quickly as possible.

3. A year and a half ago I was lucky enough to travel around Europe with my dad. One of our stops was Nice, France. After taking a little hike, we arrived back at the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. I put on my swimsuit and dove on in. The water was saltier than any water I’d ever swum in, but it felt cool and refreshing after the hike. I had taken only a few strokes before I spied a fat brown jellyfish only a few feet from me. I didn’t know what to do. Then I saw another and another. I decided the best thing to do was to turn around and go back to the beach. I resorted to simply wading at the sea’s edge because I didn’t want to risk any contact.

So which one is the lie?