Experiment 5
I chose option 7, where an external event has a direct effect on the scene.
	
On a dreary Saturday morning, the Topp family left their majestic home in Kansas City, Missouri to attend a family reunion at the family farm in Butler, Missouri.

“Are we there yet?” Karley whined from the back seat of the black Mercedes SUV.

“Karley, we aren’t even out of Kansas City yet,” Mitch snapped.  “Go to sleep so you stop being so annoying.”

“Oh you two,” the 30 year old mother of the two kids laughed from the front seat.  “I hope you both find your happy pants by the time we get to the farm.”

Keith, the father and driver of the black Mercedes SUV, reached for the volume knob on the radio.  The song “All the Small Things” by Blink 182 was playing on the radio; Keith looked to his wife and smiled.  He was immediately lost in the memory of the first date they ever had and the adorable snort she let out from laughing at his not-so-funny jokes.   His reminiscing was cut short when the weather radio interrupted the song.

“Mommy, what is that? Is there a tornado coming for our car?” the timid six year old questioned from the back seat.

“No, Sweetie. There isn’t a tornado. We are going to be just fine. I think it’s just a test,” her mother reassured.

The mother looked at the radar on her Smart Phone and realized that they were driving into a very large storm that was continuing to grow.  As she began to slightly panic inside, she wanted to show her husband the radar but didn’t want her two young children to get any idea of what was looming in the clouds ahead of them.

“Mitch, Karley. Do you want to watch Stuart Little?  Here are your headphones, I will turn it on for you,” the mother rushed as she tossed two pairs of headphones into the back seat and clicked on the TV screen hanging from the ceiling.

As the two kids slipped the headphones over their ears with smiles reaching from cheek to cheek, the mother turned to her husband with large, scared eyes.
“What’s wrong, Pumpkin?” Keith asked in confusion.

“There actually is a tornado. Look at this radar.”  Keith turned to look at the radar on his wife’s phone, while watching the road and keeping the radar hidden from the kids in the back seat.  All he could see was their vehicle headed for the bright red area that covered Interstate-29.  The mother raised the volume on the radio to hear the storm information.

“This is not a test.  There is a tornado on the ground 4 miles west of Interstate-29.  If you are in the area, take cover immediately.  This is not a test.  There is a tornado…”

“I’m sorry, Dear.  I’m not messing with this storm.  You have to call your parents and tell them we aren’t going to make it today,” Keith said to his wife, with a noticeable amount of fear in his voice.

Keith slowed the black SUV down and pulled off to the side of the road.  Mitch and Karley both looked away from Stuart Little, and pulled off their headphones.

“Daddy, what are you doing? Did you miss your turn?” the concerned eight year old asked from behind his father’s seat.

“I forgot something at the house, so we are going to turn around and go home.  I promise we will be home before your movie is over.  How is Stuart doing anyway?  Has he been adopted yet?” Keith asked as he tried to distract the kids away from the dark clouds that hung very low outside the windows, and the rumbles of thunder that had been muffled by the headphones.