Pick Me Up

Pick Me Up is a sad story about a young girl who is waiting and waiting for her dad to pick her up after school.

Years ago, there was a little girl whose father would drive her to school and pick her up every day. One day, it was just past 5PM and all her classmates had gone home. She was waiting for her father but he still hadn’t arrived.

“Where’s your dad,” the nun asked. “Is he going to pick you up?”

“Don’t worry sister,” the little girl replied. “I know my daddy is going to pick me up eventually. Maybe he just got busy with work.”

Back then, there were no cell phones, just pagers and beepers. The little girl walked over to the phone booth and dialed the 5-digit number for her father’s pager. She sent him a message:

“Daddy, please pick me up. It’s late and I’m scared and all alone.”

After an hour, her father finally arrived. The little girl burst into tears.

“Daddy, why didn’t you come to pick me up?” she whined.

“Sorry baby,” her dad replied. “I had to work out of town and I couldn’t find a phone to call home and get someone else to pick you up. This will never happen again.”

The next day, it was just past 5PM and the girl was alone in school. There were only a few lights on and it was dark and as she sat by the school gate waiting for her dad, she paged him a message:

“Daddy, please pick me up. It’s late and I’m scared and all alone.”

She decided to walk to her dad’s office. The office wa a mile away but she kept walking and walking. When she reached the office, she went inside and found her dad asleep at his desk. She burst into tears and screamed, “Daddy, I hate you!”

Her dad woke up and hugged her.

“Sorry baby, I took a nap and accidentally overslept. I was really tired and I was out of town all morning on business. It won’t happen again.”

When her dad dropped her off at school the next day, he asked, “Do you still love your daddy?”

The little girl said, “No! I still hate you! You better be there to pick me up this evening.”

“I can’t,” said her dad. “I’ll be out of town. The driver is going to pick you up this afternoon.”

The little girl just sighed and turned her back on him. She didn’t even wave at him as he drove away.

That night, the little girl stayed up late waiting for her dad. At 2AM, she finally heard his car pulling into the driveway and she rushed downstairs to greet him.

All of a sudden, she heard the sound of gunshots.

Her mother was screaming. The little girl was in a panic. She didn’t know what was going on. Her mother grabbed her and brought her upstairs to the bedroom. She held the little girl tightly as she called the police.

Later, the little girl learned that her dad had been shot dead on their doorstep.

Years passed and the little girl grew up. She met a few boys, fell in and out of love, had a few relationships, but none of them ever worked out. Her friends all got married and moved away. Eventually, everyone deserted her.

She lived alone and every night, she would call the 5-digit pager number. The number no longer existed. Pagers no longer existed. All she would hear on the other end was a busy tone.

But still, she would dial the number and say, “Daddy, please pick me up. It’s late and I’m scared and all alone…”